Family Photo Session: What Should We Wear?

Hard to believe it’s time to start thinking about scheduling a family photo session for your holiday cards, but it is! The weather is still pretty hot here in Texas, but it will probably stay that way for a while. Even so, it is never too early to start preparing for your family photo session. The most asked question I get is “What should we wear to our family photo session?” I am a huge fan of jeans and simple tops, but not everyone agrees with me.

But there’s good news…there is not one right or wrong answer. There are, however, some things you can do to make it easier to pick out something fun and cute for your family to wear to your family photo session.

Things to Consider

• What do you want your photos to look like?
• Where will you be taking your family photos? If you’re taking them in a field of flowers, for instance, you might want to choose a less busy pattern. If the backdrop for your photos is simple, then you can jazz up what you wear.
• How many people will be in your group? If you have multiple or extended families, it might be fun to have each immediate family with a signature color. Especially if you’re planning to do break out photos of each individual family. Just be sure that all the signature colors blend well together for your group shot.
• Do you have kids?
• Do you have boys or girls?
• Where will you be hanging or displaying your photos? Do you need your clothes to match a certain room in your house?
• Do you want to be seated or standing in your pictures? If you’re planning to sit down, be sure you keep that in mind, especially if you’re wearing a dress/skirt.
• Do you want your picture to be holiday themed? Maybe in holiday pajamas? Or do you want a traditional picture that can hang somewhere in your home?
• Do you want to be in fancy clothes, or do you want a lifestyle picture in casual wear?

Those are just a few things to think about when you’re deciding on what to wear. In many cases, it’s the mom who picks out the clothes for the family photo session. Not always, but often times. In my house, it all falls on my shoulders. So for me, that means I need to dress 4 people in coordinating outfits.

Two girls (my daughter and me), and two boys (my son and husband). Selfishly, I almost always start with myself. What do I want to wear in our family photo? What color do I want to be in? So I spend some time finding something cute, comfortable, and my “style” for me to wear, and then I build off of that.

Once my outfit is set, I know what the color scheme will be, so my next step is to let my daughter know the colors we’re working with so she can pick out her outfit. I lay the outfit choices on my bed and then pick a shirt for my son and husband (usually something they already have). A few times, I’ve had to go out and shop for them, but most of the time, they have something in their closet that will blend well with the colors my daughter and I have chosen.

If you have young children, enjoy this time! Because right now, you can pick their outfits and they won’t say a lot about it. But just wait…once you hit the tween and teen years, everyone starts sharing their opinion on what they think should be worn in the family photos! It adds a whole new level of excitement to a family photo session.

Do you still feel lost and overwhelmed? If so, then visit my Pinterest Board. It has so many ideas for outfits for families to wear for photo sessions. You might not be able to find the exact outfits suggested, but you can at least get some color ideas. If that doesn’t help, then send me an email.

We can talk it out and figure out what might work for your family photo session. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of you over-thinking things, and once we talk about it, you’ll realize that it will all work out.

And like I always say…it’s better to have a picture in a terrible outfit or clashing colors than to not have a photo at all, as you can see from my family photo below!! If all else fails, just put on a pair of jeans or shorts, a t-shirt, and a hat and let’s meet at a park! I’m pretty sure that’s what my family will be wearing this year for our Christmas card photos.

If you’re ready to schedule a family photo session, you can find me over at Paula Mason Photography! Let me know how I can help!

Until next time…