What do we wear for our family photos?


This is what I do for my job. I love creating timeless images of what makes your family unique. And yet, I can still find myself Googling, “what to wear for family photos” the week before my own session. I thought I would walk you through my own thought process on picking out clothes for our family photos. If you are a visual learner, you can check out an Instagram reel I made about this same thing.

Start with one person and work your way out.

Pick the anchor and go


Sometimes this is me and what I want to wear to feel the best about myself. Sometimes this is my middle kid who is the most sensitive to clothing textures. Sometimes it’s my youngest because I just got a hand me down dress that I want to photograph her in. Regardless of who it is in your family, pick one person and pick one outfit for them. In the case of our most recent photos, I was trading with another photographer and knew I would be warm while working but wanted to look cozy for our fall family photos.


I chose boot cut jeans. This is my most flattering cut. They’re coming back now, but I’ve chased all the trends with jeans and I always feel the most confident about myself in a pair of boot cut jeans. Regardless of the trend, you should feel your best in your family photos. Since I was going to be working, I wore my favorite cut of tank top from Target in an olive color and then a purple cardigan to go over it. This provides some layers and depth and the color scheme of our family photo. Neutral in the jeans and olive and a pop of muted purple.

Next, I chose a neutral dress for my daughter. I had just gotten a big bag of hand me downs and found so many cute dresses. This one had some cute details with buttons and slight pattern with the small stripes.

For my husband, I went in his closet and chose a button-down shirt. He has so many solid color options for work, but I found this plaid pattern that felt more fall-ish and had natural creams and browns that went with my daughter’s dress and the earthy tones of my outfit.

My boys are tricky. Both only want to wear “comfy pants” (aka sweatpants). So, I knew they might be tricky. Luckily, they were in a cooperative mood, and one wore khaki-colored pants he wears for Cub Scouts and the other Jeans. I am on the hunt for soft, sweatpants like material nicer looking pants if anyone has any leads. Not necessarily for photos, but to make my life easier! I bought my older son this chambray short sleeve button down shirt over the summer for Church and photos. I believe it was from Target. We’ve had the olive and blue striped shirt for ages. Once again, it goes with my olive and has blue in it, so my middle kid was happy.

I love the results.


Everyone was comfortable, which made for a much better experience. We wore colors that went with the season, and I love the end result. I am always available to walk my clients through this process with their own wardrobe. What other questions do you have about what to wear for photos? Send me an email and let me know.


Many thanks to my friend Greg Thompson for taking these photos and providing them to me to edit in the style I deliver to my clients.