It’s time for family portraits and we need to coordinate outfits. Let’s go over these five easy steps in picking your wardrobe out for family portraits. I will be with you every step of the way.

1

Choose your Date and Location

Before we pick your wardrobe we will need to pick your date and location. Do you like Water and Sand? Fields and Trees, Forest, Urban? Spring, Summer, Fall or Winter? Once we have that nailed down then we can look at your home…

WAIT what?

2

Look at your Home

I know that might seem strange but your end result with your treasured images is to put them in your home, right? So look at your walls and your decor in the rooms that the images will go in before picking your family outfits. So the question is: Are you light and bright or romantic and moody in your home? You need to pick colors that will compliment your home.

3

Coordinate

Pick a palette of 3 to 4 complimenting colors.  I personally find my outfit first or a patterned outfit for one of the kids and then design around that by pulling the colors from the pattern. Either way, pick colors that you love (and that go together).

Stay away from character t-shirt (Buzz Lightyear, Disney etc)

If you are having your photos done in the Spring or Summer lean towards light tones such as light blues, creme, white, light pinks. If you are in the Fall or Winter think warmer tones, like burnt orange, dark blues and maroon. Feel free to look at my pinterest boards for ideas.

Avoid wearing all white or all black. White can wash your skin tone out and black can make you disappear. We want you to pop in the images, so try to avoid all white or all black dresses or shirts.

Sometimes its helpful to look at collections that the store has already put together on the mannequins.

Lay them out in the store and stand back and look, You got this!

When you feel like you have it somewhat nailed down, feel free to text me a few photos of your outfits laid out so I can help.

4

Don’t forget accessories

It’s really easy to forget earrings or a necklace but really it ties the outfit together. Even a scarf or a jacket can create a totally different look halfway through your photo session. Having these on-hand, adds variety to your session.

5

Prepare the family

The day before, make sure everything is washed, ironed or steamed and hanging including your accessories.

Let your little one(s) know that they are having their pictures taken. KEEP IT LIGHT!

“We are going on a fun adventure and having our pictures taken and guess what?? After we are done we will go have ice cream (or whatever treat). I also hear that Mariea has special treats during the session too. This is going to be so much fun!”

That’s it. Keep it low key.

Keep everyone’s expectations low because really… we are going to have a blast. I am not your average photographer, LOL. We are going to play games, have a ton of crazy fun and document it as we go.