Taking family photos every so often is a great way to capture memories of life’s most precious moments. Children grow quickly and change so much as each year passes. Most families enjoy taking family portraits every 1-5 years.
Holidays, birthdays, and other special celebrations are a great time to capture new family portraits. Let’s take a look at our top style tips for family photos. These tips will ensure your photos are beautiful and memorable for many years to come!
Plan in Advance
Our first style tip for planning your family photos is the most essential one. Plan your outfits at least a few weeks in advance to avoid unnecessary stress. If you’re hiring a personal stylist to dress your family for the occasion, try to book them 4-5 weeks before your photo shoot date. This will allow a comfortable length of time to shop for the best items at the best rates.
If you’re shopping for yourself, we still recommended getting a headstart. Things may look different in person versus what you may have mentally envisioned. You’ll want to be able to try on items and make any necessary returns before the date of your photo shoot.
Coordinate, Don’t Match
Plan to coordinate outfits, not strictly match them. Coordinating outfits will present a natural appearance and allow individual personalities to shine through. Each member of the family will complement the other, all while looking unique in their own special way.
The best way to coordinate outfits for a photo shoot is by choosing two main colors and then selecting soft accent tones to complement them. Another great way to seamlessly coordinate outfits is to plan your outfits with the seasons. We’ll leave a few easy coordination style tips below:
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- Earthy Tones – Use forest green and warm copper as your main colors. Complement your earth tones with neutral grays and creamy whites. Earth tones are perfect for outdoor photo shoots in open fields, especially with breathtaking mountains in the background.
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- Pastel Tones – Pastel tones beautifully complement beach photo shoots. The light and airy atmosphere of the beach will effortlessly tie everything together. Use light pinks and blues as your main colors and complement them with neutral whites or light tans.
- Jewel Tones – For your jewel tones, use beautiful reds and yellows for your main colors. Complement those colors with deep ocean blues and other neutral tones. If you’re planning a family photo shoot during the fall season, jewel tones will work perfectly. The deep colors of the changing leaves will go the extra mile to make your photos absolutely stunning.
Go All Out
Photo shoots are a perfect time to go all out and enjoy extravagant outfits. If you want your little ones to dress up in fairytale dresses and suits, now is your chance. Aside from Halloween and school costume days, there are not many opportunities for dressing up throughout the year, especially for the entire family. If your little one has been asking to be a princess or knight in shining armor all year long, a family photo shoot is a great time to do so.
Dressing kids up in outfits and costumes that they’re excited about can really help your family photo shoot to move along much more smoothly. Your kids will be excited and confident about their appearance, making things much easier for both you and the photographer.
Accessorize
While you may want to be a bit more strategic and calculated while selecting your family’s outfits, it’s okay to let loose when it comes to accessories. Encourage your family to wear daily accessories that hold sentimental value to them. This will allow for a cohesive look, loaded with tons of personality. Your family photos will look absolutely beautiful while on display in your home!
Lay It Out
Before the big day, lay out each outfit and accessory side-by-side. This will give you a realistic idea of how everything ties together. During the final look, make sure you’re not missing any essential clothing or accessory items.
Have Fun!
Our last and final style tip is to have fun! The best family photos are those that are styled with genuine smiles and graced with authentic laughter. Enjoy spending time with the people you love most while creating memories you will cherish for a lifetime.