OK, my husband and I are finaly going to have family pics taken next Sun. I have been wanting them for 2 years now. There is the two of us and our 2 year old son, and we are going to do the whole mix & match (just us, just our son, all of us, my hubby & son, me and our son)
Any way, we can't figure out what to wear.
Part of me would like to get all dressed up, the guys in a suit, me in a dress.
But then I was also thinking that all of us wearing just jeans and and white T-shirts would be cool too.
So what do you guys think?
Formal or casual?
Thank you all so much for your advice, I couldn’t help but giggle at how many responses I got!
Well, after much thought we decided that we are not the type of people that gets all dressed up for no reason, but we are also not the type of people that wears T-shirts all the time either. And we wanted these pictures to reflect who we are most of the time. So we decided to all wear jeans, my husband wore a black short-sleeved polo type shirt, I wore a white long sleeved blouse with a black long sleeved sweater over it, and my son wore a white long sleeved polo type shirt that had a black trim around the collar and sleeves. And I loved the pics! They fit us and our personalities.
Although, I do still want to get all dressed up, I think I might just do that on our own at home, just so that I can have them.
Thank you all!
J.
I personally like the clean look - white background and white shirts and blue jeans or kaki pants. Look at some photographers websites to get some ideas.
Hi!
You could always just wear the same color. I've taken tons of family pics from when my son was 3 mos., 6 mos., 9 mos., etc. One year we wore red and grey for Christmas, another year it was yellow. And the last pic we took we all wore white tops with blue jeans. I left the boys shoes off and they took pics with their SO WHITE socks! :) It was really cute. So my choice will always be to coordinate a color, then everyone can wear what looks best on them. Good luck!
Where are you going for your photos? As a custom photographer, I would say you want to match the style of your photographer. I do candid/natural photography, so a family dressed to the nines wouldn't match my style.
That said, you don't need to be matchy-matchy. I tell my clients to coordinate, not match. For example for my personal family photos this summer, DH wore kakhi shorts and a blue polo. I wore olive capris and an orangish shirt, and DD wore a plaid dress with all those colors (and then some).
I would make your DS the focus of the images and build your outfit and your husband's around him.
Just my 2 cents ;)
Since you are taking so many pictures, how about a little bit of both. Take some formal and others casual-=-say cheese.
Well, I think it would depend on your family personality. Being a photographer, I think that most kids are more comfortable wearing what they usually wear. Sometimes it can be a chore to get the kids to look happy in camera, let alone to make sure that the clothes are straight and nice. If you are a casual and fun family, it would be nice for your family to show you as the fun family you are. Just my 2 cents. :D
I would not wear white- it is too light for indoor studio pix.
a medium pastel would be better
maybe ligtht blue for you and your hubby.
I would dress the baby in a brighter color- you want him to stand out.
I did a great family pix with my husband and I in subtle colors and my daughter in a red dress. it was a great picture.
J.,
I really like a casual, uniform outfit like the white tees with denim. Or a white shirt (oxford), a matching(light argyle) vest and khakis , or something like that. It would be timeless. Look or think about the family pictures with dated weird clothes. It provides a time snapshot, but benefits or amuzes the future generations and in the meantime, you will be looking at this for about 40 years. You don't want to say " what was I thinking when I bought that dress!'
Unless you are Onassis like in your taste and it's all very simple. Likewise, the hair. The less complicated the fashion, the simpler, the better.
We have one where we all had crew neck cotton sweaters but in different color and it looked great. Pink, yellow,purple,blue, etc. Big family pic.
My 2 cents.
Jyllhyll
Speaking from the Photographer's point of view, wear what you are comfortable in. If you're always wearing jeans, go that route. If you're the type of family that looks great dressed up, go for it. Jeans and white shirts ALWAYS look great for fun casual shots especially if you're able to use a white background, and can change your pictures from colour, to black and white or antique. Have Fun!!
We've done family pictures a few times since my daughter was born (she's almost 2). I love the casual pictures better. We're all more relaxed and we've captured some really great moments of "normal" interactions...my husband holding my daughter upside down etc. The other way that I absolutely loved was when the adults dressed in white shirts and jeans and we put my daughter in a bright colored outfit. She really popped out in front of us. Even if you don't go with white shirts, solid colors are best.
