Dressing for Your Family Portraits

You are excited for your family portrait, and we are just as excited to welcome you. Now, let’s do a little preparation to make sure the results are something that you will treasure forever. We want you to be comfortable and confident—it will show in your photos—so here are a few tips on how to dress for your Family Portrait.

Keep it Simple

Knowing that a portrait is going to last for a very long time, parents tend to overthink their outfits. But, in fact, the best advice I can give is to keep your wardrobe simple. Simple solid colors tend to translate well in photography while complicated patterns confuse the eye (especially across multiple members of the family). A pop of color here, a small pattern on a necktie or scarf—that will add personality. But, your clothes and accessories should never compete with the true stars—you! Less is truly better when it comes to your wardrobe. Here are a few more tips:

Add some brighter color in a scarf, tie, pocket square, or other small article, but keep your main clothes to neutral, muted, light or dark colors.
Same for patterns—solids read better in a photograph, so limit patterns to a small accessory.
Especially avoid zig-zag patterns and tight lines—these play havoc with camera sensors and can cause a dizzying effect in the final photo.
Definitely wear your wedding rings and any other jewelry that has particular and relatively permanent significance to you or this session. Also, artistic earrings or a simple but elegant necklace can add to touch of personality. But a little goes a long way. Limit jewelry and other accessories, avoid highly reflective jewelry (other than that engagement ring, of course) and leave those dangling chandelier earrings at home for the day.
Glasses—if your glasses are a part of your visual identity, wear them. If not, let’s leave them out.

Coordinate Rather than Match

Some families want to wear matching outfits but, in a photograph, this often looks contrived. Other families want each member to express their own individual style, but this usually comes off as chaotic or lacking forethought. It is usually best to coordinate colors and styles but to avoid being too matchy-matchy.

You do not all need to wear the same color—indeed, wearing different colors that complement each other can create a stunning image (see the color palettes below). Same with the style of clothing—wear things that are a similar style but that do not look identical. Here are a few other things to keep in mind:

Start with choosing an outfit for one person (usually the mother or a daughter) and coordinate the colors and styles of other outfits to it.
Many families like to choose a general theme, but we suggest to not be too obvious or gimmicky. The theme is often determined by the season or location of the shoot. For example, if your portrait will be shot amongst fall leaves, stay with fall colors. If on a beach in summer, go for the blues of the sky and ocean, the tan of the sandy beach and the whites of the clouds. Similarly, if you choose a holiday theme, use the colors and patterns of that holiday (but you may want to stay away from turkey hats and flashing Santa pins to keep the viewer focused on your beautiful faces rather than the gimmick).
Avoid highly contrasting tones: light-on-white or dark-on-black look amazing in portraits whereas dark on light is much more difficult to pull off without careful planning. This is true not only in a single outfit, but across each member—a sense of visual (and familial) unity is suggested when everyone wears light clothing or everyone wears dark clothing.
Avoid a mishmash of styles. If you are going for a relaxed look, everyone’s outfit should look relaxed. Same if you are shooting for a formal look, a retro look, an ultra-contemporary look.

Add Some Texture

A sweater over a blouse, a jacket over a shirt or a scarf around your neck all add depth to a 2-dimensional photograph. It is best if not applied to everyone’s outfit and if not overdone, but a little texture can provide another dimension to your family portrait.

Think Head-to-Toe

Although many of the photos taken will be of the face and upper body, some family poses are full-length. So, when deciding on outfits, think beyond the shirt. Nice slacks and skirts that are freshly pressed will show well in photography. And don’t forget about shoes! Put those dingy tennis shoes away for the day and opt for nice new shoes. Remember, a well-polished photo will not come from unpolished shoes.

Color Palettes

One of the easiest ways to coordinate outfits for your portraits is to stick to a palette of complimentary colors. It is best if not everyone is wearing the exact same color, but the main colors of everyone’s outfit should come from the palette. Here are some sample palettes to consider: