Last year I spoke a little bit about our family holiday shoot, along with some holiday family traditions that Justin and I started once Mason was born. Because they were both such big hits on the blog last year, this year I decided to elaborate more.
Selecting outfits for your family holiday card photoshoot is the first step to taking great holiday photos you can enjoy for years to come! Since I’ve had years of experience taking outfit photos now, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on picking clothing that will photograph well. I’ve definitely had some misses where and outfit looks great on IMO but after seeing it in photos was mistaken. So I’ve learned from my mistakes and want to share my knowledge with you.
Tips on Selecting Outfits for Your Family Holiday Card Photoshoot:
1. Select coordinating outfits – I like to make sure I stick within a certain color palette for our family holiday outfits. This year it was burgundy, navy, and cream/tan. I’m not into being super matchy, matchy, except for our matching holiday pajamas.
2. Make sure not to blend in together – Try and break up the colors and/or prints amongst your family members so you’re not all wearing the exact shade of any color on the same part of your body. If you do, this can sometimes have you blending in together and your photos could turn out looking like one big blob. If I select a solid burgundy top for Justin, then I look for a top that has hints of burgundy for Mason or myself so that there is some break in our outfits. I unfortunately didn’t get any pictures of Mason without his adorable sweater on, otherwise you would see that his t-shirt was cream, burgundy, and navy stripes.
3. Mix and match if you can – If you do like to wear matching holiday outfits have the identical prints be worn on different pieces. For instance, if you’re going for a holiday plaid or tartan (very Christmasy IMO) maybe have the guys wearing plaid shirts and the girls wearing plaid skirts or dresses. Break up the print with either a solid cardigan, blazer or scarf, and have the guys in either khaki pants or slacks.
4. Don’t wear busy prints – Now with this one, I sometimes break the rule but as long as your entire outfit isn’t a busy print it can be ok. But for the most part, steer clear of busy prints. When I say busy I typically mean large, bold prints that are going to take the attention away from the main subject (ie your families beautiful faces). Depending on photoshoot location can could be competing too much with the surroundings.
5. Take your location into consideration – If you’re planning on shooting your outfits in a Christmas tree forest or lot don’t wear a lot of hunter green. You can have green in your outfits if you really want to, just don’t have it be the dominant color. You want to stand out from your background, not blend in. it’s just like with wearing the same solid color for everyone sweaters. If you don’t have separation, you’ll end up blending in together and the pictures won’t be nearly as flattering as they could be.
6. Find clothes that elongate your legs – This one is more for the shorties like me! These pants that I’m wearing, instead of getting them hemmed a little shorter, I chose to find a pair of high heels tall enough to make them work. They’re also high waisted so it gives the illusion that I have much longer legs than I do (which is always flattering in photos). It also helped me get slightly closer to my husbands height…which of course is impossible!
I hope you enjoyed these tips! I’d love to know if you send out family holiday cards and if you do, do you schedule a family photoshoot or do you select your favorite photos you’ve taken throughout the year?
On me – Sweater: Equipment. Pants: Equipment. Heels: Ollio. Earrings: Kendra Scott.
On Justin – Henley: Penguin. Jeans: Dickies. Shoes: Vans.
On Mason – Sweater: Joe Fresh, sold out online (love this sweater). T-shirt: Sovereign Code. Pants: Sovereign Code. Shoes: Nike (also available here). Blanket: Hearth and Hand.
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As always, thank you for stopping by the blog today!
