What to Wear for Family Photos in Charleston: A Photographer's Styling Guide

You booked the family photo session. Hooray!

And then approximately three minutes later comes the next question:

Okay...but what are we all going to wear?

Figuring out what to wear for family photos is easily one of the things my clients stress about most. And I get it. You're not just dressing yourself. You're trying to coordinate multiple people, work around the child who suddenly refuses to wear pants with buttons, convince your partner that yes, they do need to participate in this conversation, AND somehow make everyone look like they belong in the same photograph. But here's the good news: your family does not need perfectly coordinated outfits for your photos to be beautiful. After years of photographing families around Charleston, I've learned that the best outfits aren't necessarily the fanciest ones. They're the ones that look good together, photograph well in your location and, most importantly, allow everyone to actually feel like themselves. So before you order seven new outfits and cover your bed in rejected clothing options, here are the things I want you to know.

Start With the Hardest Person to Dress

This is always my first piece of advice.

Who in your family is the trickiest person to dress?

Maybe it's your daughter who has VERY strong opinions about what touches her body. Maybe it's your husband who owns exactly four shirts he'd willingly wear for photos. Maybe it's you because you want to feel really, really good in whatever you're wearing.

Start there.

Find an outfit for that person first and build everyone else around it. And if there's someone in your family who is already less than thrilled about having family photos taken? Please, for the love of all things holy, let that person be comfortable. We do not need to add itchy pants to the list of reasons Dad doesn't want to be there.

Coordinate. Don't Match.

There was absolutely a time when family photos meant everyone showed up wearing jeans and matching white shirts.

We have moved on.

Instead of trying to make everyone match, think about making your outfits feel like they belong together. I usually recommend choosing two main colors and one neutral as a starting point. Your neutral might be cream, tan, denim, gray or even black. From there, you can pull different shades of your other colors throughout everyone's outfits. The goal isn't for someone to look at your family and think, "Wow, they really nailed that color palette." The goal is for everything to work together without the clothing becoming the first thing you notice.

Mix in Patterns and Texture

Once you've chosen your general colors, this is where things start getting interesting.

Not everyone needs to wear a solid color. A subtle floral dress, stripes, a textured sweater, linen, denim or a small pattern can add dimension without making the photograph feel busy. The trick is balance. If one person is wearing a stronger pattern, let some of the other outfits stay simpler. You don't need four competing patterns fighting for attention in one family photo. And don't forget about texture. Knits, linen, corduroy, denim and flowy fabrics can photograph beautifully because they add interest without necessarily adding another color or pattern.

Skip the Distracting Stuff

My general rule is that I want to notice your people before I notice your clothes.

Large logos, neon colors, giant graphics and super-busy patterns can pull attention away from faces.

That doesn't mean everyone needs to show up wearing beige. Please don't read this and decide your family is only allowed to wear oatmeal-colored linen from now on.

Color is good!

Personality is good!

We just don't want one shirt screaming louder than everyone else in the photograph.

Dress for Charleston Weather, Not the Calendar

This one is especially important if you're planning family photos in Charleston.

October might technically be fall. Charleston does not care. It can still be warm and humid well into the season, which means that adorable chunky sweater you bought because Pinterest told you it was perfect for fall family photos might make your child approximately 400 degrees. Think about the actual weather and your session location when you're choosing everyone's outfits. Layers can be great when temperatures are unpredictable, and fabrics that breathe and move easily are especially helpful for outdoor family sessions. Comfort matters because uncomfortable kids tend to have opinions about being uncomfortable. Usually very loud opinions.

What Should We Wear for Beach Family Photos?

If we're heading to Folly Beach, Isle of Palms or Kiawah Island for your family photos, I usually recommend keeping things a little softer and more relaxed. Beach sessions naturally have a lot going on visually: sand, water, sky, dunes and movement. Clothing that feels easy tends to fit beautifully into that environment. Soft blues, greens, creams, warm neutrals and muted colors all photograph beautifully at the beach, but those are suggestions, not rules. Flowy dresses and skirts can add gorgeous movement when there's a breeze. Linen and other lightweight fabrics work really well too. And remember that we're going to move. Your kids might run through the sand. You might sit down. Someone may end up with sandy feet. There is a very real possibility that I will ask you to walk directly toward the water. Choose clothes that allow you to actually participate in your family photos instead of spending the entire session worried about ruining them.

What Should We Wear for Fall Family Photos?

Fall family photos are a great opportunity to bring in slightly richer colors and more texture.

Think rust, olive, navy, mustard, burgundy, warm browns, creams and denim. But again, you don't need to dress your entire family like an autumn-themed catalog just because your photos are happening in October. If your family normally gravitates toward blues, wear blues. If your daughter is happiest in pink, we can absolutely work with pink. I'd much rather photograph your family looking like yourselves than have everyone uncomfortable because we're trying to achieve a particular "fall family photo" aesthetic. For Charleston fall mini sessions especially, pay attention to the weather as your session gets closer. Fall here can mean cozy layers one week and shorts weather the next.

Shoes Matter...Sometimes

Shoes are one of those details people tend to forget about until everyone is already dressed.

For park, downtown Charleston or other outdoor sessions, choose shoes that coordinate with the outfit but that you can also comfortably walk in. For beach family photos? There's a very good chance I'm going to tell you to take them off. One less thing to coordinate. You're welcome.

Make Sure You Can Move

This might be one of the most important pieces of advice in this entire guide.

I don't photograph families standing perfectly still for 45 minutes. We're going to walk. We're going to snuggle. I'm going to ask you to pick up your kids. Someone will probably run. There may be dancing. There will almost certainly be silliness. If your outfit only looks good when you're standing perfectly straight and not moving, it probably isn't the best choice for your session. Before you commit to an outfit, sit down in it.

Bend over.

Pick up your kid.

Raise your arms.

Make sure you're not going to spend the entire session adjusting something or worrying about how it looks from a certain angle. You should be able to forget about your clothes once the session starts.

Please Don't Forget About YOU

If you're the person who booked the session, there's a decent chance you've spent most of your energy figuring out what everyone else is going to wear.

Then suddenly it's the night before your session and you're standing in your closet saying, "Well, I guess I'll wear this."

Nope.

I want you to feel good too.

Choose something you feel comfortable and confident wearing. Don't save yourself for last because you're busy making sure everyone else looks great. You are going to be in these photos.

And years from now, your kids aren't going to care whether your dress was the perfect shade to coordinate with their shirt. They're going to be really glad you're standing beside them.

The Most Important Rule: Your Family Should Still Look Like Your Family

Here's the thing I want you to remember most:

These aren't photos for a clothing catalog.

They're photos of your family.

If your kid has a favorite pair of boots they wear everywhere, I'm not bothered by those boots showing up in your photos. If your family loves color, please don't suddenly become a neutral family because you saw a Pinterest board. And if you have to choose between an outfit that photographs "perfectly" and an outfit your child will happily wear without a battle, I am voting for the happy kid every single time. The clothes help everything come together.

But they're not what makes the photograph. The way your child looks at you, the missing teeth, the belly laughs, the way everyone fits together right now...that's the stuff we're actually there to photograph.

And I promise:

Smiles and laughter look good in any color.

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Want to see some other past posts on this exact topic featuring lots of great links?

Here's a blog post featuring the most versatile dress for photo sessions

Heading to the beach? Here's a guide on what to wear for your beach session.

Here's a post featuring some direct links to some gorgeous options for fall family photos.

Ready to book your own photo session? Click here so we can chat!!

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Kayla Rochelle photographs primarily in Charleston, SC soaking up the beach at sunset and daytime in the parks as much as possible.

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