What to Wear for Family Photos

What should we wear for family photos?  This is one of the questions we are asked the most in the store.   Moms come in with one outfit to start and say, "please help!"    Well, I found myself in this position recently!  We hadn't done family photos in ten years...yes, ten years!  I am embarrassed to type that!  Big mom fail!  We have the last photos going up our stairs so i am reminded daily of how long it has been!

When I went to send Christmas cards last year, I realized I didn't have one good photo of all of us, so I didn't send Christmas cards!  Another mom fail!

It is hard since the kids have gotten older and we have had kids in college and working to find a time that we could do it.  My oldest daughter surprised me for Mother's Day with a session with her wedding photographer.   Now the big question...what would we wear?  I know, I know...we own a store and we help people coordinate outfits all the time!  So I had to put our tips to the test. :) 

Here are our tips for styling your family:

-Choose 2-3 colors that go well together.  We chose grey, white and blue.  We felt like it would be pretty with our lake setting.  Remember the days that everyone wore denim or khaki bottoms and white tops...don't do that!  ;)

-Choose the girls' outfits first, boys are much easier to coordinate! (think button down shirt and shorts or jeans)

-Keep the patterns to a minimum or choose solids.  If you have one outfit with a bigger print or floral, let that be the only one.  You want the subjects to stand out, not the outfits.

-Keep the looks more timeless than trendy.  You don't want to look back and think, why were we wearing that!  

-Have mom wear a little heel, everyone stands taller in a little heel.  Also, think about wearing something that is fitted at the waist.  Sometimes flowy tops or dresses can make you look bigger than you are.

Most of all, don't wait 10 years like we did!  Life is short and you need to capture your family moments and treasure them!

xo, Jill

ps...Thanks to GEM Photography for our photos!