Holiday Family Photoshoot Tips

It may seem a little premature to be thinking about family pictures for holiday cards, but as every last-minute planner can tell you, if it doesn’t happen in the fall, it’s probably not going to happen at all. The first step to a successful and meltdown-free family shoot, before booking a photographer and daydreaming about locations, is to pick outfits that make the whole family happy. And with family members ranging from comfort-loving husbands to hard-to-please teens, this is no easy feat.

Flexibility is key, but so is an overall theme that is relaxed enough to accommodate everyone’s personal preferences but focused enough to be cohesive. And this starts with a color palette. Although the palettes shown here are more focused, your color palette can include up to 5-6 colors and still create a harmonious look. Here, some ideas for creating stylish, flattering photo-friendly looks for the whole family.

• Pick Your Colors

Sure, you might love magenta and chartreuse, but unless you have a fashion-forward family and an unlimited budget, it might be hard to find outfits for the whole family in these colors. Take the setting, the time of year, and your family’s preferences into account when choosing shades. If your teen refuses to wear pink, putting her in a head-to-toe blush ensemble isn’t going to yield the best results.

• Get Inspired

Pinterest and Instagram are great sources of inspiration for family photo shoots, but they are not the only places to get inspired. Start with a single item of clothing that could be worn in the shoot, preferably one with a print, and use that as the inspiration for the rest of the palette. Maybe it’s a floral dress for you, or a plaid shirt for your husband. Use the colors in that pattern, and tie the rest of the family in that way.

• Blend, Don’t Match

Outfits in a family photo look best when the colors are from the same family and harmonize well together, rather than matching exactly. Don’t feel like everyone in the family needs to wear the exact same shade of blue, or the same floral print. The end result isn’t as creative looking, and there’s bound to be a family member who is not happy with the overall look.

• Get Input

Once you have your color palette, enlist the help of the pickiest family members in picking their clothes for the shoot. This is most successful (and less stressful) when you allow them to choose from a handful of looks that you have preselected. Buy-in is important. You want everybody on board and in a good mood on picture day.

• Give a Little

When it comes to the details on the big day, give your kids the freedom to make some of their own stylistic choices, so that they can be comfortable and feel like themselves on camera. If your daughter wants to wear her hair down instead of up, or your young son kicks off his new shoes, go with it. A picture with relaxed and happy family members is worth a few concessions. The results will be well worth it.

I hope that these looks have inspired you to get started creating fashionable looks for the entire family! 

Fashionably,

Afton