Some people are spectacular at coordinating outfits, both for themselves and for other people. One of my early photo shoots of some close friends stands out to me because they all looked SO AWESOME when they got out of the car at the Nature Center. I tend to be a fairly simple dresser myself, so I was very impressed by my friend's taste, style and ability to really get her whole family looking great together without falling for that old trick of having everyone wear identical outfits. I decided to let that idea inspire my post today, in the hope that it might give you some things to think about when coordinating your own family's outfits for a session.
First of all, definitely consider your season and location when thinking about your outfits. Katie's family was being photographed in the woods in autumn, with lots of fallen leaves. She focused on approximately 3 basic colors that worked well together - red, gray and blue - and built a wardrobe for everyone using these colors. The effect was lovely because they didn't appear garish against their backdrop, but they also didn't disappear into it by wearing too much brown; it was a perfect balance. The neutral tones of blue and gray blended well with the earthy tones of brown behind them, and the pops of red here and there were excellent and eye-catching.
Another aspect of Katie's great outfit coordinating came from the fact that everyone was wearing a really appealing mix of layers, patterns and textures. Obviously, in the summer it would be harder to layer, but the effect in autumn was great. I loved the mix of solids, stripes and plaids... not to mention the chunky knit of the sweaters and Katie's scarf. When considering your outfits for a photo shoot, I would recommend picking some solid items of clothing and some with patterns. A blend of the two in a family photographs really nicely.
Finally, I really liked how Katie chose to dress herself and her daughter in the most red, so the Mommy-Daughter connection was made stronger in the photos, as well as defining the ladies of the family a bit more. With a larger family, this idea of coordinating the boys with the dad and the girls with the mom would work really well. And I'll tell you my own little secret about how I pick outfits for my family when we get our pictures taken. Since I'm the one who cares the most about what we all look like, as well as being the most finicky about how I personally look, I choose my outfit first. I pick something that works with our season and location, but most importantly something that I feel GREAT in. You want to feel comfortable, beautiful/handsome and confident when you're getting your pictures taken. Using my ideal outfit as inspiration, I build my family's outfits from that.
Lastly, I will include a few more pictures from different families in different seasons who, in my opinion, did an awesome job coming up with outfits that worked well together using the same concepts I've discussed above.
I love how this family decided to use blue as their focus color, but elected to use all different shades of blue so they didn't appear too matchy-matchy.
This family did something similar as Katie's family above, tying in their pop of color into the mom and daughter's outfits to set them apart a bit.