family pictures
For the first time ever, we are getting professional photos of the whole family. I figured we finally need to get off our bums and do it, because M’s teeth are probably going to fall out this year and I want a picture of all of us while she still looks like a little kid.
I have absolutely no idea what we are going to wear. Maybe white dresses for the girls, but for Mr. A and myself, I am clueless. I want something pretty classic that won’t look too ridiculously dated 20 years from now.
The photos will be outside. Some will be black and white. They will probably be pretty informal/natural pictures, not too pose-y. I am a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but I want something a little bit nicer. But then, not too dressy, because we are going to be outside.
Seriously, help me out here.
April 25th, 2008 at 3:59 am
White dresses for the girls, khakis & a white shirt for Mr. A, khakis & a white sweater for you? That would look nice outside - somewhere green (if you went with color as well as b&w).
April 25th, 2008 at 4:06 am
White dresses for the girls. Jeans and white button up shirts for you and Mr. A.
April 25th, 2008 at 5:40 am
I think I would wear some kind of bright solid colored skirt - green, maybe? - and a white t shirt. I feel like the skirt would sort of stand out and look a little bit more polished than jeans, and would look cute and sort of poufy if you pick up one of the girls (at least in my head) but the white t shirt keeps it casual, photographs well, and goes with the girls.
As for Mr. A I have no idea. Khakis and a white button down?
April 25th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Hi! Your friendly neighborhood professional family & child photographer here
Please don’t do white. Please. It really isn’t flattering for most people.
Be fun, funky, bold- you’re a family full of personality so why not dress to show it off? Color is good. Dress the girls in cute patterned sundresses (flowers, polka dots, calico prints etc.) that don’t match but look good together, and you and Mr. A in coordinating solids (not matching colors, but you in say burgundy and Mr. A in navy) if you’re hesitant about not being able to pull off something a bit more dramatic.
Try something likeMatilda Jane for the girls, and UO/Anthropologie for you.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
First, thanks for blogging about this. I’d never thought how important it would be to take a professional photo of us before Kelvin loses his front teeth — thanks for mentioning that! We’ve taken professional photos just ONCE, when my youngest brother-in-law got married, two years ago, and I didn’t even frame those and put them on the wall yet.
You know, I was going to suggest khaki and white too, but I think Lisa the photographer is right! Cool suggestions. Let us know what you decide. I’m curious.
April 25th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
I love that you thought about M’s teeth as a consideration for timing this. Really, I love it.
I would throw out:
the classic khakis with a black top?
how bout a great patterned skirt and a plain top?
cropped pants? (don’t tell me this isn’t timeless! Audrey Hepburn wore them and now we are wearing them again!)
That’s all I’ve got. But I do like the suggestion someone made about letting your personalities shine through.
April 25th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
You need that quintessential photo where Dad is in the middle about 2 feet hiring than everyone else with mom on the side holding one kid and the other kid in front to Dad. Dad will have his arms around the entire family signifying he is in charge of this family!
Where black…it will make your hips look smaller. hee hee
April 25th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
I normally agree about the white shirts business, but I think since you all have dark hair, you could still get away with this. We were trolling an open house a few weeks ago, and there was a family portrait on the wall where everyone was in jeans and black shirts. And they were barefoot. It sounds cliche’, but it looked great, and you definitely couldn’t tell what year it was taken.
I’m a bigger fan of solid colors in family photos. Do a Google search for family photography portfolios and find examples you like. I think the biggest deal is to wear clothing you are all comfortable in, or you will look stiff in the photos.
More importantly, are you going to post the results?
April 25th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
A neighborhood friend does GREAT family photography in casual outdoor settings-you might browse through her blog to get a sense of what things look like:
http://www.andreaflanagan.com
I plan to do this in the fall.
~lmc
April 25th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Similar to Lee, I once saw a family photo in someone’s living room with mom, dad and two girls (all with dark brown hair) all in jeans and red tshirts and barefoot, and it was fabulous.
April 25th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
My friend is a great photographer. You can look at his site at the portfolio page - family link. I am also an art director - and when I am on a photo shoot I ask models to wear bright solid shirts. This is for commercial work though. I just think it adds to a color photo. Busy patterns aren’t the best - I kind of feel they detract from the photo.
We recently did group shots of our daughter and her cousins. My SIL put the boys in oxfords and jeans, no shoes. I guess that was fine - the photos were great. I think it is a personal decision. Personally - I hate the matchy matchy stuff. But that is just me. You prob. need to decide what appeals to you. Here is the link:
http://ronkleinphotography.com/familieslifestyle.html
April 26th, 2008 at 12:45 am
The girls look great in white. You, black top, white skirt, funky red necklace or somesuch. Mr. A, black and white patterned button down and I don’t know about the pants. But then, my friend, go with Lisa’s suggestion. Your photographer should let everyone change their clothes once.
April 26th, 2008 at 1:25 am
OMG, I never even thought about the teeth thing! My oldest turned 5 a few months ago - I wonder how long I’ve got??
I agree about the Lisa about the color white. I really doesn’t look that great in photos - at least not with most people. Plus, everyone seems to use it in family photos.
April 27th, 2008 at 2:06 am
I think shades of gray and black look good to together. And I am a sucker for little girls in white dresses with contrasting thick sashes.
A lot of big families here in Utah wear head-to-toe denim.
*Shudder*
You have good taste and I’m sure you’ll pick something nice. I’d love to see the finished pictures!
August 18th, 2008 at 5:11 am
[...] back in April, I wrote an post mentioning our family pictures. I finally got off my ass scheduled an appointment to see the results about a month [...]