Thursday, October 6, 2011

Family Portraits {What to Wear?}

The biggest question asked by families getting ready to take portraits - what do we wear??  Back when the trends were for everyone to match, the choice was much simpler.  Are we all going to wear white shirts, or are we all going to wear black shirts?  Are we all wearing denim or are we all wearing khakis?

The trend in family photography has shifted and it is now celebrated to let more of your individual personalities shine through. I love seeing family portraits where the daughter is wearing her favorite bright red ballet flats, or the son is wearing his old faithful blue converse.  

But even though a lot of family portraits have the appearance of a fashion free-for-all, at least some thought has gone into a pulled together look.  We are shooting family portraits for some friends this weekend, and she asked me today for wardrobe suggestions.  I had seen some great examples on Pinterest, so I sent her the links because it is always nice to have a visual example.

Some people go all out with bold color choices. Here is a great example of wonderful use of color:



The reason this works is that they are all bold, saturated colors.  There are also subtle ways they all compliment each other.  The oldest boy has red shoes and the younger boy has red socks which tie in with the red the two younger girls are wearing.  The two younger girls are wearing yellow shoes which tie in with the oldest girl's really cute yellow jacket. The green in the little boy's shorts matches the green in big brother's polo.

Some SERIOUS thought went into these clothing choices.  I think it is similar to an artist choosing paint colors, because this is going to be a piece of art that is hanging in this family's home.

Obviously, not everyone has the time, the desire, or the clothing choices for this type of portrait.

So if you like to play it a little safer and not quite so bold, here are two charts where you can see examples of how you might assemble your family's clothing choices based on 3 or 4 foundational colors in each group.  These are great guides if you would like to have a color-coordinated look without everyone matching and wearing exactly the same color.





1 comment:

Heather said...

It's been several years since we had a family portrait taken and I was just thinking about this. Those photos sure are good visuals - thanks!