Here’s everything you need to know to feel prepared and relaxed for your session. This guide includes what to wear, how to coordinate outfits, and what to expect so your photos feel natural and effortless.
HOW TO CHOOSE
If you do want color, I recommend choosing 1-2 colors and still having at least 1-2 people in neutrals!
I recommend beginning the process of choosing your colors by either deciding mom’s dress first and choosing a color palette around that OR finding a favorite pattern for one family member. I would pull 1-2 colors from that pattern and have the rest in different shades, colors, textures of neutrals (white, cream, tan, brown, etc).
For the colors, warm, muted, and earthy colors are great, like sage green, dark rust, light sky blue, light pink, or brown rose, etc. If you have a favorite bright color, I recommend wearing the muted alternative instead; i.e. tan or mustard instead of yellow, emerald or olive instead of teal, mauve rust or light pink instead of bright pink, light blue instead of navy. I would avoid an entire color palette of blue/navy.
If you are putting two people in the same color (even a neutral), I recommend that they are slightly different and compliment each other! So maybe choose a pale pink over another white or lighter green over another dark green or a darker brown over another tan, etc.
MY TOP RECOMMENDATION
I always recommend choosing soft, neutral tones and muted earthy colors because they photograph beautifully and keep the focus on the connection between you and your family rather than on distracting clothing choices.
The more neutral your clothes, the more your eyes are drawn to your beautiful faces!!!
I also would recommend looking at your clothing choices layered on top of each other as that is probably how you will be standing during photos! Colors feel different when they are spread out. Keep in mind, too, we will most likely be against green and blue backgrounds with grass and sky, so while it can be good to coordinate with this, neutrals do help pop against the background as well!
DAD’S OUTFIT
For dads, simple neutral pieces work perfectly and help balance the overall look. Creams, tans, olive, darker rust, and warm browns create a timeless foundation that allows the rest of the family’s outfits to shine. Dads almost always have someone next to them or against them so this just helps a great base or anchor in the photos if you do have others in color!!
If you are putting mom in a neutral, you definitely CAN have dad in a color, this is just a good rule of thumb that makes choosing easier since dads do always have a couple of people up against them.
Henley shirts, regular or V neck tees, button ups, and three quarter zip sweaters are some of my favorites! Unless dad's shirt would be too similar of a color, I recommend he wears khakis to add some warmth to the photos.
MOM’S OUTFIT
When planning outfits, I suggest starting with mom’s outfit first. Flowy dresses with texture — such as linen, knits, gauze, lace, or subtle ruffles — tend to photograph especially well and add beautiful movement and dimension to your images. We can swish a skirt around in walking or dancing photos and that always adds a lot of interest and fun to photos! If you’d rather not do a dress, rompers are a great option too!
Natural makeup, but a little heavier than normal, as well as having your nails done, photographs well for those detail shots, mama.
CHILDREN’S OUTFITS
For children, choose coordinating shades pulled from the parents’ outfits or that one pattern rather than matching everyone exactly. They can help tie everyone’s outfits together.
Mixing tones and textures creates a more natural, elevated look. One or two subtle patterns can photograph beautifully, especially on children! But if mom is wearing a pattern, I recommend limiting additional patterns throughout the group to keep the overall look cohesive. Subtle stripes on boys and subtle floral patterns on girls always looks great!
I would always recommend that outfits coordinate and compliment each other, but not exactly match!
ABOVE ALL…
Above all, choose outfits that feel easy to move in, timeless, and make you all feel beautiful. The goal is for your photos to feel natural, connected, and focused on the people you love most!!
Please feel free to reach out for help in planning outfits. i always love helping style clients and want to make your experience as peaceful with as little stress as possible!
You can also Head over to my main page to scroll through examples of outfits that other clients have worn.
Now that you've picked out your outfits, the hardest part is over! From here, your only job is to show up, love on your family, and enjoy the experience. I'll take care of the rest.
Relax & Have Fun
The best photos happen when your family simply enjoys being together. Don't worry about making everyone look at the camera or getting the kids to smile the whole time—that's my job! I'll guide you through poses and prompts every step of the way, but I'll also encourage plenty of play along the way. Snuggle your babies, tickle them, give kisses, hold hands, dance, laugh, and just enjoy the moment together. Those genuine interactions are what create the most meaningful, joy-filled images.
If your little ones are feeling silly, that's okay! Some of my favorite photos come from letting kids be kids. Unless there's a safety concern, try to embrace the chaos a little—we'll capture beautiful moments in between, and that's often where the magic happens.