What to Wear for a Family Session

Woohoo!! You have a family session on the calendar and you’re so excited and then you realize you have to figure out what to wear. But not just for yourself, but for all those laundry-producing gnomes that live with you, and that you’d rather not see your partner in their favorite band shirt from college…and then you have to figure out how its all going to look good together, right?! If your like me, after this thought process, I’d pour myself another cup of coffee or glass of wine and ignore the dishes in the sink and eat nutella out of the jar, and procrastinate. Or take out every article of clothing out of all the closets.

Hopefully this little guide of what NOT to wear and the DO wear suggestions will help eliminate a few articles of clothing and narrow things down for you.

THE NO-NO’s

  • Don’t have everyone wear all-white. Or all-black. Or all in matching blue jeans and flannels.
  • No neon colors
  • No large logos (Nike/Gap/etc. ain’t paying for your canvas above your fireplace!)
  • No baggy clothes – dress for your body type. Clothes that are too big or too small are not flattering
  • No super short dresses — I want you to be comfortable during your session, not worried about showing too much of something.

THE YES, PLEASE!

  • Coordinate your colors. I suggest starting with one persons outfit (lets say mom has a great dress she loves) and base everyone else’s outfits around that.
  • Mix and match neutrals. Navy, grays, ivory, black, white, creams. Its timeless and usually everyone has something in these neutral palettes that they love.
  • For extended family sessions, I recommend picking a few colors that everyone should wear (ie) blues and whites. Then everyone can add their own touch to it. Maybe grandma has a lovely yellow and blue top with a blue cardigan and Uncle Bob is sure to have a white polo at least
  • Be yourself! Love red lips? Rock it! Love to accessories, do it! Be comfortable in your clothes – it reflects in the end product!
  • Color is always good! Just be sure its not too loud since it can reflect onto your skin.
  • I’m a huge fan of bare feet :)
  • Overall, choose clothes that represent you and that you feel good in!