Holiday family photo time is here and what a fun yet stressful time it can be. At this point, hopefully, you’re all set in finding an awesome photographer and have budgeted for those soon-to-be beautiful photos, yet you’ve waited until the last minute to prep your outfits for the actual photoshoot.
There are always a million reasons you didn’t come up with your family photo outfit plans and/or theme: life with the kids, endless home projects, virtual learning, homeschooling, work or pandemic stress, etc, or all of the above. So now what? Hopefully, you have Amazon Prime and at least 5-7 business days (it could be sooner, but don’t count on it) to pull this all together. If not, shop somewhere local where you can physically pickup any items you need.
First, let’s get the coordinating right! Think of your photo location. Think of the time of day. Think of the lighting situation you’ll have. Think of how many people you have to dress. And better yet, think of where you want these photos. Are these solely going to be used for Christmas cards and social media posts? Are you going to actually print and hang them around your house? These are all great factors to consider when planning your outfits. There are lots of posts from photographers who touch on all the above, definitely take their advice!
From the classic matching Christmas pajamas to the casual warm hues of fall pumpkins and maple leaves, or even festive winter wear. No matter how you want to portray your family in this year’s photos, you should have some theme in mind for consistency. Don’t break it up with too many prints and patterns, clashing colors, and avoid being too matchy-matchy (unless your doing the matching pjs kind of thing).
If you have no clue, let’s start with just being cohesive.
When searching on Amazon, use simple keywords — say “matching family pajamas” or “fall sweaters.” And if you subscribe to Amazon Prime, be sure to click that as a filter. Click on the highest average ratings, that’s the four to five stars on the left. And always, always, always do your research. Or better yet, sift through the pictures of real-life people who have actually bought those items! You don’t have to read all of their reviews, but you can get a good idea from those actual real-life pictures and what others have to say.
Pinterest is also a wonderful tool for helping coordinate an entire family’s outfit ideas. afterwards you can easily use Amazon to gather everything you need for that idea you have chosen.
Take this look for example.
I found this idea on Pinterest. Maybe you already have many of the items needed to achieve this look, but still have to gather a few pieces. For your Amazon search, make sure you have specific keywords like “women’s cream knit sweater” or “suede shoes.” You also want to ask yourself some questions before purchase: Do you want to invest in that item so you can wear again and again or something cheap you’ll only wear once or twice? You can sort by price if that’s what works best for you.
For our fall family photos this year, I opted for a dressier look since I knew I’d want to display these photos around our very traditional style home. The keywords I used for my Amazon search were “emerald green,” and it worked well for us.
The outcome:
Wishing you all the best with your family photo outfit planning!
Featured image photo by She Smiles At The Future Photography
