What Not To Wear For Your Family Pictures | Advice from A Family Photographer

Tai Lee Photography | Utah Lifestyle Family Photographer

Ok let me just start this off by saying I’ve pretty much done all of these, so just know there is NO JUDGEMENT, just friendly advice on what NOT to wear for your family photos followed along with what TO wear for your family pictures with a fool proof formula that will elevate your style and the look of your photos.

This blog post is all about helping you to coordinate your outfits for your family pictures in a way that elevates your family photos in a way that suits your style in color schemes, textures, patterns, and accessories that are personal to you and is full of tips you are not going to find anywhere else.

That being said, there are some simple tips that can really help you choose your outfits and colors in a way that fits your personalities and elevates your style, which in turn helps elevate your photos. Another disclaimer, I’ve literally photographed families in jeans and t-shirts and they are some of my favorite photos I’ve ever created for a family. This blog post is not meant to make anyone feel bad about what they’ve chosen to wear, or not feeling like you have good style. That being said, let’s get into this so you can get the tips to help you choose your outfits. These tips are not cookie-cutter and will be helpful whether you are having family photos taken on your favorite beach in California, or in the fall in the Utah mountains. Also, I’ll be the first to say that I’m all about breaking the rules and not conforming to something that just does not suit you. If the only thing getting your husband to family pictures is him being able to wear his favorite baseball hat, then just let it be! Perfection is not the goal here.

What To Wear For Engagement or Family Photos Amazon Store

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I would highly recommend reading through the article for some super helpful tips, but I wanted to link my Amazon here so it was easy to find. Enjoy!

What Not To Wear For You Family Pictures

1 | Stilettos

Not trying to hate on anyone with stilettos, but let me just share my logic. Family sessions with me are typically easy-going, interactive, and playful. Sometimes they’re in someone’s home, and sometimes outdoor. Stiletto heels outside don’t really allow for much running, playing, and if we’re wandering the hills, or sand dunes, your heels will often stick into the ground and catch, causing you to slip and stumble a bit. Almost everyone that’s worn stilettos to a family shoot have ended up taking them off and setting them aside. And when we’re in your home, they can make moving around and playing with kiddos tricky, and don’t totally fit the casual and comfortable vibe that comes with relaxing in your home with your family.
2 | Something Uncomfortable

This may seem obvious, but I have had SO many people (myself included) wear something to their session that was not comfortable just because it looked cool. This can make the experience miserable for kids and adults. If something feels too tight, needs adjusted to look just right, is scratchy, hot, cold, squeezes your arms weird, etc, let it go, and keep looking for the right thing. I promise it’s out there!

3 | Neon

This one isn’t a hard no, but is something that you do need to be mindful of. Neon will do what is called a color cast, meaning that if you have a neon blue/pink/yellow shirt on, and you’re standing next to your cute kid, your neon shirt is going to reflect that color onto your kiddo’s face. Neon is great, but if you really want to wear it, find something with neon detailing (small flowers or stitching), or keep it to the accessories like socks, shoes, necklaces, bracelets, belts, etc.

4 | Logos

This one isn’t a hard no either. Not all logos are created equal and some can actually be kind of cool or pretty. But I would argue, that nobody wants to see a giant nike sign more than they want to focus on your cute kid’s face.

5 | The Favorite Baseball Hat

Hats can be really great accessories, but baseball hats in general block a lot of light from the eyes, leaving uneven lighting on the face. Baseball hats also often have distracting logos on them as well. Wide brim hats, fedoras, and cowboy hats work a lot better.

6 | Shoes

I’m not saying don’t wear shoes, but I want to hit on the “dont’s” of shoes. I would recommend avoiding standard tennis shoes (skechers, nike, adidas) and opt for a more stylish tennis shoe or sneaker, go for sandals instead of flip flops, and avoid heels that are difficult to walk in.

What To Wear For Your Family Pictures | A Formula That Works For Everyone

Ok. There aren’t necessarily any “best colors for family pictures on the beach” or perfect “fall family photo outfits”. If you search those terms, you’re going to see a lot of aqua blue and white on the beach, and browns, reds, and oranges in the fall leaves. Again, if this is your style, there is nothing wrong with this, but using this formula is going to help you take that look from cookie-cutter, to super cool. For example, doing winter family photos and choosing outfits for that, you’re likely going to end up with a lot of sweaters, but the way you implement some of these ideas will take it from looking too perfect, to looking like something that is more unique and interesting.

1 | Color

The ultimate challenge I think a lot of people run into. What colors do we wear to our family pictures? Do I pick 3 colors and make sure everyone matches those 3? Do we need to match? What if we don’t want to be matchy matchy but don’t want to look like some weird mish mash of outfits? Stop. Just stop right there. Their are 8 billion options for color combos and color schemes you can do. Here are a couple suggestions to help you navigate this and choose a color scheme.

