Effortlessly Cute Outfit Ideas For Your Next Family Photoshoot
Your camera-holding fairygodmother on how to make family outfits way easier.
So, you’ve booked your dream photoshoot. It’s a great location, you know you trust the photographer, and you’re excited to capture this special season with everyone on camera. But there’s one big question: What do you all wear??
Most of us aren’t matchy-matchy people but we also wanna look coordinated and cute, yet also like, well, ourselves! We all know your two-year-old probably doesn’t normally walk around in a little suit (unless you wanna go for that look!) and finding something coordinating for everyone can be a challenge! Especially if you’ve got a lot of ages, generations, or usual styles in your family.
As someone who’s captured so many families in all their hot mess glory, I wanted to pass on a few classic outfit ideas your way.
White or Black and Denim
Honestly you can’t go wrong with a classic denim and white combo. It looks great on everyone, no matter the age. And it’s so easy to find some denim items for any size, gender or age! Plus, you’ll effortlessly match while still having a lot of different outfits and textures to make your photos feel casual and genuine to your family.
Go with a jean jacket, overalls, ripped jeans- whatever fits your style, and then grab a white t-shirt, tank top, overshirt, or jacket- and you’re all coordinated and classic for your photos (without being too matchy-matchy or stuffy!) Same goes for a black t-shirt, dress, or turtleneck.
Pick a Color Palette!
This requires a little more creativity, but it’s really not a bad idea to pick out a few colors for your photoshoot. If you’re going into nature, explore natural colors like mauve, maroon, browns, greens, and light blues. Or go bold with whites, black, navys, and reds in the city or at a lake or beach. Feel free to take some inspo from where you’re going!
I recommend picking two to three colors that can go across genders and personalities. Like burgundy and light blue, black and red, or green and brown. Feel free to let people mix up the shades and textures, because that’ll make your photos only feel more natural.
Bonus Tip: Use mom’s dress to pick the color palette! You can pick out a lovely floral dress or whatever you’d like, and pick the colors based off of that. It’s an easy way to have something else pick the colors, know they go together, and still feel coordinating without being too matching.
Even Easier, Just Pick One Color!
You can always just pick one color, and let everyone pick their own version of it. You can mix up the shades, textures, and fabrics, but everybody just needs to wear red, or brown, or green. They’ll be plenty of shades and you can be a little more specific if you wanna make sure no one wears neon green instead of emerald or sage.
But you can really like it be that easy! Pick one color and let everyone have fun with it. Even if there’s a lot of variation, it’s still a great way for everyone to look and feel like themselves while still coordinating and seeming a little up-leveled for your photos.
No matter what you go with, it’s a good idea to avoid super bright or high intensity colors. Hot pink or neon green might clash with the mountain colors or just not complement the moment all too well.
Also think about patterns! Florals and flannels can look good next to each other, but maybe make sure you’re not sporting florals, flannels AND polka dots all at the same time. And just enjoy yourself! It’s always good to think simple, solid colors in comfortable fabrics without big graphics or logos.
Make sure everybody’s comfy and covered in their outfits too! If you know a top will ride up as we’re shooting, maybe trade it out for a flowy dress or longer top. Or if your kid’s fabric is too itchy, we may get a LOT of candid itching shots!
You can have so much fun with simple, classic colors and outfits, so don’t feel like you need to reinvent the wheel every time you want some beautiful photos of your family.



