How to Choose the Perfect Outfits for your Family Portraits in Each Season | Nashville Family Photographer Dolly DeLong Photography

How to Choose the Perfect Outfits for your Family Portraits in Each Season | Nashville Family Photographer Dolly DeLong Photography 

Choosing outfits for your family portraits can feel really tricky each season! While I’m all about leaning into the colors and vibes of each season, I think it’s important to think about the longevity of your portraits, too. When we capture family portraits,  I want you to be able to enjoy them for years to come. I want you to hang them on your walls, print them in your albums, and show them off.  So, let’s talk about how to choose the perfect outfits for your family portraits in each season. There are three main things to consider when picking outfits for the family! 

Think about the season first.

Depending on when you take your photos, the season will lend itself to some unique looks. For example, if we’re doing family photos in the fall, it may be tempting to dress your baby in a cute pumpkin outfit and put them in a pile of leaves. While it’s SUPER cute and would do well online, it may not be what you want to look at on your wall forever. We can totally grab that shot, but I recommend considering a more neutral and seasonal appropriate outfit for the majority of the session. The same thing goes for holiday photos! While we love the matching red and bright green sweaters, is that something you want to have hanging on your wall all year long? I won’t tell you no if that’s what your family wants! But, consider leaning into the season in another way in your outfits. Maybe you can choose more neutral colors and dress them up with a fun bow, piece of jewelry, or accent piece.

siblings hold hands outside Nashville War Memorial family of three hugs at War Memorial fall mini sessions

Neutrals always look good!

As you plan your outfits, if you find that you’re struggling with color combinations, take a step back. Consider starting with a neutral palette. Look for whites, ivories, tans, and even grays. These can be a great place to start your outfit choices. From there, you can bring other colors in through your kids’ outfits or accessories. No matter the time of year, a neutral palette will always look amazing!!

parents look at each other holding daughter during Nashville TN family photos mom hugs daughter in white onesie during Nashville studio family portraits

Coordinate, don’t match.

Finally, no matter what season you choose for your portraits remember that it’s better to coordinate – NOT match outfits. I always recommend starting with one outfit and building from there. A lot of times, that’s mom’s outfit. Then you can start to pull other colors out of her dress or look and dress the rest of the family. Coordinating colors look best instead everyone in the same shade or outfit. If you have a session in the fall, you can consider warmer colors like mustards, purples, and deep greens. Spring lends itself to pastels. Again, neutrals are good all year long!

mom and son play on blanket during family photos kids play in gardens during Cheekwood Estate family portraits

If you’re looking for outfit advice, feel free to send ideas my way while planning for your session! I am happy to help curate a wardrobe that not only feels coordinated, but that looks beautiful for years to come.

Want more ideas on how to style your session? Grab my FREE Family Portrait Style Guide here!

Family Portrait Session Style Guide from Dolly DeLong

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Meet Your Friendly Nashville Family Photographer & Systems + Workflow Educator

a dad mom and toddler son are all smiling at eachother at a lavender farm by Erin Fox photography in Nashville

Dolly DeLong is a Nashville-based family & branding photographer and a creative business owner who educates other family photographers on how to best streamline their family photography business by using powerful automation tools in order to find the JOY in workflows and systems.  Dolly loves serving families, and business owners with her timeless, radiant photography.  And, she also loves educating other creative business owners on how to set up systems and workflows that will ultimately help them save time in their business-she does this by producing weekly blog posts and weekly podcast episodes on The Systems & Workflow Magic Podcast. 

She has a heart for serving the larger business community. Dolly shares her knowledge of tools like Dubsado, Email Marketing, and Business Systems with new creative business owners & family photographers in an encouraging and supportive way because she believes that anyone can find joy in automation! Plus BONUS: Systems is where the MAGIC happens!

Dolly’s faith and love for her family motivate her to help other business owners find the joy and freedom she’s found in running a successful small business.

Whenever she has a spare moment, she enjoys watching TV (i.e. Survivor), loves eating way too many sweets, and listens to podcasts while running or walking. To work with Dolly DeLong Photography LLC, fill out her contact form here.

Interested in learning how to best automate a part of your business but you have no clue where to begin? Check out www.dollydelongphotography.com/automate to begin your automation journey today!

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