After my epic fail at holiday cards back in 2018, I’ve vowed to do better and actually be on top of things during the holiday season. That means actually planning out a shoot for family photos.
I’ve been planning and executing shoots for this blog for years now so it should be no big deal right? But adding Ted and Andrew was a whole new ballgame. Between coordinating schedules, weather, location, clothes, whoof it’s a doozy. And we only have one kid!
I was also shocked at how surprisingly difficult it was to coordinate all our outfits without shopping for anything new. I never really appreciated how hard it can be to get those coordinated but not matching looks for a family. Two people is easy but adding that tiny third person can really throw me for a loop. Add extra kids and I tip my hat to you.
I wanted to help out other moms who are trying to get an entire family into coordinated outfits for family photos, then actually make it through the shoot without too much stress. Here’s how I did it!
Planning Outfits for Family Photos
First I thought about color schemes in terms of clothes and my location. I knew that I’d be shooting in front of some really vibrant orange trees so I wanted clothes that would play well against those colors.
I also thought about what clothes we already owned that fit into my scheme. You can easily go out and buy all new outfits for the whole family if that’s your jam. It would probably be easier to get everyone coordinated perfectly that way. But for us, I just wanted to work within what we already own. For more cohesive pictures, I probably should have snagged a different pair of shoes for Ted (he only has blue sneakers and these green boots) and a different coat for his as well.
Once I had an idea of colors, I wanted to make sure they were scattered throughout. Meaning, I picked brown, white, and blue but I wanted to make sure we weren’t all wearing blue pants, white shirts, and brown shoes. So Andrew had brown pants and a blue sweater. Teddy had blue pants and a white shirt. And I had a brown skirt and a white shirt.
Some color groupings that look great together in photos:
- neutrals (white, grey, black, beige)
- brown, white, blue
- red, white, brown
- orange, beige, brown
- white, blue, beige
- gree, white, red
- red, white, blue
Finally, I thought about adding dimension to the outfits. It’s easy to think of it like this: color, pattern, texture, shine (this isn’t an original thought of mine. I read it somewhere years ago). These four aspects add visual interest so I tried to incorporate them through our outfits as a whole. I didn’t worry about each of our three outfits having all four aspects (colors, pattern, texture, shine) but just that we had all four overall.
Other things to think about when Planning Family Photos
Overall it was a pretty good experience and I’m very happy with how the photos turned out. I took them myself with the help of a tripod and remote. With a little practice, it’s easy to get great photos on your own. The main trick is to set everything up with your family in the frame then take tons of photos. Smile, laugh, tickle your kids, and just keep snapping throughout it all. I took 133 photos in total during our shoot. That is of all the groupings: all three of us together, Ted with Andrew, Ted with me, Ted alone, Andrew and I together. The first batch of edits cut 133 down to 57, then the second round of culling cut it down to 38, and from those 30-something, I’ll pick a couple to have printed and framed or turned into Christmas cards.
I also was aware that I’m shooting photos with a toddler so I had about 10-20 minutes total to get everything done. We prioritized our group shot because that’s the one I wanted the most then we let the rest be more candid.
I also brought a couple of small toys so he could hold something if needed or I could place it on top of the camera to get him to look at it. I’ve heard other people bringing non-messy treats for kids.
I also tried to make it a fun time for Teddy. He was able to run around, splash in puddles, and play with leaves while I set everything up. I also made sure we shot near a playground so he could play afterward. We then made a morning out of it by shooting pictures then going to pick up carving pumpkins for Halloween.
chukka boots // white polo // corduroy overalls // leopard print skirt // knit cardigan // cap-toe pumps // crewneck sweater (more affordable version here) // slim fit chinos // retro Nike sneakers
cable knit sweater // Hunter boots // toddler pull on jeans // green corduroy pants // stripe 3/4 length tee // leopard print flats //green check button-down // charcoal chinos // fleece vest // boat shoes
red pants // holiday oxford shirt // penny loafers//grey peacoat // sparkly stud earrings // little red dress // black pumps // red plaid button-down //grey suit jacket // grey suit pants // black dress shoes
