Christmas is just around the corner and this is the time for family portraits.
If you’re thinking about what to wear and feel totally lost, here’s some tips so your shoot doesn’t end up an awkward family photo.
–Think about what feeling you want to convey. Is it fall-ish, summer, do you want to be fancy or casual? Country or urban? I know I wanted a country feel with beautiful sunset light. I also had a quilt that I love and wanted to include a pop of color and a comfortable feel. Think about any props that you could include to add to the “feel’ you want for your shoot.
–Don’t be too “matchy matchy”. Gone are the days of matching white t-shirts and jeans. It’s okay to combine different colors and patterns.
When I was choosing our outfits, I started with the family member that has the least amount of clothing (my husband) and chose what I liked out of his clothing. Then I went to the boys’ wardrobe and picked out the shirts of theirs that I liked. I laid them all out on my bed next to each other and picked the ones that looked good together. After this was done I then chose my outfit, since I have the most options.
–Think about the color wheel and what colors compliment each other.
If they are across from each other, then they are complimentary. For example, blue and orange, which are the colors that I went with. Even if you have different patterns, like we did, if they are in the same color range, then it will look okay. Pinterest is your friend. Feel free to search color combos that appeal to you and go from there.
-Choose clothing with no logos or pictures on them. One year we didn’t plan ahead and threw on clothing and took a quick picture in the backyard. I tried carefully to choose shirts with no logos, but completely overlooked the fact that Jesse’s shirt had a Nike swoop on it. Thankfully my dear friend was able to use her mad editing skills to get rid of it, but it still bugs me to this day.
-Be comfortable. Not to throw all the above tips out the window, but this tip is the most important. I believe that if you’re comfortable, your pictures will be awesome regardless of what you’re wearing. Make sure your clothing allows you to move around. Be true to yourself & your style and it’ll show in the pictures.
My dear sweet friend, Courtney, captured our little family this year and I love her so much for doing it. She got the sweet & silly faces that my boys make and am thankful to have these shots to mark this time in our lives. It was an IDEAL family photo day and they turned out better than I could have ever imagined.
Have you ordered your Christmas cards yet? If not, Shutterfly offers some really cute ones. They also have other photo items that are perfect for gifts. Such as a photo mug for grandma, an iphone case for your husband, or even a puzzle for your favorite great grandma. The options are endless. They even have lots of tips on making your next shoot an ideal family portrait session.
And Shutterfly is allowing me to host a giveaway, so you can get some of their products for FREE!!
All you have to do is leave a comment telling me
“what your ideal family portrait session looks like”
and you could win a $50 code towards any Shutterfly products.
Giveaway details: This giveaway closes December 8th at 11:30pm PST and winner will be chosen at random.
For more chances to win a Shutterfly coupon code, check out:
The Girl With The Smile 
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My ideal family portrait session feels and looks natural. It captures the phase of life personalities of the people in the photo. 🙂
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Rena….. I love all those pictures!!!!!! I want them all!!!!!!!!!!! =)
My ideal family portrait session would be fun and not stressful, my kids would be in great moods and the pictures would turn out beautiful and playful.
Great pictures! I love the one with the boys on your shoulders!
My ideal family shot is one with pops of color and looking casual and not completely posed. I love candid shots.
Love your color wheel! Itten would have been proud!
My ideal family portrait session would be outdoor, casual and hopefully my 1 year old in a good mood.
My children have had their naps! As long as they are in it and not crying they are adorable!
My ideal photo session would be one where my family is relaxed and the photographer captures us being ourselves. I am looking forward to family photos this month…my husband, myself and our two kids in our favorite polar bear pajamas! Merry Christmas! Ps–I found your blog through Margaret Sierdsma. My husband and I went to college with her in ohio.
Merry Christmas to you! Thanks for reading! 🙂
The ideal family photo would be a photo that captures the individualism of each person with a funny, unique and a shot with everyone smiling and looking at the camera. Thee are 6 in our family and kiddos are pretty young. That’s my ideal 🙂
My ideal photo family photo session is at the beach on an overcast day with my 5 month old baby grinning her great toothless smile. Also, there would be no stains on any of our shirts and my hair looks good. I don’t have to worry about my husband because he always looks good.
My ideal family portrait session has us all looking cute and happy, hopefully reflecting the joy and gratefulness we are feeling… and not looking too awkward… although I might want to make Reid an outfit like the little boy’s in the first link you posted… you know, the one with the zipper! Your family pics turned out great! Beautiful!
Beautiful family pictures! My ideal family portrait is any picture where all my children are not crying or throwing a tantrum! With 3 little ones, that does not happen very often!
My ideal family portrait is one shows the true personalities of each member of our family. Yes, of course it is nice if everybody looks put together and is actually looking where they are suppose to be, but would that really be a reflection of who we are? Nope.
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my ideal portrait setting would of been in front of a lovely huge tree or maybe with santa and the kids…. or maybe in the snow 🙂
tcogbill at live dot com
Ideal portrait setting is on the beach!
My ideal family portrait would be anything that is natural, not being forced to look at the camera and say cheese!
My ideal portrait session would be on the beach!
My ideal family portrait session would be happy, bright and colorful to represent the array of personalities in our little family. I would pick a location that has special meaning to us to make it more meaningful.
I would love to just have all of my kids personalities shine. No staging for them at all! I love the natural type pictures!
My ideal family portrait session would be outdoors in nature, especially in some trees around Fall time. It would just be a relaxed and fun time together.