My Easy Guide to Coordinating Outfits for Family Photos

You know how coordinating outfits for family photos is super stressful, and the day of the photo shoot is notoriously known for everyone being grumpy and everything going wrong? Maybe I have a terrible memory or a very surface understanding of reality, but I do not recall a time when family pictures hadn’t been a good time for us. Or maybe I just haven’t experienced teenagers yet. So far, it’s usually just a fun day where we all dress up and hold hands while we wander around in nature, and my girls have always had a good time doing it. There was that time a couple of years ago when 2-year-old Lolly had her Chemoplaque in her eye to fight her eye cancer, and it was painful to her, thus making it difficult to coax a smile out of her. But can you blame her?

This time was no different. One of the more enjoyable years, even. Everyone was fed and happy; getting out and seeing the changing leaves was fun. The weather was beautiful, and Dad had the day off, which always put us in a good mood.

Coordinating outfits for family photos was fun! The inspiration for this year’s color scheme came from a trip to Target. I looked to see what kids’ clothing they had available and compared those colors with what I already had in my wardrobe. When choosing a theme, I usually try to pick three colors, and almost always, one is some off-white or tan color. Then, I make sure the two remaining colors coordinate well with one another.

I also like to make sure that at least one or two of the clothing pieces have some pattern that fits mostly within the color parameters I have decided. Sometimes, I’ll pick a dress with tiny flowers of a different color that is not one of the theme colors, but the dress itself is still mainly one of those colors. Adding a bit of pattern makes things more exciting and looks not matchy-matchy but still intentional.

Link to Lolly’s dress
Link to Eleanor’s Dress and Shirt
Link to Evelyn’s Dress
Link to Malcom’s Outfit

I also can appreciate the trend to get more candid photos. This takes a lot of the pressure off of parents on picture day, trying to make their kids sit perfectly still and wear a natural smile. We only need one photo with those requirements, but Photoshop can also aid in that.

What do I do with all of those candid photos, you ask? Why, I put them in our family yearbooks, of course! I create a yearbook on Shutterfly every year with photos highlighting everything that we did or happened that year. I always dedicate a two-page spread to all the darling candid family photos so they don’t end up lost in cyberspace and will be enjoyed for years.

That being said, here are a few more photos for you to enjoy! At one point, our photographer, Kim Kuhl Photography, had us all play a game of telephone, which made for some cute candid photos with genuine laughs. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed a behind-the-scenes look at our family and that you were able to learn a bit more about the simple art of coordinating outfits for family photos!

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