What to Wear for Family Pictures

It’s that time of year again – time to think about family pictures! Whether you’re wanting to shoot for Christmas cards or just get updated shots of the whole fam, I so strongly recommend booking a photoshoot and making it happen. Even if you don’t like getting your picture taken, even if organizing the crew feels like ringleading a circus – it’s worth it when you end up with beautiful keepsakes and frozen snapshots in time. Granted, you ideally want positive memories behind the pictures – so here’s hoping these tips make the entire day a little easier for all, even if that’s just in choosing your family picture outfits. I can’t help with your circus, as I’ve got all eyes on the monkeys in mine – ha! But, I feel you. 😉 And I’m here for you with a few tips on what to wear for family pictures this year, to make the day easier + happier all around.

Pick a location
- Your location (and time of year) will obviously inform what you wear, as well as the overall color scheme and vibe, so choosing this first definitely helps. For example, a sunset beach photoshoot looks great with whites, light neutrals, flowy dresses…not jewel tones and sweaters, ya feel? We’ve used a service called Shoott for the past few years and have had GREAT results; it’s essentially an on-call photo service where you pay only for photos you want to actually purchase, versus paying up front for a full shoot. With young kids especially, I cannot stress the value in this enough. When Olivia was about nine months old, we paid the big bucks for a regular shoot with an esteemed photographer on the beach. Now, I’m ALL FOR supporting small businesses, women in business, the whole nine yards – I mean, obviously. But for family photos with babies or young kiddos especially, I think it’s really important to have a photographer who cares about the details to “get the shot” – and I’m used to that from shooting with Mimi, who is truly a queen with a camera. While we did get some beautiful shots from that session, we also had SO many “bloopers” with the baby – and it felt like we were paying for things that wouldn’t end up on any wall. With Shoott, you get a full session, but you’re ONLY paying for the photos you end up loving + wanting for yourself. If that’s five photos, awesome – you pay around $15 an image (I think). (BUT if you use code C7CFEEF3 at checkout you’ll get 20% off your purchase of 5+ photos – I’m not working with the brand (I wish!!) and all paying customers get a code like this after booking your own session, just to share with friends + family! And since y’all are my friends… 😉 ). For all 3 times using them in the past now, I’ve ended up purchasing our entire session of 100+ images, and purchasing the entire session is only $250 – which is still cheaper than most individual photography shoots. So truly, it’s a steal – tip your photographer well!!!
- For something like Shoott, there’s a list of specific locations to choose from when booking your session. Otherwise, start by Googling or Instagram-searching photographers in your area, and make sure you check out their work and/or reviews; photography is an art, and each artist has their own preferred style of shooting, editing, etc, so make sure you like their vibe or “aesthetic.” But you’ll also probably see some repeat locations if they’ve got personal favorites, so it can give you ideas for backdrop, too.
- Your location “vibe” will impact your outfit coordination, too. For example, if you’re going with that wildflower field aesthetic, you’ll likely end up in a boho chic dress, maybe fall booties and a hat – you catch the drift. But if you’re going more “formal,” that might make for a dressier shoot. A few years back, we shot at a famous national park with military monuments, so I knew that would be a more formal backdrop; Liv and I wore matching mommy-and-me style dresses, J had a dress shirt + slacks, I did heels, the whole nine yards. But it very much fit the aesthetic, so it worked!

Our 2021 Family Photos

Make a private Pinterest board!
- Pinterest is obviously ~the place~ for instant inspo. But, I personally lovelovelove using it to curate specific shots you hope to recreate in your own sessions. Beyond saving outfit or setting inspiration, create a private board where you can save specific angles or looks – most photographers don’t mind if you literally show them a shot and say I want us to do this! It gives a concreate vision to work towards together.
Start with your own outfit
- Go dressier than your everyday. If your daily uniform is leggings and a sweatshirt…obviously you’ll want to kick it up a notch for family picture outfits. 😉
- Dresses photograph beautifully – opt for a more fitted waist, a flattering top, and flow. Make sure it’s moveable so that any candid captures of movement in the moment don’t have wardrobe mishaps! (Bodycon shows every bump, roll, and line, but shift dresses won’t give you ANY shape…the best dress will cinch or come together around the waistline, but then flow out so that it has some movement and doesn’t stick to any roll in an unflattering or uncomfortable way!)
- Make sure your undergarments are seamless, wireless, and/or line-free whenever possible! Here are the best wireless bras I’ve tried + these are my FAVORITE no-show undies!
- If you’re wearing denim, keep it classic in wash and cut – avoid ripped jeans or trendy styles!
- Minimal fuss, maximal flatter! Smocking is always a really flattering AND fuss-free choice, and it’s stretchy and wrinkle-free.
- Know which fabrics feel + flow best. Something like linen will wrinkle instantly – which would be a major bummer if you bend over to help a kiddo or switch positions and end up a wrinkly mess. Chiffon flows BEAUTIFULLY with no wrinkle, so I always lovelovelove that in a dress for great flow, feel, AND fabric lay.
- Let it still feel like you! The best photos will come when you feel comfortable and beautiful, so that you can smile and move naturally and just feel freaking good. So if you feel stiff or uncomfortable, make a change!

Pick a color palette
- Choose a starting shade and a neutral. This isn’t an exact science – it’s just what I personally do to kick things off. I start with a specific color, typically because I’m starting with an idea in my head or my own outfit. Then, I choose what neutral color family would work best with that (ie: browns, greys, creams, etc). Denim acts as a neutral in my book here, too!
- Keep colors complementary. Generally, complementary colors are across each other on the color wheel!
- Keep patterns to a minimum. Anything too bold or loud will take away from your faces – and you’ll want the focus on YOU, not your clothes.
- Really, don’t put more than two people in a pattern. And when considering patterns, you may have a solid COLOR piece of clothing that has a pattern via *texture* (like Swiss dots or a lace overlay, etc).
- Think of your home and interior space. If you plan on framing your photos (that’s the goal, right?), you might want to avoid colors that would instantly clash with your interior.
- I found some *awesome* explanations of color and coordinating off of the color wheel from this photographer’s website – check it out!
Don’t be too matchy-matchy
- Opt for shades of the same hue to keep things from being too matchy – like a darker green and lighter green, or shades of brown, etc.
- Choose different textures for any same-shade pieces. For example, a blue cotton dress on her, but a blue denim shirt on him.
- Of course, if you’re literally getting exact matching pieces for a mommy-and-me or sibling look, that’s fine!
Stay seasonally and texturally similar
- Meaning, even when you’re opting for different textures between people, keep the textures in the same seasonal sphere. Chiffon, for example, is known for being a beautifully flowy fabric, giving dresses that great movement. It’s lightweight and swingy, so it’s usually seen in pretty dresses for spring and summer – not worn in winter.

Family picture outfits for her – a few easy dresses that check off all of my boxes…

We’ve got a few different family picture outfits below so that if you’re STILL wondering what to wear for family pictures this year…you can just add to your Amazon cart for the whole fam and be good to go. 😉