What to Wear for Outdoor Family Photos

Are you unsure about what to wear and how to dress your family for outdoor family photos? I’ve put together this list of suggestions for you. I hope it helps take the stress out of your preparation and helps you to get really wonderful family portraits!

1)  Think of everyones clothes as one big outfit to co-ordinate. Try to avoid dressing everyone exactly the same but instead in colours that work well together. The idea behind co-ordinating clothes is to make the overall image visually appealing or balanced so that your beautiful faces and your family connection become the most important elements in the portrait.

2) The easiest way to do this is to dress everyone in mainly neutral and natural tones (for example white, tan, brown, olive). Plus, they will look lovely in any landscape. Here are some examples of neutral tones...

3) Try to avoid very bright colours or just pick one. Think lemon instead of bright yellow or pale pink instead of bright pink. Very bright colours can fight for attention in a photo. However, if you have an outfit you love in a bright, bold colour, think about putting the rest of the family in colours that will balance it. Neutrals and a complimentary colour. Here is an awesome interactive colour wheel created by Canva. You just pick your colour and it will show you the opposite, complimentary colour! Genius! 
https://www.canva.com/colors/color-wheel/
Another way to balance bright colour is to  include a pop of the same bright colour in other items of clothing with white and neutral colours. Here is an example of a beautiful family I photographed who did this so well. The bright orange works with all the Autumn colours in the park. A pop of the same colour is in mums top and the rest of their clothes are white (neutral) and navy (complimentary).

4) Where will your family photos be? Here are a few ideas for different locations... For beach, whites, light blues, tan, coral and light pink look lovely. For parks, white, tan, olive, lemon and navy look great. For Autumn leaves you can team burnt orange, amber or burgundy with neutrals.   

5) It's tempting to start with what the kids will wear but instead start with you and your partner. What would you love to wear during your family photo session? Think about clothes that make you feel great and will be comfy for you too. Long dresses and floral dresses look great, if you or your partner enjoy wearing them. If not, what clothes makes you feel awesome? Make sure you can move comfortably, especially if you are lifting children. There are some great businesses that hire clothing like mamarentals that specialise in beautiful bump friendly dresses for photoshoots (fyi, we have a discount code with mamarentals when you book family photos with us). 

6) Next dress the rest of your family. Pick out some of the colours in your outfit, or look for neutral or complimentary colours (colours on the opposite side of the colour wheel). Two different floral patterns can look great together. More than two different florals might be getting too busy.

7) Avoid stripes and t-shirts with a print or logos.   

8) Remember your footwear and socks are also part of your outfits.

9) Once you have everything together, lay out everyones clothes on a bed or sofa to see if they work well as one and nothing clashes. Include footwear, socks and accessories too. Send your photographer a photo if you need another set of eyes. Then tell yourself how awesome you are!
(Scroll down for some preparation tips) 

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A few other preparation tips...

🌸 Iron everything that can be ironed (bah! I know! Ironing! 😩)

🌸 If you're getting your hair done, ask your hair dresser to check all cut hair is brushed away, no hair colour is left on your skin and there is enough product to keep your hair out of your eyes. The most important parts of a family portrait are of course your faces and your eyes! If little ones have long hair, you may want to have it up or use hair clips to keep it off their faces.

🌸 If you are doing your own make up, here are a few tips. Exfoliating lips the night before will help lipstick stay smooth. Face powder is great for reducing shine. Emphasise your eyes. A little blush is lovely for adding warmth.

🌸 Remember finger nails.

🌸 If your baby is teething or brings up a lot of milk (like mine did many years ago!) bring a change of clothes for baby and for you too. 

🌸 Apply insect repellant, especially if you are at a park with a lake or still water. Mosquitos can make little ones miserable.

🌸 Avoid bringing chocolate or melty/ messy snacks but bring lots of snacks and plenty of water. Smiling is tiring work!

🌸 Take glasses off just before a photo if possible and safe for you, especially if they are transition lenses that turn into sunglasses. Take phones out of pockets, sunglasses off heads and hair ties off wrists.

🌸 Finally, relax and enjoy spending this special time with your loved ones! All that matters is capturing the love you feel for each other, the cuddles and the pride. Those are the photos that your little ones will love to look back on and they will always think you look beautiful.      ​

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