Please help dress us for a family photo

[happy2bamom]

My friend volunteered to take family pictures of us this Saturday (I just found out yesterday) as a going away gift. I don't have much time to shop for outfits, so I need to either go with either one color or find matching outfits in a B&M store.

We are all very fair skinned. DCs are strawberry blonde and blonde. DH & I are light brown hair. So white shirts aren't a good option for our complexion. I was thinking of doing black shirts (maybe turtle necks) and denim jeans(the photos will be outside and we are in Michigan so it is cold). Would matching or coordinating scarfs be too much?

Is the all black thing a good idea or too blah? I would be happy for any suggestions as well as links to some ideas.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I personally wouldn't do all black, as I think black looks weird on kids. The last great family photo we had done was when everyone wore one of their favorite outfits and DH just picked a colored polo that helped tie it all together. We were all in shades of blue.

[ohiomom1121]

I actually really like black shirts and jeans in a picture. We did that for DD's one year pics and they turned out great. She was barefoot and they used a background that had multiple shades of brown (looks better than it sounds). It really focused in on faces and looked great.

[Melbel]

I have found that brown works great for my very fair children. It really seems to bring out the blue in their eyes (counterintuitive I know). If you accent in shades of red, then it would make a great holiday photo without being too Christmasy. I have been doing some searching for our family today.

ETA: I just purchased this dress for my DDs, and it is under $10 with Circle of Friends: http://www.gymboree.com/shop/dept_item.jsp

Some shirts/sweaters I was eyeing for DS: http://www.crazy8.com/shop/dept_item.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=25343743031184 93&PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524445988673&fit_type=Regular&bmUID=1288809826304

http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=7750600321108&cid=60667

For me: http://oldnavy.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=7923110020002&cid=20408
http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=7892100620001&cid=5745

For DH: http://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?cid=5180&pid=768761&vid=1&scid=768761002

[SnuggleBuggles]

We did black with khakis once and black with jeans once- I love how the kids look in black and how it makes their faces stand out. I recommend it. :) I posted on a similar thread about this the other day but for our recent pics we all did solid colored t-****s. I wore a deep purple, dh wore navy, ds1 wore gray and ds2 wore green. All the colors complemented the wearer and looked good together.
Beth

[groundhog74]

We've done all shades of brown and tan before and it worked well. We've also done blues and pinks. I like just solid fall colors too. Scarfs might be cute. I had a family do coordinating vests before.

http://picasaweb.google.com/agbphotos/Portraits#

[mom2binsd]

We did jeans and black sweaters, not bulky ones. DD had a black sweater with a zebra collar that provided just enough contrast. We are all pretty fair.

I think it looks timeless. This is my fav family pic, we haven't done one since DS was born...

I'd stay away from turtle necks. Maybe a scarf on each child if you want to break up the black

[poppy]

We did jeans and black sweaters, not bulky ones. DD had a black sweater with a zebra collar that provided just enough contrast. We are all pretty fair.

I think it looks timeless. This is my fav family pic, we haven't done one since DS was born...

I'd stay away from turtle necks. Maybe a scarf on each child if you want to break up the black


I didn't know black looked so great. Really nice family picture.

I've only done the boys all in white with khaki pants and myself in black.

But I think all black with jeans looks really nice.

[scriptkitten]

personally, i'm not really a fan of "timeless". i think you can look great 20 years from now without looking like "the beige family" that doesn't convey any sense of personality at all in their family photos. its fun to look back and be like "remember those uggs!!!" imagine if all of our families in the 1940s had worn nothing but white shirts and dress pants? we'd never be able to say "oh our grandma was fabulous in those fur hats she was so fond of!"

know what i mean?

instead, why not just stay in the same color scheme? or if your family is outdoorsy then you can have some in puffy vests over fleece with colorful scarves… or if you are sort of conservative, then perhaps everyone in their wool dress coats and nice pants with shoes?

since these pics are outdoor, then you only need to really worry about outerwear and what people are wearing on their bottoms

i don't know if you have a DD, but if she likes princess skirts why not have her wear a twirly skirt under her puffy jacket with leggings, cute boots and a cute knit hat that all coordinates?

your son could wear jeans, hiking boots, a puffy vest over a sweater and perhaps holding a favorite toy?

you would wear your best outerwear with cute knee boots and cute jeans? and so on?

i think the best pictures look fun and are full of personality… but that's just my opinion.

with how good DSLR cameras are these days, the entire image really pops if there are colors the photographer can work with!

have fun!

