You booked your family portrait session. Now what do you wear? 

For some, this is the fun part (as if you need a reason to shop!) For others, it is an overwhelming process that makes you consider canceling on the photographer 14.5 times before the session. Don’t! I’m here to help!

When first seeking inspiration for outfits, Pinterest is a great place to start. I created an outfit planning board that you can follow. Look at individual pieces, entire outfits, and outfit coordination to see what appeals to you and best fits your family’s style and the location of your session. Once you have some inspiration, you’ll want to narrow down the color scheme.

Start by selecting 3-4 colors to work with, and then see if you already own any pieces that you love and that will work with the color palette. From there, try to complete one outfit, either with pieces that you buy or own, and then build from there.

Let’s look at a few examples…

Here is an image from a session I did with a family that chose to wear denim and black. The combination of the simple colors and textures in her jacket and his pants resulted in a very stylish look.

As I mentioned, sometimes it is helpful to select one person’s outfit and build the family’s outfits around it. Mom, this is your chance to buy that new dress you’ve been eyeing!

Speaking of dresses, take a moment to adore the dress in this next image…

She likely found this perfect dress, and then built her husbands outfit around her selection. You can see that she tied in blue and two shades of gray for their outfits, which worked really well together.

So how do you apply this to the rest of the family’s outfits? There are so many options to choose from when it comes to planning the color palette. Be creative! Use varying shades of one color, multiple colors, throw in some texture or patterns, and you have a great looking family photo!

See how she added a solid white dress for her daughter and then tied the blue, white & gray into her son’s shirt and then brought in blue with pops of red in her other daughter’s dress? Perfection!

I hope this helps you to consider using various colors in your next family portrait session. Leave a comment and share your favorite family portrait outfits!