What to Wear for your Family Session
Congratulations! You’ve decided on a portrait session and booked your photographer. Now, what to wear? Below are a few tips on planning the outfits for your group photo session.
1. Think about coordinating, not matching.
You’ll want to look like you all belong together rather than all wearing the same exact outfit. Allowing everyone to have different outfits within a similar range of colors and level of formality allows each individual to shine within the coordinated group.
2. Start with a basic color palette and neutrals.
Color is the easiest way to keep everyone coordinated but not exactly the same. For a simple color palette, select 1-2 colors, and fill in the rest with neutrals such as whites, greys, and khakis. I personally love leaning heavily on neutrals, but there are endless possibilities when it comes to beautiful color palettes. You can take color inspiration from clothing you already love, the setting for the session, or artwork that you feel drawn to.
The color palette below is all neutrals (white, tan/khaki) with light blue as the accent. It works well with the neutral decor of the home too.
The family below chose orange and blue as their colors, with other neutrals to anchor the palette (grey, cream).
3. Consider mixing it up by adding textures, patterns, and layers.
If you love to keep things simple, then by all means, stick to solids and simple fabrics. But if you’re hoping to add more visual interest, then textures, patterns, and layers are a great way to go. Below are a few different instances of textures and patterns that add personality without distracting from the group.
Different textures add some subtle visual interest within this color palette of mostly neutrals and pastels:
4. Keep a consistent level of formality across the group.
Casual or formal- either can be great options depending on your personalities and the moment you’re trying to capture for everyone. But what doesn’t really work as well is to mix casual and formal across the group. One person wearing sweatpants while the next is in a tux can feel disjointed. So along with color, make sure everyone knows the level of formality for the group.
Below is a more casual example:
And a more formal example:
5. Genuine is better than perfect.
Of course the best family portraits are about documenting this moment and your interactions, and they aren’t about the clothes at all. So the best clothes are those that make you feel confident and that you can forget about completely. Choose pieces that fit well — no pieces that are too tight or that have fussy straps or parts that you need to keep adjusting. And if baby spits up on their perfect outfit at the last minute or refuses to wear that perfect dress, it’s ok to let go of what you originally planned. After all, the people are more important than the clothes.
Regardless, here are a few more rather perfect examples of family portrait outfits. See if you can identify the tips above in the images below!
For more portrait session examples, visit recent blog posts here and view family sessions in the portfolio here.
Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco. View her work at annawu.com, follow her daily adventures on instagram, and contact her to book your own session today.
