What to Wear for Family Photos

The most important thing to remember about dressing for Family Photos is we want your faces to be the focal point of the photo. We don’t want your clothing to be a distraction. After all, you are having photos taken to remember those sweet smiles!

Long sleeve solid colored tops photograph really well. They help keep the focus on your face. Patterns, graphics or tops that show extra skin can be distracting.

What colors are best? Everyone has colors that suit them best, however the color is not as important as the color tone. Some people like matchy-matchy outfits. I prefer a more individualized look where we try to keep all family members in the same color tone.

An example, soft pink and neon pink are both pinks but are not in the same color tone. Instead, let’s have someone wear a burgundy shirt and someone else wear a dark blue shirt, with everyone in jeans. This helps keep everyone’s face as equal focal points because their tops are an equal tonal value.

Can we wear white? The basic rule should be either everyone wears white or no one wears white. White will draw your eye, which can distract away from your faces. I have one exception to this rule. Babies may wear white when no one else is because they are so small, the white can help draw your eye to a babies face.

Now that you know the basics of what photographs well, go grab some options from everyone’s closet and lay them out together. Do any of the outfits look out of place or bolder than the rest? We want your eye to be drawn to each outfit equally and not overpowered by one.

Are you having a multi-family photo taken? Make sure you let everyone know the target tonal color, mid-tones, dark-tones, etc. Also, let them know if this is a casual dress event or not, jeans or slacks, dresses or shirts?

If you’re not great with colors and don’t have an eye for this sort of thing, ask a friend who has this gift. I love to help families select their photo wardrobes! It is a gift I’ve been granted and I enjoy getting to use it whenever possible.

Enjoy your time in front of the camera and I hope you capture wonderful memories!

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