What To Wear To Your Family Photo Session

What To Wear To Your Portland Family Photo Session

“What should we wear?!” is the most common question I get as families prepare for their photo session. Choosing the right clothing can be overwhelming, especially for busy parents and bubbly toddlers! I’m a Portland family photographer, and here are some tips as you begin to put outfits together for our upcoming session!

Where Will You Be Framing These Photos?

Your family photos will soon be artwork hanging on your walls, so consider where you’ll put them! Are they going to be on display in your living room? Your bedroom? Your nursery? Choose a color scheme that coordinates well with your home decor. If you have a neutral space, photos are a great way to add in color! Which colors would you want to incorporate?

What Is Your Style?

Kelli, Ben, and Baby V spend their weekends at home and in their backyard garden. Kelli wanted their family photos to reflect their relaxed, casual style.

Are you a family that spends every weekend camping and hiking? Maybe you want to stick with earth tones and some elevated outdoor wear, like a puffy coat for your kiddo. Or are you really into coastal trips? Maybe you want to include tones of blue and a sunhat. Think about what you like to do as a family and consider outfits that showcase your style.

Consider The Location And Season

Will your family photo session take place on the beach? In a forest? In your backyard? It’s best to choose clothing that works well with the environment where we’ll be shooting. If we’re on the beach, you may want lighter colors and may go barefoot. If we’re in a white, snowy setting, it would be best to incorporate color and lots of layers. If we’re in the forest while the leaves are changing, deep, autumnal colors would look best.

Stick With A Color Scheme

This is where a Pinterest board may come in handy! Neutrals such as blush, tans, light pinks, faint blues and teals, creams, grays and whites will always result in a lighter look to your photos. I find that neutral photos aren’t overwhelming and allow faces to be the focal point. In my opinion, these colors photograph best.

Ben and Kelli stuck with blues and tans as their color scheme. The simple pattern on Ben’s shirt helped break up the solid colors added a nice accent without being too overwhelming.

Coordinate, But Don’t Match!

Gone are the days of family photos with everyone wearing blue jeans and white tshirts (unless you want to throw it back to this trend!). Rather than matching perfectly, it’s best to coordinate and consider one color somewhere on each outfit— one adult with light blue on top, the other adult with light blue on bottom, and kiddos with light blue on either top or bottom.

Be Comfortable

It’s best to find clothing that allows you to move freely. If you are constantly adjusting straps or pulling up jeans, it will be hard for us to find a flow during your photo session. Kiddos should wear clothing and shoes that allow them to move freely. We will be running around a bit, so comfort is key! It’s also very important to take the weather into consideration. Portland can be VERY hot in the summer, so breathable fabrics, like linen and cotton are best for summer sessions. And the opposite is true: winter can be frigid. Layers work best during winter sessions, and I highly recommend a wool base layer.

Choose Texture Over Patterns

Baby V wore comfortable shoes and clothes that allowed her to walk the trails and pick flowers.

Texture adds dimension and movement to photos, so if you can add an extra layer, like a scarf or long cardigan, go for it! You can always bring these pieces along so we can decide whether or not to use them. Higher quality fabrics have more appealing texture— linen and quality knitwear look better than synthetic, clingy fabrics. Patterns can be a good way to break up solid colors, but heavy, bold patterns can be very distracting. Stick with simple, basic patterns.

Things To Avoid

Overwhelmingly bright colors are hard to coordinate, and they can cast funny colors on your faces. Best to stick with neutrals and earth tones.

Distracting patterns can take focus away from your faces and expressions. Stick with simple patterns!

Plaid. Trust me— it’s too overwhelming for family portraits.

Crisp dress shirts are very restrictive, and it shows in photos. Choose a shirt that flows and drapes for more natural movement.

Too big clothes on kiddos can cover faces. Stick with clothing that fits your little one while still allowing movement and play.

Kelli’s home decor includes cool, neutral colors. She wanted to add some color to their walls, so she incorporated shades of blue in their outfits.

Step By Step! Here is how Kelli and Ben chose their outfits:

Home decor and display: Neutral walls and light wood floors. Wood coffee table and light leather couch. Photos will be framed above couch.

Style: Casual. Weekends at home in our backyard garden.

Location: In home and a forested park.

Color scheme: Light blues and tans.