My style is light-filled, timeless, and emotion-driven and so my recommendations lean more towards creating that style of photo. Planning your spring & summer family photo outfits should be easy, fun, and creative! As you read through these recommendations, please know that these are just suggestions and you have freedom to wear what you love! However, if you desire to have images that reflect what you see most often from me online, these tips will help create the look you’re hoping for
Why A Neutral & Light Color Palette Works
Neutral colors create light and bright images. Dark and heavy colors will create darker and heavier images. For example, having one or two pieces of denim is fine, but if everyone in the family is wearing dark blue jeans, the bottom half of all of the portraits will seem very dark and heavy. I recommend only having 1-2 dark pieces of clothing. The more light washes and neutral tones the better!
Quick Wins for Your Family Portraits
Avoid Black
I know I know, I love wearing my black leggings, too! But as I mentioned, too many dark colors can make your images look heavy. If you prefer darker colors, I do suggest navy or brown. For the signature Kathryn Pittsley Photography look, I always recommend limiting this color as much as possible!
Avoid Bright and Neon Colors
Neons are so important for safety at the pool or beach…but not so great for family portraits! Bright colors can reflect on your skin, making it difficult to get clean skin tones in your images. They’re also very hard to edit, which makes colors like red, bright coral, orange, yellow, and neon green good colors to avoid in your portraits.
Coordinate — Don’t Match
I used to love hopping online to buy matching dresses for all the girls and matching shirts for the guys in my family. But when you’re preparing for photos, imagine that you’re dressing one person. Lay out the clothes on your bed and see if you could mix and match the pieces together.
The KPP Color Palette
Choosing colors can be both fun and stressful. When I choose colors for a session, the first thing I do is consider the location and time of day. I know if I’m in a gorgeous park (like War Memorial Park or Oliver Mills) with lots of greenery, I’m going to want to use pinks and neutrals to really pop against the green. If I’m at the beach, I might choose blues for a more nautical vibe! The colors below are suggestions for your next photo session. Use the guide by looking at the rows both horizontally and vertically!
Final Notes
Of course, the goal is for your family photos to reflect YOU! Aesthetics are great, but you’re not going to remember standing on the beach wearing khakis, you’re going to remember the way your little one splashed in the waves or played in the sand with grandpa. Your family photo outfits come secondary to making memories.
Always make sure comfort comes first! This helps prevent toddler & kid meltdowns!
Have questions about your chosen outfits? I’m always just a text or email away and love helping you choose outfits that fit your family best!
