Family Portraits: What You Should Wear (and What You Should Not!) 

I get the question a lot: “What should I wear for my family portrait session?”  And sometimes I wonder why.  I mean, it’s not like your photos will be hanging on your walls for years to come, with no opportunity to change them after the fact.  Oh, wait...yes, they will.  Let’s get to the answer, then, since you may be wondering the same thing.  Afterall, you don’t want your firstborn coming to you in 12 years asking, “What were you thinking?"

We’ve gone through the trend (and, might I add, come out the other side) where families wear matching white shirts, and all are in khakis or blue jeans.  Now that style’s a bit on the boring side, not to mention the fact that dark colors are slimming.  The color white is...well, the opposite.

“What if we wear matching shirts, but just stay away from white?”  I’m so glad you asked!  The result?  An optical illusion that can make each of you appear to be wider than you really are.  And if that’s an outcome you’re hoping for, we just don’t share the same personal goals. The only exception to this is if you are all wearing blue jeans and those pants are not all brand new and exactly the same as each other but the colors vary, some darker, some lighter.

Coordination is Key

Thinking ahead is really important.  Choose a color scheme that you like for clothing, for example, everybody in earth tones, so they go well together, but each individual is different.  Maybe you want have a theme, like you favorite sports team, or represent your family's traditional outfits from their country of origin.

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