Clothing advice for family portrait sessions – what to wear

I’m often asked about clothing advice for family portrait sessions. So I’ve put together a ‘what to wear guide.’ After people book their shoot, the first question they ask is usually ‘what should we wear?’ It’s a good question, clothing does make a difference to the quality of the final images.

That said, family portrait sessions are not fashion shoots. We want to notice the people more than the clothing. My photo style is all about capturing your expressions and your connection as a family. However, it’s still important to get your clothing right. So here’s some simple clothing advice for your family to follow.

Before the session it’s worth taking the time to plan what you are going to wear. You need to work out whether your individual outfits will work together for the group photos, or whether some clothes will clash or become distracting. Thinking about your outfits in terms of colour toning is a great place to start.

The most important thing is that people are comfortable, but putting some thought into how the various outfits will work together really does make a big difference to the overall look of the shots. It’s also worth taking into account the location. If your surroundings are very colourful you may want to keep your outfits a little more neutral.

Soft colours will work well in all sorts of environments.

General Advice

Generally, I recommend casual plain clothes since my style is to take informal pictures – jeans/shirts/T-shirts work quite well. Very smart clothing won’t work too well for outdoor shoots in muddy parks. Try to have colours that will tone well for everyone. ie: if wearing jeans – often beige, brown, grey, navy or light blue tops work well. Sometimes people all look lovely separately, but things clash in group shots. Light pastels are also good – just try to have a matching colour palette across all of you.

What not to wear

I advise people to avoid spots, stripes, patterns etc.. These can jump out of images and be distracting. Big logos are also to be avoided for the same reason. They can also date images. Subtle patterns work nicely. Having one person in a pattern can look lovely. For example if a little girl wants to wear a flowery dress. Bright bold colours such as red and orange can be overpowering unless there is a reason to wear them. White is fine but should be used sparingly as it produces a lot of glare especially in the sun. Cream is preferable to white. With young babies and toddlers it’s best to avoid collars as these can cover faces. Equally little dungarees and pinafores can ride up and cover the bottom of faces.

People often dress for themselves in their favourite clothes, but the clothes don’t always work well in big groups. Thinking through colour palettes before the shoot means that the photos will look much more cohesive.

Here are a few examples of colours that work well together:

When it comes to newborn shoots soft colours work really well. For the baby it’s good to keep it simple with a plain or softly patterned baby-gro. Little vests or rompers are good. No bright jungle animals or bold patterns. It’s good to ensure the clothing isn’t too fussy as we want the beauty of the baby to stand out. The images should be all about gentle connection. I will also have blankets and wraps to use in the images. We may take some images in just a nappy, nappy-covers are good as they look more attractive than a plain nappy, but it’s always lovely to see some squishy skin and chubby baby rolls

Some examples on colour palettes for baby shoots are below.

Ready to book a photoshoot?

I hope this clothing advice for family portrait sessions was helpful and has given you a few ideas. No need to rush out shopping, there may be lots of things in your wardrobe already. If you are looking for more ideas on outfit combinations and colours, Pinterest is a great resource.

If you are ready to book pop over to my contact page here and let’s organise your shoot