Hey ladies, just a light hearted question today. i booked us a session with a photographer to do spring pictures. (obviously, they are not for awhile!) we will be outside in rural Kansas, hopefully there will be some spring flowers around. she suggested we wear red or blue (she knows us and our coloring) and suggested avoiding white because "it's boring" lol. i tend to agree with her. but i'm not comfortable really, wearing red. so i am thinking blue.
in our family it is me, hubby, and our 6 year old son. i was thinking the two of them wear navy blue, and myself in something close but different. what do you think? i was thinking maybe a blue-gray. (coincidentally, would match my eyes, but who's counting? hehe)
i kind of wanted to avoid all of us wearing the exact same thing - i was thinking one of them in solid blue, one in maybe navy with white stripes...
suggestions?? oh and all the "springy" type colors (pink, purple, green, yellow) are probably out...nothing too feminine. thanks all!
ETA: thanks Mary - i didn't know much detail was too much - we are all pretty fair-skinned, with dark brown hair. my two men have dark brown eyes, mine are bluish-gray. we all look best in jewel tones or dark brown. maybe a darker green would work....hmm.
Thanks everyone, some wonderful ideas. Mary i LOVE the barefeet idea - i am already there! just not sure if me alone, or if i can talk the boys into it too ;)
this is the fun part - shopping! of course a lot will depend on what i can find, but that's the point - you all gave me a ton of ideas, thanks so much!
go with the color of 2013 Emerald, it is a gorgeous jewel tone that is right for everyone and will go beautifully with Navy.
my uncle + several friends are photographers. They all have their own preferences, but consistently agree that like/similar solid colors work best. Solids also place the focus on the face + long sleeves prevent a breakup of the visual lines.
Placing accent colors against solids draws the focus away from the faces, as does clothing which does not work well against the backdrop.... formal clothing in an outside setting or casual clothing in a formal setting.
They all also recommend thinking outside of the box....barefeet, etc. Good Luck on Great Shots!
Personally, I would have them wear solid tops an you wear something with a print.
Navy is a neutral so it looks good with everything except black or dark brown. In one of our best family portraits, My husband and oldest son are in navy sweaters and my step-daugther and I are in red. I'm looking at a spring 2013 clothing catalog right now and they have navy paired with white, yellow, lime green, emerald green, fuscia, powder blue, bright pink, soft pink, a marigold/khaki stripe, a sand color, khaki, a red/khaki stripe, turquoise, tomato red, and pure red.
Not loving the blue-gray idea. It will look really muddy and just not great with your coloring that you describe. I don't see white as boring but as bright and crisp and flattering-thats what I would go with. If not that then the shade of green that goes best with your coloring-sounds like emerald.
Heather gray. It's soft and neutral and complements Navy well.
Navy, like all other colors, comes in various shades. So you may need to play around a bit.
I like Navy with yellow myself - not a greenish yellow, but sort of a banana yellow. Try a darker green rather than a pastel green. In fact, navy is considered a neutral, so you may be surprised at what will go with it. I don't want to get too specific because I don't know what your (and your family's) coloring is.
Whatever you choose for yourself, add a bit of navy to your own outfit so you coordinate, not abruptly contrast, with the navy-clad guys.
I like Yello or Hunter Green.
My thoughts for colors that look nice with navy are white, cream, and green. White and cream don't have to be boring...if you have a good photographer, she will know what kind of background to set you against.
Our first every family portrait had husband in a navy jacket with white shirt, me in a light blue sweater, and daughter in white. We did several backgrounds, and they all looked really nice.
I love green and navy together, but not too dark...sage, maybe?
I would go with another shade of blue. The last time we had our family pics done, the boys wore navy shirts and my daughter and I wore light blue. We all wore jeans because we were going for casual and my guys hate to dress up.
I think I'd wear dark denim jeans, either straight skirts or jeans for the girls and of course long pants for the guys if they're out in a field.
This way you can choose whatever color of top you want. Don't do different geometric patterns. That's what will draw the eyes when looking at the picture. Not your faces.
Navy slacks sounds way to formal for an outdoor picture in my opinion. Navy seems more board room or office than outdoors.
I would do burgundy tops on the boys and you a print dress with burgundy/navy/white or grey pattern. Or your son a burgundy polo, dad a simple colored button down but a burgundy tie.
Red, pink, ivory or beige, and lime green are great complements to navy. Small touches of color are OK, for instance, you could wear a red scarf at your throat, or a red belt, the guys wearing a red tie or shirt to mix it up but incorporate the color. Or you could use pink, the guys red, or lime or spring green. You don't all have to wear the same thing, just keep the navy similar, the accent color the same or coordinating, and a style that fits each person.
Red goes well with navy blue.
We did Navy with our first family pics, I wore a lightweight sort of sweater top with just a different type of material than my hubby who wore a solid navy polo and our baby wore a striped top that was navy and sort of bluish gray. It looked awesome, I also put the little man in a white polo with a multicolor striped sweater vest that had a lot of navy and khaki shorts for some pics and that looked great too :)
We did family photos wearing navy.
I wore a beautiful sweater that my mother in law had given me, Dad wore a short sleeved shirt of a different hue, and my little daughter wore a darling "Navy" inspired dress. White with blue piping, a "sailor" collar, a red tie, and navy blue colored stripes. We matched, but not perfectly, and after all, my baby girl was the focus of the photos. They turned out really, really well.
Your son and husband can wear complimenting shades of blue in nice button down shirts and you can wear something that compliments in a pattern of some sort that "matches". You don't want to be TOO matchy matchy.
Dad had brown hair and blue eyes, I have brown eyes (blond hair that was henna'd auburn), and the baby had natural blonde with blue eyes.
Like I said, they turned out perfectly with her as the focus.
Don't over-think it.
Get a photo taken once a year.
Trust me, you will really value them.
Best wishes.
What if you all did different shades of navy?
Navy and white with accents of lime green, lemon yellow, bright orange, bright pink or turquoise - something that will pop! :) Have fun!
