How to dress to look your best....For a Family Portrait.
Updated: Sep 25, 2018
Hi everybody! Erin Bailey here, from Lil Paper Crumbs Photography. One of my main goals is to help you make your Family Portrait, a HUGE success. A part of how that is achieved is how you dress. So here we goooo!
How to dress to look your best, for a Family Portrait :
In 3 Easy Steps!
I am going to break each step down, with tips and pictures. Don't worry about the colors I feature. You don't need to run out and buy those colors. This is just a guideline to help you accomplish a polish look.
Step #1:
Pick a color scheme
Below is my family's Christmas photos from 2017. To pick our color scheme for these photos, I looked at the clothes my husband and I own and thought about warm winter colors. Sometimes this can be a struggle because each person seems to favor a certain color over the other. To help with the decision of a color scheme, start with the parents. What colors do you want yourself and your spouse to wear? I chose red/burgundy, black/grey and white. I know that seems like a lot of colors. But that also gives you room to add in all your family members. Try to pick 3 or 4 colors: 1 bright or dominant color, 1 coordinating color and 1 neutral color.
For myself, I picked a burgundy dress with black and white flowers. Then for my husband, I picked out a burgundy, black and white, plaid shirt and paired it with a charcoal gray, cardigan, and jeans. I chose these outfits for us because we enjoy looking a little more polish and dressy.
Now on to the kid's clothes. I knew my oldest had a black, grey and white, plaid jacket. So his outfit was actually the easiest. It tied in the plaid and black and white. My middle son was a little harder. He doesn't own much red/burgundy. But I managed to find a plain, red t-shirt and a black jacket. I hit the jackpot with the youngest. I found a shirt that was a red, black and white, plaid shirt! I was so stoked! With keeping inside the color scheme, I also kept in mind the next step. Staying inside your clothing comfort zone.
STEP #2:
Stay inside your clothing comfort zone
I know you are probably thinking...."But Erin, do I need to dress up. Fancy clothes, you know?" That is just simply not the case. You don't have to dress up unless you are a "fancy" person. Here's an example; My husband and I both enjoy dressing up...Suits, dresses, nice cardigans etc. But our boys, not so much. Our oldest son hasn't worn a button-down shirt since our wedding. Our middle son likes to dress up but is easily influenced by his brother's sense of style. Then we come to our 4-year-old. It is the easiest to dress him. I just lay out his clothes and he puts them on! Remember the choices I made for myself and my husband? That is one of my favorite dresses to wear. Also, my husband wears cardigans frequently in the winter, paired with a button-down shirt. With the boy's clothes, I kept it more casual. They both are fond of zippered jackets and t-shirts. Because the youngest is easy going, I was able to mold his outfit however I wished. So you need to keep in mind each person's personal style. Finally, you get to pick your accessories.
Step#3:
Pick your accessories
I own a retro, burgundy hat that I absolutely adore! It was a gift many, many years ago. For my jewelry, I stuck with a simple and classic a set of pearls. Shoes I just stuck with simple, black flats.
With men, they don't really have accessories. So to tie in the dressy feel, I had him wear black dress shoes. All the boys wore tennis shoes to continue the casual look.
That's it! 3 Simple, easy steps to achieve dressing your best for your Family photo!
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