You’ve booked the date, we’ve figured out the location, and now all you need to do is pick your outfits. Easy, right?!

I’ve found that many families (including my own!) have the hardest time picking out outfits for their family sessions, so I’ve complied some tips and tricks on how to select the best outfits for your family.

1. Choose Comfort

The most important thing is that you and all your family members are comfortable in their outfits. There is nothing worse than getting to your session and realizing your outfit is too big, doesn’t sit right on your body, or has an itchy tag that your little one can’t stop fidgeting with. It’s important that you guys are all comfortable in what you are wearing so that we can focus on having FUN instead of adjusting clothing. This goes for shoes too – make sure your littles have worn the shoes before and that they are comfortable walking, running and playing in them!

2. Dress as if you all are going to the same event

If one kid wears jeans and sneakers and another wears a fancy dress, it’s going to look disconnected. Choose your outfits based on if you were going to the same event – nice sweaters, button downs and dresses for fancier outfits, or t-shirts, jeans and more casual dresses for a more laid back look.

3. Choose complimentary colors instead of matching

Start by picking 2-3 colors to work with – I always recommend picking mom’s outfit first and then having everyone else work with what you want to wear. Opt for pieces with colors that coordinate and compliment each other. Neutral or earth tone colors look great – whites, blacks, ivory, creams, blues, soft pinks, mustard yellows, deep greens, grays – they all look great on camera. I recommend choosing 2 or 3 colors for your color palette, then having variations of those colors, like lighter or darker shades or colors that pair well together (ex: blues, whites and tans or mustard, tans and greens, etc.)

4. Patterns

Patterns work well too, but opt for one person in a simple pattern with the other people wearing complementary colors. Small checks don’t photograph well, so opt for larger prints.

5. Think about your session location

If your session is going to be in a dark forest, opt for lighter, brighter colors so you stand out against the background. If it’s in an open field, opt for darker tones. If you’d like advice on what to wear based on your location, feel free to email me! I love helping with outfit choices.

THINGS TO AVOID:

• Try to avoid super bright, neon colors like right reds or bright pinks as they can reflect back onto skin.
• Anything that is stained, ripped, too big or too small, itchy tags, uncomfortable materials, and shoes that are too small!

You really can’t go wrong with your outfits, as long as you are comfortable and YOU like your outfit, then you will love looking back at the memories from your session!