Good luck! I hope the pictures turn out great. When we took my daughter for her pictures at 1 year old we also brought some of her favorite toys to help her feel comfortable. We have a great one of her playing the musical instruments and a really cute on of her with her baby doll. It's fun to capture who they are at this time in their life. How fun to look back and remember...that was your favorite truck...you used to drive that all over the house! Plus, it might help you get a great smile...or a super cute pose of him intensely playing. I love more natural pictures!
Let us know how it goes!!
I am responding to this from a mom point of view and a professional photographer.
Instead of driving yourself crazy over this think about these points.
- what reflects your family
- where will you display them, will one concept of choices look better in the room than another. I made a very different choice last time because they were going to go in the family room vs. my living room
-regardless of what you choose this time, you will do this again at another time, then you can choose something different.
-is this to celebrate a special occasion?
These are just some food for thought. The most important thing is to make it happen.
I DO REALLY want to impress the coorinating of the clothes to go with each other. Whether fancy or casual just look good
together. Solids are best. Don't distract from faces. :)
Here's a tidbit....Lay all the clothes of everyone on the bed that you are considering. Close your eyes then open them. If something jumps out at you...get rid of it. :) Sounds weird, I know but, it does work. If someone is large, for sure, wear dark solids and long sleeves. It's much more flattering.
Consider one time doing them casual on the floor, another time outside, another time dressed up in the studio. Ask your photographer to show some different sessions he has done, this will give you some ideas for the future.
I agree as well....JEANS!we just did our family pics an we wore jeans with dallas cowboy jersys. it looked sooo cute. we also go to sears for pictures.
I like the casual idea, because for my family, we end op with all formal pics of the holidays(when were dressed up) and weddings etc. I think the casual, but posed ones are the best! Have fun! I Hope it turns out great!
Hi J., I work for a photographer and my best advice is wear what you feel good in! If you get dressed up a lot, then by all means do that, but if your family is most comfortable in jeans or casual clothing, then that is what you should do. You family portrait should be a real reflection of your family. Avoid bold patterns, everyone wearing the same or at least monochromatic clothing will keep the focus on you.
Hi J.,
I agree with everyone else... Jeans! We've done many family pictures, but we do not do the normal ones at a portrait studio, we do them outside at the park. Here is a suggestion though that my family does. When we go on vacation I look up local photographers and have our pictures taken while on vacation. We've had them done in places like Marco Island Florida on the Beach at sunset and then most recently in Myrtle Beach on the beach. For the ones on Marco we wore Kahki shorts and white T.Shirts. For the ones on Myrtle Beach we all wore jean shorts, my daughter wore a plaid sundress with bright colors. My husband and son wore golf shirts each picking a color from my daughters dress as did I with my shirt. It turned out SO NICE!! My kids are 4 and 18 months so it was way cute! I have a friend who goes to Penney's every year and honestly each picture looks the same other than the change of clothes.
Have fun no matter what though :)
J. S. (also :) )
I have always thought the casual ones look so much better. The dressed up ones look stiff, like you were posing for a church picture. I would definately go with the jeans. You could also call and ask the photographers opnion. You could also check out
www.searsportrait.com/cpi/en-US/portraitshowcase/
for some ideas.
J.,
We are all going next week also for our first picture. My son is 18 months. I say go casual, it will look more natural and cuter, I think. Just be yourself! :) Have fun!
Before we had our family pics taken I went to www.kiddiekandids.com and looked at pictures in their gallery. Seeing other's pictures gave me a good idea of what backgrounds to choose, poses, and what clothing to wear.
I'm sure you've already scheduled an appt. somewhere, but if it doesn't work out I strongly suggest trying Kiddie Kandids (inside Babies R Us). We've had all of my sons pics taken there (including our family picture) and they are fabulous! Little bit pricey but well worth it!
P.S.-We did "business casual" in our pictures and I like how they turned out. My husband wore a dress shirt without the tie & jacket, my son wore a short-sleeved shirt with a collar, and I wore a lace cami. It looked nice without being too dressy or too casual. Good Luck!