1 | Have you seen some family photos that you have really loved the overall aesthetic? That the outfits worked really well with the background?

2 | Are there certain colors that would look good once you’ve printed photos and hung them on the wall? If you have a lot of warm tans and beiges in your home, rainbow and neon might not flow well. What would go well with your decor?

3 | Start a Pinterest board and start pinning outfits that you see that you love. Take note of the similarities. What do you seem to be pinning a lot of? Neutrals? Deep rich tones? Soft neutrals with lots of contrast? Bold and bright?

4| Choose a color scheme and refer back to some screen shots of that color scheme to help you stay consistent with the look you are wanting.

Link to my Pinterest inspiration board HERE. I use this every time I am trying to plan outfits for my own family photos.

Pinterest What To Wear Inspo

2 | Texture

What does this mean??? Ribbed t-shirts, corduroy pants, embroidery, lace, sequins, ruffles, pleating, tweed, waffle knit. These are just some examples of clothing with texture. You can also implement this with jewelry. Here are some photo examples of some textures to give you some inspiration. (Images from Pinterest)

3 | Patterns

Stripes, plaid, florals, polka dots, etc. Incorporate patterns!!! You can mix and match these together. Polka dots can go with stripes, florals can go with plaid. Just watch your color scheme. You’d be surprised how cool this can look to mix patterns together. Or, mix patterns and textures together and you’ll have a beautiful combo. Trust me.

4 | Go Neutral

Doesn’t this just make your pictures boring? Not even. Neutrals are timeless and a monochromatic look can be so so beautiful. Now I’m not saying everybody wear all brown, or all black. There are a couple ways you can do neutral outfits that keeps it interesting.

1 | Monochromatic

Choose a color family. We’ll say brown for example. Choose varying shades of browns, tans, beige. Find pieces that have got cool patterns or textures and you will have a magical outfit set for your family.

2 | Mix and Match

Just because something is neutral, doesn’t mean it can’t be a color. Blue can be neutral. Navy blue, or a muted soft blue color is neutral, but royal blue or turquoise is not neutral. I’d label those as colorful and bright. Basically any color that is a color with it’s volume down is neutral. Earthy colors and soft pastels (not to be confused with neon) are a way to do colors that keeps them neutral. Mix those with grey, beige, and white to keep it easy on the eyes.

5 | Layers

Jackets, cardigans, vests, dusters, flannel or chambray button up—these are all layering options to give an outfit dimension and texture. You don’t need to do this for the whole family, but this can make a really big difference to have a couple people in a few layers.

6 | Accessorize

There are SO many cute options to accessorize. I feel like a lot of people think this part is only for the girls, but don’t skip out on some cool accessorizing for the boys too. Necklaces, socks, hats, scarves, bracelets, rings, etc. are a fun way to bring a little extra fun to everyone’s look. Quick tip: ditch the apple watch and any elastics you’ve got around your wrists.

7 | Shop

Where To Shop For Unique Clothing For Family Photos or Engagement Photos

So now that you’ve got all these tips, where do you even find this stuff? Here is a list of my favorite places to shop to get inspiration and to find what you need.

1 | Zara

It’s always kind of hard for me to find cute clothes for my kids, particularly my boys, and I feel like they have so many options for them as well unique outfit ideas for me. They basically have outfits that implement every single tip I gave in this blog post and you can find things that in a variety of price ranges.

2 | Target

I probably don’t even need to mention it, but they have great clothes for great prices for everyone in the family. I start with Zara, then fill in with Target.

3 | Old Navy

I can always find neutrals here, and typically get t-shirts here for my husband for our family photos. He’s pretty much worn a grey, navy, or olive t shirt for most of our family photos and is the easiest person in the family to dress for family pictures.

4 | Mini Boden

If you are wanting fun and colorful with texture and patterns, this is your place. They are quite expensive, so I often will look on Poshmark for used items, but if you’re wanting to splurge and you love bright colors, you’ll love this site.

Bonus Tip

Typically I get hired to do family pictures by the mom. My biggest tip for you is to find something you love and feel great in or that highlights one of your favorite things about yourself, and then dress everyone else to match you. Mom first, then everyone else. Moms can tend to be hard on themselves and it can take some time to find something you love, so take care of that part first, and the rest will fall into place.

Let go of perfection. It’s easy to get super stressed about all the moving parts. When you’ve got multiple kids, a partner, and yourself, you have a lot going through your mind and it can be overwhelming. Just know that you can’t mess it up. Your family and your connections are what are most beautiful and that is going to shine through in the photos no matter what you wear. Your life doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful, it is beautiful because it is yours.

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