What to wear for a Family Photoshoot?

I often get asked by families about the best clothes to wear to a family photo shoot in the studio and outdoor. Clothing and styling is clearly a very subjective and personal choice, so I would never want to be too prescriptive, but there are some general guidelines and recommendations that I am happy to offer.

I also have a selection of outfits that can be incorporated into the session.

Clothing Should Be Comfortable and Make You Feel Confident

First and foremost, the most important consideration is that every family member should dress in a way that that makes them feel confident and comfortable. This will help achieve relaxed and natural photos that reflect true personalities. Bearing in mind that contemporary family studio photography often involves sitting (and sometimes lying) on the floor, no items of clothing should unduly restrict movement. I plan my session to allow outfit changes during the shoot, so don’t necessarily feel that you have to stick to one look.

Think About A Theme, Not Necessarily Matching Outfits

The biggest question that I receive from my clients concerns family or generation groupings. My advice is that some degree of colour coordination is great, but that families should not worry about matching their outfits. Generally, keeping the number of colours between 1 and 3 works fabulously well:

- denims and cream tops,

- pink, blue and purple look pleasing to the eye,

- navy blue, burgundy and dark green.

I have also noticed that bright pastel colours work really well for children photographed together – even if the colours are not especially coordinated. Pastel colours just seem to offer a sense of fun to the occasion and final images.

I have a big selection of dresses for girls aged 0-12. Also some outfits for boys.

Start With Your Favourite Outfits

If as a family you are lost where to start, it might be worth laying down each family member’s favourite outfit on the bed – and viewing whether the colours broadly go together. Intuition is fine – you shouldn’t worry about hard rules. Perhaps only one or two outfits needs attention to achieve a good result. It might also be worth thinking about your home décor. What colour range might best suit your home if you were hanging wall portraits from your studio session?

Communication

If you come to a decision on a colour scheme (even if it is a broad theme), it is important to communicate this is to the rest of the group – especially if you are planning a generations shoot that involves more than one family. You would be surprised how often this gets overlooked!

Solid Colours vs Patterns

Try to stick to solid colours. The running theme of any advice I give on clothing, is that when the final photographs are viewed, attention should be drawn to faces and personalities. Ideally, items of clothing should not be competing for our attention in a group photograph. In the same vein, jewellery is great (we always encourage accesssories that help reflect personalities) but we don’t want it dominating the imagery.

Light, Dark Tones

Similarly, for individuals, it is ideal to wear similar tones top and bottom. Lighter colours often make sitters look bigger; so a light colour on top with dark trousers will make your top look larger (and vice versa). Using similar tones for your top and bottom will ensure one doesn’t appear larger than the other. Dark socks tend to work better too.

Props

After capturing the family group shots, I often take a range of individual portraits (typically the children). Here I am not so concerned about distracting elements within a group; so props can offer more creativity and variety – and often enhance the personality in the portrait. So families are always encouraged to bring along sporting items (cricket bats, footballs), musical instruments or even favourite toys.

Similarly, I like to encourage a teenager’s sense of style to help draw out their personality. Accessories and fashion items are a great idea; and indeed anything that is outside the box is welcomed at the studio.

Pets are always welcome!

Summary

1. Start with your favourite outfits and lay them together on the bed;

2. Think in terms of running colour themes, not matching outfits;

3. Clothing should be comfortable and make everyone feel confident;

4. Choose clothing that reflects your personality;

5. Bear in mind outfit changes;

6. Try to stick to solid colours;

7. Avoid distracting patterns and logos (and possibly jewellery);

8. No too much contrast between dark and light tone;

9. Props and accessories are good for children and teenagers;

10. Communicate your ideas to everyone clearly.

11. Don’t stress about clothing – it adds gloss, but won’t make or break your session!

View my photo galleries (click here) for more ideas.

Get In Touch If you would like to book me as your Family Photographer or have additional questions about your photoshoot please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Contact Me #familyphotoshoot #photographingfamilies #whattowearforaphotoshoot