When clients contact me, their biggest question is "What do we wear for our family portraits?"

Having family portraits made on the Destin Beaches is one of the best family portraits you will cherish for your lifetime!

And yes, outfits can make your break your images!

Here are a few tips from years of photographing families.

I also have links to all the outfits that are in the inspiration guides. They are all available on amazon.

Putting together a whole family can be overwhelming. First take a deep breath, I'm going to give you some help!! Here are my tips

First, pick styles that are flattering for you. If you feel beautiful in what you are wearing, you will glow for the camera!

Pick outfits that flatter your body type. If you are an hourglass, pick things that pull in at the waist, are more fitted in the bodice. If you are uncomfortable about your arms, find a blouse or dress that has some arm coverage, like a cold shoulder that still has some sleeve or a traditional sleeve. If you have severe tan lines, strapless is probably not your friend. Or use self tanner ahead on your lines, to help even them out.

Mom's with little ones, it's easier to have a flowy longer skirt, at least to the knee, as you will be sitting or squatting during your session.

Move around in your outfit in front of a mirror, and make sure you are comfortable with how your outfit moves. See if you need any tape at the top, or safety pins in the top of the slit dress. There is wind at the beach a lot of the time.

Shoes - we dont recommend shoes in beach portraits. Which saves you having to coordinate shoes!! We do recommend everyone have nails clean or fresh paint jobs. Including toes. For nail polish We recommend french tip style paint, or soft pinks, or neutral paint colors.

Choose your clothing color/style palette first.

The first thing to think about, is what palette of colors you want in your images. There are several things to think about when choosing. Think about where in your home you will display your family art from the session. What colors are in that room, what color palette will blend with that? Think of the colors at the beach. Think in terms of tones;whites, blue tones, earth tones, neutrals, pastels. Pick 2-4 colors that blend well together, and everyone can be in those tones and coordinate without being matchy.

Coordinate.. Don’t be matchy. Even in all white, everyone can wear their own style. Not all white matching t-shirts.

I love to see everyone make their own style show through in a palette. Take your pallet and let everyone shine in their own way.

One of our favorites is the Classic White outfits!

The classic white outfits on the beach never fails! White is classic and timeless. It is very beachy and makes your family the star of the images. It is also the easiest in shopping. Do Mom in a flattering dress or white jeans and a cute top, and dad in a white linen button down or a more modern cut jean with a dressy white button up, sleeves rolled and top buttons unbuttoned. All whites with a few grey shorts/pants or khaki shorts/pants. Or whites mixed with denims. Just make sure your denims are all in the same color range. The key to all whites, is to make them nice whites. Think textures, as well as nicer clothes.

check the garment to see if it needs a slip or undershirt
underwear under white clothes should be white or nude. NO patterns or characters.
for baby girls in diapers. the diaper can show through look at getting bloomers if they are in a dress.
blouses and button ups look classier than undershirts.

Colors and Patterns

If you choose to go with colors and patterns, there are a few things to know and think about.

First in this trend, there is usually ONE key outfit. This is a patterned outfit that has some colors in it. But the pattern shouldn't be too overwhelming. It is usually in mom's dress or a daughters dress. There should ONLY BE ONE key pattern. And then everyone else's outfits are either solid colors pulled from the key outfit OR a subtle pattern that goes with the key outfit, as well as the other patterns. If key pattern is floral, you can have someone in stripes. Be careful with Stripes. Horizontal makes people look wider, while vertical can lengthen.

In the images of clothing groupings below, you will be able to see the key outfit, and how it pulls everyone together.

If there is a baby/ small toddler, that will be held during the session, make that babies outfit a different color than mom and dads.

Think about the colors of the beach when picking your outfits. The best colors are neutrals and muted soft colors like, Navy, soft blues, soft aquas, teals, soft pinks, blush, soft corals, mints, whites, greys and tans. Avoid any color that could be mistaken as a safety color. Bright pinks, oranges and yellows tend to color cast onto your skin, and will leave you with unnatural color in your face. It is best to use muted colors and neutrals.

It is very important to lay all the outfits together to see if they all blend. Sometimes having more than one option for each person helps with mixing the final family outfit. Make sure to do this in advance of your session. Also have everyone try things on ahead of time. Make sure everyone has clothes that fit and flatter them.

Where to find outfits in our what to wear images?

All outfits used were found on amazon in 2021. Below are links to these outfits. We update our what to wear yearly. I can not guarantee all outfits will be available. This is just a extensive list I put together to help my clients. You can use these exact outfits or use them for inspiration shopping elsewhere.

Destin Family Beach Portraits... What to Wear??!!!!

One of our favorites is the Classic White outfits!

Colors and Patterns

Where to find outfits in our what to wear images?

White Outfits

outfits in the blues, khaki and white

Outfits in blush, blues, khaki and white

outfits in blush box

Navy and Blues Outfit box

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