[HIU8]

We normally do DH and DS in Navy and DD and I in hot pink or red. All solids (either turtlenecks or polos). I don't like prints in photos and I don't like DD or DH in black so we opt not to do all black.

[SnuggleBuggles]

personally, i'm not really a fan of "timeless". i think you can look great 20 years from now without looking like "the beige family" that doesn't convey any sense of personality at all in their family photos. its fun to look back and be like "remember those uggs!!!" imagine if all of our families in the 1940s had worn nothing but white shirts and dress pants? we'd never be able to say "oh our grandma was fabulous in those fur hats she was so fond of!"

know what i mean?



In keeping with that idea- I wore skinny jeans and a pair of crimson patent leather ballet flats in our pictures. :)

Beth

[mom2binsd]

[QUOTE=scriptkitten;2909270]personally, i'm not really a fan of "timeless". i think you can look great 20 years from now without looking like "the beige family" that doesn't convey any sense of personality at all in their family photos. its fun to look back and be like "remember those uggs!!!" imagine if all of our families in the 1940s had worn nothing but white shirts and dress pants? we'd never be able to say "oh our grandma was fabulous in those fur hats she was so fond of!"

know what i mean?

Ouch- as the poster who commented on our black portrait seeming timeless that kinda stings.....didn't realize we were so boring....

[ha98ed14]

We've done all shades of brown and tan before and it worked well. We've also done blues and pinks. I like just solid fall colors too. Scarfs might be cute. I had a family do coordinating vests before.

http://picasaweb.google.com/agbphotos/Portraits#

I LOVE all the photos taken in front of the cedar (?) fence with the old hardware! Too cute!

[happy2bamom]

We did jeans and black sweaters, not bulky ones. DD had a black sweater with a zebra collar that provided just enough contrast. We are all pretty fair.

I think it looks timeless. This is my fav family pic, we haven't done one since DS was born...

I'd stay away from turtle necks. Maybe a scarf on each child if you want to break up the black

Beth, honestly I was out earlier today and found some dark chocolate sweaters for the boys and a similar one for DH. I was all set on browns until I saw your family photo. I love it. Now I'm back to black and denim. Thanks for the visual !

[JenaW]

Beth - I dont think scriptkitten was attacking you in any way. I logged in just to see your pic and had to comment on how awesome it is. That said, I've recently realized when looking at family pics online, I'm personally drawn to the ones with vibrant colors and not-so-matchy styles (even though every single one of my family pics have had a single color theme). I think scriptkitten gave some great ideas on a way to pull that together for a fun and funky alternative to everyone wearing the same color. But some people are still more comfortable with all coordinating. Her comments don't in any way detract from how well your portrait is too :)

[scriptkitten]

I'm sorry Beth!!!!!! I really didn't mean for it to sound that way!!!

For my twins' newborn photos, the entire family wore white... My husband had the only color with his white shirt paired with jeans!

I do love a neutral palette and think it can be beautiful! when I said I wasn't a fan of timeless, what I meant to convey is that we often get hung up on the term when it's not the only option. I really misspoke.

I just envisioned an artsy, fall, outdoor photoshoot for the OP and got carried away after thinking of shoots I've seen and loved.

Please, please forgive me. I was only trying to offer an alternative idea.

[fedoragirl]

personally, i'm not really a fan of "timeless". i think you can look great 20 years from now without looking like "the beige family" that doesn't convey any sense of personality at all in their family photos. its fun to look back and be like "remember those uggs!!!" imagine if all of our families in the 1940s had worn nothing but white shirts and dress pants? we'd never be able to say "oh our grandma was fabulous in those fur hats she was so fond of!"

know what i mean?

instead, why not just stay in the same color scheme? or if your family is outdoorsy then you can have some in puffy vests over fleece with colorful scarves… or if you are sort of conservative, then perhaps everyone in their wool dress coats and nice pants with shoes?

since these pics are outdoor, then you only need to really worry about outerwear and what people are wearing on their bottoms

i don't know if you have a DD, but if she likes princess skirts why not have her wear a twirly skirt under her puffy jacket with leggings, cute boots and a cute knit hat that all coordinates?

your son could wear jeans, hiking boots, a puffy vest over a sweater and perhaps holding a favorite toy?

you would wear your best outerwear with cute knee boots and cute jeans? and so on?

i think the best pictures look fun and are full of personality… but that's just my opinion.

with how good DSLR cameras are these days, the entire image really pops if there are colors the photographer can work with!

have fun!

I agree 100%.