Allowing everyone's personality to shine through, while also feeling comfortable is key! Choose a couple of coordinating colors, and add in some grays, whites or blacks. Say dad is wearing a red plaid shirt, then maybe a daughter could throw on a red plaid hat. Unless of course you love the classic black look, then all throw on some jeans and black shirts!! This also looks very classy with some grays and whites throw in the mix too!

Imagine everyone in the group wearing their own noisy pattern and the fashion chaos that would ensue! Subtle stripes could make the cut as long as everyone isn't in stripes, but try to avoid dressing in loud, noisy patterns. If you have that "to die for" patterned top you want to wear, then choose that top for one person, and play off the colors in it to dress all the other members in solid colors to compliment that pattern. 

Logos on shirts should be avoided as I find they degrade the photos and can be distracting. I know we all love our hats, but if absolutely necessary, lets make them classy! Hats also tend to shade the face of the hat wearer and we all want to see your bright eyes! So, please, try to avoid those beat up baseball hats :)

Will you be hanging your prints or canvasses on the walls of your home? Keeping in mind the color scheme of your home where the photos will be hung can guide you in what to wear on that day. Are your walls neutral whites or light grays? Then pretty much anything goes. Are your walls yellow or green? If so, do you want bright pink or reds against a severely contrasting wall or colors that may clash? Something to keep in mind for sure!

Adding accessories to your family's outfits can really add a WOW! factor. Think of simple necklaces, ties for the boys, scarves. Does your husband have on a red shirt? Maybe the wife adds a red scarf over her white shirt? Does your son have on a tan shirt? Maybe your daughter has a cute, coordinating tan handbag she loves! Try and think of ways to use accessories to tie in everyone's outfits. You will look amazing, I'm sure of it. 

As the title says, adding different textures really looks amazing in photos. Maybe mom has on a nice cotton shirt, dad has on a wool sweater and one of the kids has on a knit chunky scarf. The possibilities are endless here, so have fun with it!

Planning your outfits to separate you from your background is important to the final look of your photos. Is your background yellowing tall grasses or bright yellow leaves? It would be best to avoid wearing yellows in this case as we don't want you to blend INTO the background, we want you to STAND OUT! Same goes for lots of green leaves or trees in the background. Wearing green in this case might not look all that fabulous, and we don't want your family to look like floating heads among the nature landscape behind you. 

Allowing your family to coordinate with the season will add that cohesive feel, plus you'll feel weather-ready in the clothes you choose to wear that day. Some great ideas for each season are:

Fall: Brown, burgundy, orange &  white / denim, yellow, white & burgundy / navy, tan & cream / denim & tan / navy, bright yellow & white

Winter: Navy, burgundy & white / red, gray & black / red or burgundy, tan & denim

Spring: Blush, teal & white / light blue, tan & white / navy, yellow & white

Summer: Tan & white / light blue, tan & white / blue, green, yellow

My most spoken phrase, is "just google it". There are so many great ideas on the internet for outfit ideas. Google "family photo outfit ideas" and you will find endless ideas of color choices to make you all look stunning. Once you've found your basic idea, go searching through everyone's clothes and lay them all out on the bed together. It will give you a great idea of what it will all look like together. Then, if you have any doubts, send a photo of it all to me (people in the clothes or spread out on your bed) and I can try to help give you some more ideas or simply say "Perfect!! You'll look AMAZING in those!"

Once you've chosen your outfits, make sure they're all ready to go well in advance and all clean, lint rolled (for those of us with endless hair from our beloved pets!) and wrinkle-free. Don't forget the coordinating and mud free footwear and chocolate cake snack faces of the littles!