How to Coordinate Your Family Session Outfits
As a family photographer here in Austin, I’m often in the position of helping my clients coordinate their family session outfits. And as a lover of design and everything colorful, I love doing this! It’s most important to me to help pregnant and postpartum mamas feel like their most beautiful selves and to ensure everyone is comfortable because that’s where photography magic lives.
Read on for my top tips for coordinating your family session outfits for your upcoming shoot. Plus, discover my all-new packages designed for growing families!
How to Coordinate Your Family Session Outfits
Embrace Comfort
First and foremost, you’ll want to choose outfits you and your crew feel comfortable in. You don’t want your movement restricted during the session! In addition, you don’t want to be so focused on your clothing that you can’t relax. Whether the outfit doesn’t reflect your true style, is ill-fitting, or is high-maintenance, it’s better to forget what you’re wearing and be in the moment.
Moms, Choose Your Outfit First!
I often recommend mamas choose their outfits first, especially if they’re pregnant or postpartum and may have trouble finding something they feel comfortable in. Pick the dress or outfit you love most for yourself, then coordinate the rest of your family around that. The more comfortable and relaxed you feel, the more your kiddos will feel at ease. So, don’t be afraid to put yourself first!
Work Within the Same Color Family
While there’s no need to choose matchy-matchy outfits (in fact, I advise against it!), you don’t want your family’s outfits to clash. I recommend selecting a palette of three or four coordinating colors and working within that as you shop everyone’s closet. Whatever you do, avoid all-black or all-white attire, as this will look flat and visually uninteresting on camera!
Don’t Fear Patterns
Many moms feel they need to fit into a set of ideas they’ve seen on Pinterest, including the oft-repeated advice to avoid patterns when planning outfits for a photoshoot. But if you love bright and colorful patterns, I say it’s more important to be yourself! More than anything else, you want your photos to reflect your family. As long as the colors all coordinate, there’s no reason you can’t incorporate a fun pattern or two.
Get Help From Your Photographer
If you’re feeling stuck, many family photographers are happy to provide outfit curation services—myself included! We’ll create a Pinterest board outlining the ideas we’ve discussed for your session, where you can also add inspiration. This is a new addition to my services that I find makes sessions feel more collaborative from start to finish. I love it when my clients can contribute to making their shoots feel as unique to them as possible!
Austin Family Photography Subscription
I hope these tips help eliminate stress as you plan your family’s outfits for your upcoming session! If you’re local to Austin, I’m thrilled to share a new way to engage with my family photography services. With the all-new family subscription packages, you can choose between The First Year Collection for expecting parents or the These Are the Days Lifestyle Collection for families of all sizes and stages.
When you book your collection, I’ll follow your crew over a full year of sessions, documenting growth and milestones. Then, at the end, you’ll receive a curated heirloom album full of your favorite moments, ready to be cherished for years to come and passed down through generations. Discover more about these packages and book yours today. I can’t wait to start working together!
