"What do I wear for my family portraits?!?" "Should we match or not?" "I have no clue what to wear for my session!!"

As a photographer, these are all questions I get asked often. The Birmingham area has so many different location with so many different "looks". You have the cute urban downtown, you have the beautiful southern fields, the gorgeous local gardens, the relaxed creeks, and so much more! Here are all your answers from colors, to locations, to so much more!

Matching:

Wearing matching dresses and shirts is not so popular anymore. Matching really isn't super popular anymore, but color coordination?? That's what I'm talking about!! Imagine this, mom is wearing a red wine top, dad is wearing a red wine tie, little brother is wearing a red wine shirt, and little sister has a red wine bow and necklace. It's not too much but just enough! 

Location:

When choosing your outfits, think about the location first. A downtown session would work best with plain outfits and neutral colors. Downtown provides beautiful scenery with the buildings, so don't worry about having to have patterned outfits or bright colors! A nice field session needs a little bit of patterns, but not a ton! A simple pattern on a shirt or a dress adds just enough patterned touch! I love shooting in the Botanical Gardens here in Birmingham, Alabama, and they are the perfect background to a wedding, engagement and family sessions! These gardens are so stunning and they have so much scenery that they do not need patterns! A nice subtle color coordination will do the trick! Alabama is full of creeks and rivers, and they are so beautiful! I never mind pulling up my pant legs and getting in for a good family session! These creeks however, do not need much pattern. Some light subtle patterns and some color coordination works perfectly!! 

Seasons:

When planning for a seasonal family photoshoot you always want to make sure you dress accordingly, but not too accordingly.

Fall- Dress to match the beautiful foliage, but keep the color coordination in mind. Orange, yellow, red, etc.

Winter/Christmas- For this session, I'd skip the reindeer ears and Santa hats even if these are for Christmas. You still want your photos to look nice without having these extra distractions. Red, white, and green are obviously great for color coordination! I also love neutral colors such as gray, off white, and tan with red necklaces, ties, cardigans, etc!

Spring- Yay! Finally some warm weather!! Time to break out the brighter colors and shorts! White is a beautiful color for spring to add some accents to it (White jeans and a blue top or a white top with a blue necklace or a blue shirt and white tie!). 

Summer- Now for Summer, think warm! Warm weather and warm colors! Orange, blue, yellow and green are all beautiful colors to wear for Summer photos!

Extra tips:

• COMFORT! Don't wear anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, because it will definitely show in your photos!
• If you can't find a color to coordinate with, pick one outfit then add on with different shades or accent colors.
• Think about what matches your home! Wearing a red dress when your home is blues and tans won't look nice.
• Say no to shirts with words.
• Say yes to layers!! 

Here is a Pinterest board I made of some of my favorite combos I have found as well as some tips on "layering" and color coordination! 

https://www.pinterest.com/savmh11/family-photos-color-coordination/