Advice on clothes for family picture

[twobabes]

We are having a family picture taken in a few weeks - it will actually be me and the two kids (boy and girl, ages 3 and 1) and not dh (surprise for him). I want the picture to have a candid look, informal rather than posed. So I was thinking we'd wear some combo of white shirts and jeans, but I'm afraid we'll look washed out on a white background, so I also considered brown shirts and jeans.

Any other color or shirt style ideas??

I will likely have the prints done in black & white, so the exact color may not matter. I'm probably over thinking this, but I'm paralyzed. I looked through the Hanna Andersson catalog and that freaked me out - - I love the kids' clothes in the catalog, but we don't need to be that matchy-matchy! :)

[MacMacMoo]

Are you sure it's always a white background? Check to see if they have other backgrounds...

My SIL gets pics of her twin boy and girl at Penny's constantly (okay so it's more like every other month but that's more than I go get pics made lol)

Looking over the pics she's done that were casual
-everyone in red shirts and jeans
-she's in a yellow shirt with jeans, girl in a jean dress, boy in jean overalls and plaid shirt
-she was in fun print shirt and the kids clothes were colors pulled from it

and just for fun, here's the pic when my MIL wanted pics of all her grandbabies and kids:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/819twins/SOLG0yd6O8I/AAAAAAAAPZk/DLVGH1olr-k/Everyone%20vertical%20pose.jpg

[mecawa]

We did a family pic once with all jeans and white polo's and we had a white background. I actually really liked the picture and didn't think it looked too washed out. Another one we did was a generational one (so all girls) and we all had on jeans and pink tops in different shades, that was on a gray background and came out really really nice. The most recent one I had done back in January and it was of me, dh, and dd. We did jeans, black sweaters, (dd's sweater had a little pink on it) and that was on a grayish type of background. There are a lot of different combinations, I found that it helped to go on different portrait studio's/photographers websites and look at their samples. You can get a lot of ideas that way. Is there a color that you think the three of you all look really good in? You could use that with jeans or khaki bottoms. I agree with not wanting to get too matchy, sometimes that is too busy looking for a pic and you don't even notice the people in the pick just the matchy outfits, lol.

If you are doing them in black and white, what about at black background, jeans, white button downs or sweaters.

[CiderLogan]

Personally I don't care for the whole-family-matching look -- I tend to notice the matchiness of the clothes over the picture itself. That said (and I'm sure it seems like I'm contradicting myself), I love matching kids. So, if I were you, I'd dress the kids in something sorta coordinated (like maybe they'd both be wearing brown and white, say) and then I'd wear something somewhat coordinated (say, all brown). (For instance, I match my DDs in, say, pink and black, and then have DH and I wear just black shirts and jeans). For one thing, I like the kids to stand out more than the adults. I also don't want to look like I'm trying to look like my DDs (it doesn't help that DD1 and I look like clones of each other!). OK, a rambling response, sorry.....

[WatchingThemGrow]

Does your DH ever pick out of mention what clothes you and the kids ever look good in? Oddly, my DH loves one outfit or another for each kid, and I guess he has mentioned he likes this color of my lounge pants over that color, LOL.

If you're looking for candid and informal, why not pick something that you have that he has mentioned liking or something that has some significance to him? DH loves to look back at our pictures and say, "Oh, I remember when she wore that little dress."

[twobabes]

Thanks for all the ideas! I don't know why I'm struggling with this!

As far as backgrounds, the photographer we use has some different backgrounds, but I only like the simple white or black. She did the last session of the kids with some gray and brown marble-y backgrounds and I just didn't like them. I guess I want it really simple, so I want the clothes simple, too.

[LBW]

We just did a family photo and all wore shades of blues and greens with jeans or khakis. I laid all the clothes out on the couch, and swapped out shirts until I got a mix I was happy with. The photo looks casual, but put together.

[MamaKath]

We have done matching shirts in gray with a white background and blue jeans with bare feet. Looked really good in color and b&w! My sister did one this year and each wore jeans and their favorite solid colored shirts. Hers was a color shot and while the looked well coordinated it was not "matchy matchy"!

[MontrealMum]

When I was a child my mom had my portrait taken professionally several times, always black and white. And the photographer told her not to put me in a white shirt, but a pastel one. So, she would be down in the basement with RIT dye making one of my white shirts pink, or yellow or something - don't ask me why she didn't buy a new one! You might want to check out pastel tones instead of white, they look "white" in the final b&w, but are not as harsh to the skin, and have some contrast with the background.

[twobabes]

I like the idea of gray or a pastel (with jeans and bare feet!), especially in black and white.
Thanks!

[sunriseiz]

I like the idea of gray or a pastel (with jeans and bare feet!), especially in black and white.
Thanks!

Ditto! I think the not-quite-white shirts would look great in BW!

[Melbel]

What a thoughtful gift. I am sure your DH will love his surprise.

I also prefer black or white backgrounds, as opposed to other colors/patterns. For your DD, I would put her in a dress (i.e. a simple slip dress) or skirt that coordinates with DS. IMO, polo shirts/jeans on a baby girl tend to look too boyish, and the look is too matchy. For a more natural candid photo in B&W, I prefer outdoor settings (beach, park, wooded area, lake setting, etc.). Can your photographer do outdoor shoots?

[twobabes]

Good point about the baby girl in a polo shirt - - she only wears dresses so far! :) I was actually thinking a white shirt with a denim jumper for her, rather than real jeans?