The 5 best styling tips and tricks!

Collins Family

Boise, Idaho Foothills Session

You’ve booked your extended family session and now you have to figure out what to wear! Yikes! Planning and finding outfits can be the hardest part about family pictures. I’m sharing my five best styling tips to help you feel confident and calm as you prepare for your extended family session.

Styling tip #1- Pick 3 or 4 colors

Extended family pictures look best when the majority of people dress in neutrals. Say it out loud with me, “Neutrals are my friend!” It gives the photos a seamless, cohesive look! But what are neutrals, exactly?

Neutrals can also be referred to as “earth tones”. These types of colors go with anything, and look SO GOOD on camera. Neutrals are colors like off-white, cream, grey, taupe, tan, brown, and blue. Check out the examples below.

Color combinations that work well together

Coordinate, not match

The Collins family chose their colors by first looking at the decor and colors they all had in their homes. They looked at examples online and came up with 4 color combinations. As you can tell, all of the neutral colors coordinate, not match! This is what your goal should be! They chose green, brown, tan, and light blue. You should also consider the landscape and colors in the background of your photos. Since their photo shoot took place in the spring (April), I told them there would be green and brown tones in the background.

Styling tip # 2- What colors and styles to avoid (or not wear much of)

I’ve been photographing families for a while and have seen all sorts of colors and outfits. So I know what works for the locations I choose for your shoot. I’ve got your best interests in mind and know what colors look good (and not so good!) on camera.

Please avoid:

Bright White: White can cast a blue hue and is hard to correct. It also can make you look washed out. Off-white or cream is better!

Black: It can dull the image and details in the clothing can get lost. A little black is fine, but an entire dress or shirt isn’t something I recommend.

Neon: These types of colors worn on any clothing or shoes is very distracting and draws your eyes right to it.

Bright colors: Bright yellow, red, blue, purple. Bright yellow will draw your eyes right to it and it doesn’t look good in large group photos. Red is one of the hardest colors to photograph because again, it can get really bright and distracting; dark red or maroon is fine though! Bright blue can look unnatural in photos and isn’t my favorite. Look at the color palette above for alternatives.

Everyone wearing jeans: Jeans are like salt. It’s best when you can just sprinkle it in. It brings out the best in the outfits. Too many jeans and it can ruin a photo just like too much salt can ruin a recipe. Don’t have everyone wear jeans. Stick with 1/3 of people (max) wearing jeans. Dresses or skirts for girls, and khaki pants for boys are great alternatives. I recommend lighter-colored jeans for spring/summer and dark jeans for fall/winter.

Athletic shoes: Running, basketball, and any other athletic shoes shouldn’t be worn. Look for dressier types of shoes that don’t have any logos or distracting markings or colors.

Casual clothes…dressier is better: Extended family photos are a special occasion! Getting photos ALL together just doesn’t happen that often. I recommend dresses for the ladies and for guys I recommend slacks and a button up shirt (no logos!). These outfits are more flattering for all body types and look more special for photos.

Styling tip #3- Group text each other!

Group photos need to look cohesive and coordinate all together. So here’s what you do…text photos of your outfits laid out (on the ground or bed) to each family (or mom in charge).

While preparing for their family session and finding outfits, Sabra Collins said “We made a few adjustments after seeing everyone’s clothes, and re-sent out another picture of the clothes.  I can’t say that it was super easy to get the right clothes the first time, it took several trips back and forth to stores and online shopping, but it definitely paid off.  I think that made all the difference to making sure our clothes were all coordinated.”

Session tip #4- Prep your kids

If you amp up your kids and tell them how exciting this photo session will be, especially if there is a treat at the end, the kids will cooperate much better! Keep your mood positive and your kids will tend to follow suit.

Arrive at the session early, but not too early! (10 minutes is great!) Preview the location ahead of time so you know exactly where to go and the typical traffic for that time of the day.

Make sure you’ve fed all your children before the photoshoot and have them use the bathroom. If you have children ages 0-3 please wait to dress them in their outfits when you arrive.

Be prepared for the weather! Stay cool by bringing lots of cold water and portable fans in the summer, or stay warm by bringing coats to wear in between shots and hand warmers in the fall/winter!

Extended family sessions will take a little bit longer than a single family session, so be prepared with non-messy snacks and water for the kiddos.

Checkout my blog post for more tips on how to prep your kids: The complete check list

Session tip #5- Have a picnic/treat/party afterwards!

After their family session was over the Collins family had a picnic afterwards. They supplied cookies, brownies, juice boxes, and water. It was so nice to celebrate after the session was done!

So there you have it!

Pick your 3-4 neutral colors, know what colors to avoid, group text each other, prep your kids well using my tips, and plan on having a picnic/party afterwards if you can!

I hope these tips were helpful! Enjoy the photos from the Collins session.

Interested in getting photos done with all the family? I’d love to work with you! Please contact me to book your session! To view more of my recent work, follow me on instagram.