Styling your Family for your Portrait Session

The number one things my clients ask me is, what should we wear? And I get it! I have a family of six, five of them being guys, and every year when I style our wardrobe for our family portraits I am reminded that the struggle is real. BUT using the tips outlined below along with our new interactive styling service, Style & Select, you can have your outfits selected in no time and with no stress. Let’s get started. 

Tip one: Focus your energy on one really great set of outfits 

For family portrait sessions I recommend only one set of outfits. This is for two reasons; first, less stress on you! You can focus on one set of amazing wardrobe as opposed to 2-3 ok sets of wardrobe. 

Second, and more importantly, we want to focus on interaction and emotions without losing momentum (or a child’s attention) for an outfit change. Getting those rich, emotive images requires a certain warm up period and in my experience that period resets every time you have to change clothes- if that makes sense. 

Tip two: Coordinate, not match.

As you think about your color palette, imagine your family being one complete piece of artwork. Each person/outfit will bring together a feeling of formality and coordination. Instead of everyone wearing the same shade of blue - think about what accent colors might look nice with said blue. Perhaps blue plaid shorts for your son with a t-shirt, vest and hat. Pull some of the colors of his plaid shorts to find a great skirt or dress for your little girl. Dad can wear some jeans and a shirt that coordinates with the plaid shorts and skirt on your daughter, and finish it off with an awesome jacket and fedora. Mom will round the entire family out with some great boots, leggings and darling dress that (again) coordinates with the family color story.

Layers look amazing and create a finished look; vests, cardigans, jewelry, and hats. Also don’t forget to dress down to your feet! 

Also, I work closely with Blush Boutique and Siloe Boutique in Batesville and they will help you style your complete look free of charge! Make sure you let them know you are shopping for a photo session with me! 

If all of this sounds out of your element, Style and Select takes all of the guesswork out of this! Keep reading for more! 

Tip three: Utilize our interactive styling service! 

Style and Select is an amazing interactive service that asks a you few questions about your style and favorite color schemes. Next it presents you with multiple options for each family member. From there you can select your favorite options and see how they all pair together. That’s my favorite feature. I’m a visual person so seeing all of the outfits next to each other is super helpful. 

My other favorite feature is that you also have the option to upload a photo yourself. For example, say you have a dress you bought last year and you KNOW it’s perfect for the look you want. You can upload that picture and then see how the options for your family look up against it. 

When you find all the pieces you like the link is right there to purchase. Most are super affordable! 

To get started simply go to this questionnaire and use 236p3613 as your access code to begin styling your family.

Tip four: Let me help you tweak!

  I ask that clients send a photo of their outfits all laid out at least a week before the shoot. This helps me pick the perfect locations based on your outfit choices and gives us a chance to make tweaks. A lot of times clients like having the opportunity to ask this shirt or that for little man or should I wear this cardigan or that one. Just some fine tuning before the day of your shoot. 

Doing so a week before your shoot allows you to be totally relaxed the day of and prevents any stressful last minute scrambling.

Tip five: Relax!

Wardrobe is important, there’s no doubt. But at the end of the day it’s the love that shines the brightest in your images. You’ve chosen your wardrobe, got your family dressed, and got them to our shoot together. From there you’ve done your part, leave the rest to me. Remember to relax and enjoy your session.