Do you obsess over “looking good” for family pictures?? Don’t worry, you’re not alone! Because to be honest who would want to hang up a picture or pictures where your family isn’t matching or is too matchy-matchy. Hours and hours are spent figuring out the PERFECT outfit combinations. Well we are excited to bring you a few tips on what TO do and what NOT TO do when dressing your family for our Fall Mini Sessions OR our Holiday Mini Sessions!
**** DON’T FORGET!! We only have 2 maybe 3 spots left for our Fall Minis, So E-mail us at susan@serendipityphotostudio.com or call 608-417-7696 to get your spot!!
October 15th ~ 20 minutes ~ 3-5 professional images ~ $125
These will be done on the porch of our new house. Perfect for your Christmas Card pictures or just a quick, fun and beautiful family picture! ****
Okay back to our tips!
1) Dress yourself first!
Moms… This is for YOU! It may sound backwards because shopping for the kids is so much fun, but when have your kids ever looked bad in a picture? Every outfit is adorable, or at least our kids make them adorable (except maybe jump suits?!? but even those) Our kids steal the show in all the pictures and thats great. Why we say dress yourself first is because if you don’t feel and look great in the pictures you will never hang them up (sadly, because everyone else would complement you!). We don’t want you investing in family pictures just to dislike the shirt you wore and stare at it for 20 years. We want you to feel beautiful! So go shopping for YOU, find something you love… a color, pattern, dress, skirt, accessory, ANYTHING and then dress your family around that! You will love the pictures because you will remember feeling good and as long as your don’t make your hubby wear something too tight he will love the pictures just the same! HAVE FUN SHOPPING 😉
2) Pick a Store
This one is extra helpful for people who worry about colors and patterns. One of my favorites is Old Navy so we will use that as the example. Because it is the same brand the adult clothes and the kids/baby clothes most likely go together! They have similar & matching color tones and patterns! Another option is Gymboree. Just pick a section and stick to it! Almost always if you pull an entire outfit together from a section it will look great!! Another option are Gap & GapKids. You could do this at most store, because they already pick pieces that go together, but it is fun to see what you can choose!
3) polyvore.com
If you are style challenged or awesome with style, you will fall in love with this site (or app)! This site lets you put together outfits and see what they will look like! They give great style advice and give you examples of great outfit choices and where to purchase each piece! Sometimes their suggestions are high priced stores, but they do give stores that have less expensive options too! Check it out, and let us know what you think!
4) Do NOT pick One Color and Stick to it
All white, black, yellow, green, demin or any other thing is NOT good! This is the too matchy-matchy dilemma. When you are behind the camera you see what stands out… we want your outfits are to blend into the rest of the picture. They shouldn’t be the focal point of the image, that should be your families beautiful smiles! To avoid your clothes becoming the focal point it is better to add natural variety instead of putting everyone in the same color!
5) Do NOT pick something too “runway”
I know we all want to be a Victoria Secret model in the wings, but they probably are not good for the family photoshoot. Okay I’ve never had anyone show up with wings, but sometimes our favorite sweater 10 years later is a gag kind of thing. And though it is great to remember styles for our past, we also want timeless pictures! Now I don’t want to contradict our first point in wearing something you feel comfortable in, but the ugly Christmas sweater can wait for a party that is meant for that beauty!
I hope these tips help you in picking out the attire for you and your family to have a beautiful picture this year and for many years to come!!
Let us know if you have any questions and though we aren’t fashion-istas we are more than willing to help, because as photographers we see a lot of what looks good and what is not so good!
susan@serendipityphotostudio.com , Facebook , Instagram, or by phone 608-417-7696
Happy Fall!!
P.S. Here is one of our precious newborns from a recent studio shoot, just to bring a smile to your day!
