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Outfits for family photos?

marianna

Veteran

My husband, newborn daughter, and I are having some family photos taken in a few weeks. I know the photographer will have props and such for the baby, but I am wondering what we should wear for the photos? I've never done family photos before so I am not sure how one decides what to wear, and what look best in photos. I don't want it to be too coordinated or matchy-matchy... really, I am at a loss!

What would YOU wear in a family photo? Thinking one of these onesies for the baby...

ETA: I need to buy something new to fit my post baby "shape" so feel free to share finds!

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Dressing

21 replies

Latest reply was from lyn67

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Depends on everyone's coloring. I like faces to be primary and the clothing the supporting act. I like the clothing color to be similar in depth and undertones. However, it could be a nice contrast to have your daughter in something sweet like you have picked out and you and your husband in darker clothing. Or summery whites or lights. Or?
Have fun! And congrats on the little one.

marianna

Veteran

Thanks, Barbara Diane. We're all very fair, husband has red hair and mine is light brown. Baby is very peachy toned haha.

Laura G

Veteran

We never had formal portraits done, but our best informal photos are the ones where we all happened to be in similar colors. It seems to take the clothes out of the foreground and let the people shine.

Oh wait--we did have formal photos. My husband and I were in dark olive and the baby was in medium blue denim. Everybody's skin seemed to glow. I'm not suggesting these particular colors for you, only noting that they were not attention-grabbing colors themselves, and they were in the same family. The baby's slightly lighter dress made her the center, but in a subtle way.

Those little onesies are sweet, but I wonder if they will take center stage in the photo, instead of your little girl.

Barbara Diane

Veteran

Duplicate posting eliminated.

Ledonna N.

Veteran

I have no advise but I am so happy for you marianna and your beautiful family on this new road.

Anonymous

I've heard that solid looking garments are best as not to distract from the beauty of the people being photographed! Have fun with it! I wish I had more family photos with my boys.

greycat6

Veteran

We have family photos taken annually and it is one of the best investments we have ever made. So fun to look back at them over the years, especially now that my boys are teenagers.

Agreeing with everyone's comments about solid colors that coordinate with each other. Simple clothing, without a lot of detail, works better to my eye. You want the faces to be the focal point, not the clothing. White shirts can be harsh, depending on the lighting, especially outside mid day during the summer. White can look lovely in the evenings.

Our photographer shoots in both color and sepia tone during our sessions. By comparing color photos vs. sepia, I have learned a lot about which hues are most flattering to our skin tones. My husband and one of my sons are red heads, my other son has light brown hair and I have dark brown hair, We are all very fair skinned and have either blue(boys) or green(me) eyes. The red heads look best in clothing that is lower contrast to their skin tone. Too much contrast washes them out. I need contrast to avoid looking washed out. My son with light brown hair is somewhere in the middle on contrast. It is a balancing act but we have made it work.

Good luck!

Anonymous

Congratulations. Mariana! How about midtones for you and DH in chambray blue or a green? What you wear on top will show up most.
The baby things are lovely.

marianna

Veteran

Thanks, all! Any thoughts on black? I was thinking a black top for myself, and maybe white jeans. I like the idea of chambray or light blue for my husband...

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I wouldn't worry about co-ordinaing at all. Just wear what makes you feel fab!

April

Veteran

Hi Marianna! So good to see you here, and congratulations on the birth of your little one! My suggestion would be to wear whatever captures you as a family. (In other words, if classic solids are not your thing, don't wear classic solids.)

In case this is in any way helpful, this is the family portrait I am planning to take in the near future. A shot from the rear of myself, DH, and DS, age 20, arms around each other's waists, each wearing a white tee from the studio of my son's favorite contemporary artist, Tom Sachs. The backs of the tees say "Always be knolling." (Look up "knoll" if it that term is not familiar.) http://www.tomsachs.org/item/ten-bullets-tee

It captures us a family because it's atypical (no faces) and photographically interesting (my son is a photographer).

So -- what captures you as a family?

ClaraT

Veteran

When we've taken a family photo, I started with my outfit and then dressed everyone else Not matchup-matchy, but classic (eg dark polos for the boys). So find something you love on you and go from there. For inspiration, do a google image search for public families--the obamas for example have lots of lovely family photos--on the formal side, but not at all somber and not all solids. Or maybe prince William and his family (since they have babies). It will give you a feel for what works.

Anonymous

Along the same vein as ClaraT suggests, does your photographer have a website? Sometimes seeing what others have done helps you weed out what you do and don't like.
Congratulations on your baby's arrival!

Debbie

Veteran

Congratulations on the baby. I agree with Angie wear what makes you happy!

Aquamarine

Veteran

No real advice, except the clothing shouldn't be the focus. But what I really wanted to say was congratulations! Not sure if I missed a post about your daughter's birth, but I am so happy for you.

Jaime

(website)

Veteran

Your smiling faces should be the focus, that's my only advice!

JAileen

Veteran

We've done family portraits a few times. The first one, our son was just a few months old. The outfit I had chosen for him, was too small that morning! I had to scramble for another suitable outfit. What a pain. I think we wore stripes or maybe plaid. It was kind of busy. One time, when our son was in kindergarten, we all three wore polo shirts in jewel tones. In the latest one, our son was in his 20s, we wore blues and deep plum. The clothes were on the darker side, so our faces showed up nicely. The photographer used to have clothing suggestions online, but has since taken them down.

Twenty years ago we did a big family portrait with my parents, my siblings and their families, and us. There were eleven of us, from three to mid 70s, plus a dog. The photographer suggested we wear blue, khaki, denim, or cream, but not white. It made for a nice cohesive look in the portrait, which was taken outdoors. We also took pictures of each individual family. My husband, son and I each wore a denim shirt, and they wore khaki pants and I wore a khaki skirt.

bridgie

Veteran

Your baby will be the main focus, and of course she will be a natural, not thinking of what to wear or how to pose. The onesies are adorable. You and your husband should wear colors that you feel good in. You will treasure the portrait for years to come. Good luck.

Sal

Veteran

Congratulations on your baby!!

I would wear something that you like, that is in a good colour and a shape you enjoy. I had a lovely black and white taken wearing black with my now 15 year old.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Our photographer gave us guidelines. Beware of even simple patterns is what I remember best. From the description of everyone's coloring you gave, it sounds like green would work well on all of you, but the main thing is just to be all in similar intensity colors, not satin in jewel tones on you and hubby in a pastel oxford.

Someone else mentioned annual photos. When my babe was little, I rolled my eyes at that, baby books, and other traditional ways of capturing the moment. I thought I'd record what was happening much more often than that. Nope! Didn't happen. If you're considering making this an annual tradition, consider my post a vote in favor. And if you're going to do it every year, that takes a bit of stress off. You can all dress as fire crackers one year, do the jeans and white T-shirts thing another, go formal the next and the sum of them all will be the expression of who your family is.

lyn67

Veteran

What a great news- congrats for the newborn baby girl, Marianna! I would advice monochromatic correlated outfits for the 2 of you happy parents (different hues, some correlatzed patterns or texture would be also great) and a lighter "pop out from the background" spot of color for the baby girl (rose is great as you posted)-for stealing the show:-)).