I get this question a lot when planning family photo sessions.   Back in the day, a family portrait a lot of times meant everyone in white shirts and blue jeans or khaki pants.  There is nothing wrong with this ensemble, but it is not what I usually recommend to my clients.   The goal, in my opinion, is to coordinate without being identical.  Here is how I do it…maybe this will help some of you!

I usually start with one article of clothing.  3 years ago I found a sweater I really liked for myself that was brown.  I then found tops for the rest of my family that coordinated with the brown sweater and the pink top I wore with it.  My daughter wore a brown dress with pink flowers, hubby was in earthy green, and baby boy was in a khaki/cream onesie with jeans.  This year I found a cute plaid shirt for my little boy that had several colors in it.  So I was able to get tops for the rest of us that all coordinated with his shirt, without any of us being identical.   Another factor in my picks was that I knew where we were going to have our portraits made, so I was specifically looking for clothing in the blue/khaki family to coordinate with the rocks and the water.  Here’s  a shot that we got of my finds last Friday night.

Here are some more of my favorite outfits that some of my clients have put together over the years:

I absolutely fell in love with these outfits last year!  This mom is actually going to let me borrow her youngest son’s wardrobe so I can get some shots of my Austin in that too-adorable-for-words outfit. 🙂

This family looks great…very Christmas-y without being completely matchy-matchy (are these real words?!)…

Who knew guys could look so great in purple! Well done….

The classic go-to, I still love black tops and blue jeans – flattering on all members of the family!

Fur and boots…need I say more?  Love love!

Mom worked so hard on coordinating their family of 6.  Her efforts paid off!  One of the shots from this session is a huge canvas over their mantel.   I just love all the color with the blue water and the colorful sunset we had that night…

Another job well done!  But seriously, with beautiful parents & beautiful kids, how can you really go wrong?…

I personally love contrasting dressy with rustic.  And you just can’t go wrong with a petti skirt!

Same family this past summer….I love these outfits even more than the great ones they had last fall!  The colors just popped and made the whole session so fun!

Don’t I have the best looking clients?  I think the girls look so cute in their matching dresses, and I love how mom and dad each bring out the colors of the dresses….

Such great fall colors – just because we technically don’t get “fall” in Florida doesn’t mean you can’t dress the part!

We knew we were shooting at an old barn, so mom did a fantastic job using their outfits to coordinate with their background…

If you ever have a beach session, white is always a winner.  Adding a splash of color is just icing on the cake!
 Well…I hope this helps for all you families planning a family portrait in the next month or so!  If you have any specific questions, please feel free to call me and we can talk it out over the phone.   Can’t wait for another full 2 months of family sessions!