Coordinating Family Session Outfits

Choosing your outfits for your family portrait session can be super overwhelming. I had a hard enough time during my engagement session, and there were only two of us! Today, I will be sharing tips on coordinating your family photo outfits to help you look your best at your next family session.

Outfits Tips for the Ladies

Let’s be honest. Choosing the most flattering outfit is hard. But ladies, I’m here to help. By getting your outfit squared away for your family portrait session, the rest will come easily!

First, I always suggest a dress or a skirt for your family session. They really flatter every female body, especially on camera. Stick to long length, flowy dresses and skirts to provide extra movement to your photos! If you have little ones, long length dresses and skirts are perfect for sitting on the ground with them or interacting up close with them. Although shorter cocktail length dresses photograph beautifully, it’s also easier to move around (or chase them) with a longer skirt or dress.

Feel more comfortable in pants or a romper? Don’t worry, I’m there with you. Jean wise, dark blue jeans are the most flattering on camera! Khaki and black pants also photograph beautifully. For rompers, avoid patterns to the most flattering outfit.

Choosing Colors

Speaking of colors… When it comes to choosing colors, I always want my clients to feel their best. I know that I personally don’t do well in light or bright colors, and tend to stick towards blacks and greys. But for my engagement session, I went a little outside the box to create gorgeous photos! I had a mixture of both dark and light with a purple maxi dress and denim jacket for my first outfit, and a soft pink maxi dress for my second outfit. Lighter or muted colors (such as soft pinks and muted blues) tend to create a more airy feeling while darker colors create a more moody feeling. Go with what makes you feel the best and create the mood you want in your portraits!

Flatter Your Features

Honesty time again. Every woman (including myself) has an area of her body that she’s self-conscious about. Recognizing what area that is in advance is key to feeling amazing during your family session. Choosing flattering silhouettes and colors that complement your features is the best way to ensure you’ll love your photos.

I’ve found that three-quarter length sleeves create an amazing slimming effect on all arms! Lookout for an outfit options with a longer length sleeve. Skinny straps or strapless dresses have the opposite effect on arms on camera. You can bring a cute jacket, blazer or cardigan along too! I used a denim jacket with my skinny strap dress and it helped me feel amazing.

Pairing an accessory or two with your outfit can really help bring some extra dimension to your images, and be a nice tie-in when you’re coordinating with a group. Necklace wise, choose big statement necklaces over smaller ones as they pop in photos. Belts, bracelets and earrings are awesome, but stick to one or two. Fresh florals in a crown can be a really romantic touch for you or your little ones!

Outfit Tips for the Men

For the men, long, fitted pants and closed-toed shoes are always the most masculine and flattering look. For your family session, it’s best to leave the shorts, sandals, and baggy pants at home. I had a hard time with this for Jack, but he listened and absolutely loved how he looked in our photos! Fitted dress pants or fitted colored pants work best on camera. Stick to solids such as gray, navy, or khaki, as they will always complement your outfit! Avoid patterns, graphics, and logos when possible. If he is
more of a jeans guy, stick to the dark color denim!

Layers on men also look great on camera. I know, I know. It’s a billion degrees always in Florida. But even when it’s hot outside, trust me when I say that it’s worth an hour of discomfort for photos that will last you both a lifetime. Adding another layer will bring extra dimension to your photos. I’m talking blazers, vests, coats, or even a v-neck sweater. You can even mix a suit coat, blazer or sport coat with a different pant color.

Coordinating Family Session Outfits

Now that you are set with options, the coordinating begins! Keep in mind that your outfits will look the best on camera when the color palette and wardrobe pieces coordinate, but not necessarily match. Think instead about what fits together. Let’s chat more about colors.

The goal for coordinating a family portrait session is to visually break up the colors and shades so that you’re not all wearing the same color on top and bottom. Like, I would never suggest everyone showing up in the exact same white shirts and denim jeans (think of those classic family portraits). Mixing it up will create a much better result. Start by choosing a dominant color and then focus on accent colors. The dominant color is the one you see the most, while the accent helps the dominant color pop. When you’re planning each family member’s outfit, if you can aim for each person to have a different dominant color, and then tie in and vary the accent colors, it’s going to look great all together.

Most of my moms choose their outfit first, and then build the rest of the
family’s outfits based around that. If you have multiple children, don’t feel like you need to put them all in the same type of outfit. For example, one of your daughters could wear a dress and flats, while the other wears a skirt and boots. One of your sons could wear a bowtie, while the other one wears suspenders. Mixing up the wardrobe pieces will bring a great visual interest to the photos.

Family Session Outfits Example

Here is a great example of coordinating colors from the wonderful Cooke extended family. The grandmother, Donna, wore a blush shirt and white pants, with hints of pinks and blues. Her daughters coordinated their families with similar colors. Marisa’s family chose the blue color palette with alternating blues, whites, and khakis. Samantha’s family chose the blush and white color palette. Each person and family has their own dominant color while still incorporating a few touches of the others that will pulled all the looks together. It broke up the color visually and highlighted each family during their family portrait session.

Orlando Family Portrait Photographer

I hope this blog will help you when coordinating your next family session outfits! This guide, plus more secret tips and tricks, is given to each of our family session clients to help them look and feel their best. With the holidays just around the corner, it is the perfect time to update your family photos! Click here to book a session with me and click here to learn more about my Fall Mini Sessions happening next month!