The weather has cooled down a bit this week, and hopefully that means fall is on it’s way…crisp mornings, pretty foliage, pumpkin flavored everything, and football. What’s not to love about all of that? Here at the studio we also get excited about the change of pace the weather brings for our shoots. It is prime family portrait time, with some senior sessions, and weddings mixed in too.

We always get a lot of questions about what to wear for family pictures, so today we wanted to share some dos and don’ts for picking clothing for a family shoot. We are positive these can help you decide what to wear.

1. Do coordinate, but don’t wear clothing that is matchy-matchy-It is best to pick 2-4 coordinating colors and carry them through your family’s outfits.
2. Do add layers. This will bring in texture and interest to your photos. Jackets, scarves, sweaters are perfect ways to create a layered look.
3. Don’t be afraid of color, but keep in mind where you will be hanging your photos once they are printed. If you would like them to match your home decor then picks color that coordinate with that. Also consider the location of your shoot. You don’t want to blend in too much, just as you don’t want to create to much contrast.
4. Don’t pick items with large writing on them.
5. Do pick items that really represents you and our family, and that you feel good in.
6. Don’t highlight parts of your body you are uncomfortable with…if you don’t like your legs don’t wear shorts.
7. Do think about shoes. You don’t want something small like shoe selection to ruin the whole look of your photos.
8. Do ask us for help. If you have something in mind, but aren’t sure feel free to send us picture of the item(s) and we will offer our recommendation.
9. Don’t wait till the last minute to decide. Look for inspiration in magazines, blogs, or Pinterest.
10. Don’t feel like you need to spend a small fortune on new clothing. Mixing and matching items you already have can work. Instead spend on items you know you will use again and again.

No post is complete without some images, and we wanted to share some of our favorites from last fall that we feel illustrate our list the best. We shot so many beautiful families, but fall can be so busy that we often don’t have time to blog as much as we would like. So most of these images have never been posted before, hope you enjoy them as much as we do.