Fall Family Photographs

Thoughtful wardrobe planning ensures that your photos will be cohesive and timeless

Oct 13, 2024

Photo credit: Jessica Rockowitz on Unsplash

Recently, my friend and award-winning Bay Area photographer Jennifer Skinner of Jennifer Skinner Portraits asked me to share some styling tips for fall family photos. I was thrilled to connect with her audience and offer advice. A skilled photographer can capture beautiful, authentic images on the day of your session, and a little pre-work in selecting what you and your family wear can elevate the final result.

Here are some tips for curating your family’s looks for an autumnal photo shoot:

Start with colors that flatter you

For outdoor photography sessions, you’ll likely want to choose colors that evoke the richness of fall. If you feel your best in the season’s golden browns, rusts, and olive greens, embrace those warm, earthy shades. However, if those colors aren’t your best, don’t feel limited by traditional autumn hues. Bright corals and soft peaches can capture the vibrancy of fall, while emerald greens and amethyst reflect its richness. Soft grays, dusky pinks, and muted burgundies exude the season's gentle, calming side.

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I’m a big advocate of aligning your wardrobe with your natural coloring. With that in mind, I recently shared four looks on Instagram @the.stylish.sabbatical - each offering fall family photo inspiration for Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer palettes. For those unfamiliar with the concept of seasonal palettes, I invite you to explore more in an article I wrote [linked here].

Opt for timeless styles

Classic, well-fitted outfits age beautifully, ensuring your photographs remain elegant for years to come. Be mindful of print scale and contrast—bold patterns or extreme contrasts can pull focus away from your face. In this case, subtlety works best.

Consider your overall ensemble

After you’ve chosen your outfit, think about your accessories. Shoes, jewelry, belts, scarves, tights, and socks all provide opportunities to add polish, visual interest, and personality to your look. I highly recommend trying on your complete outfit a few days before the photography session to ensure everything comes together as envisioned. This bit of advance planning gives you time to adjust any components, if necessary.

Coordinate your family’s outfits to yours

Select your outfit first, then use it as a guide for determining your family members' ensembles. They don’t need to match but should coordinate. Try selecting a few complementary hues that work well with your look. Be sure everyone dresses with a similar level of formality, so you all appear cohesive—like you're headed to the same event.

To bring this concept to life, I’ve taken the outfits I shared on Instagram this week and paired them with coordinating ideas for your family members below. You can access all the outfit details via an online PDF [linked here]. Once inside the PDF, simply hover your cursor or tap on an item to be redirected, where you can view full details and purchase it, if desired.

First up is an autumn-hued ensemble that blends rich, earthy tones. While the outfits don’t exactly match, they are thoughtfully coordinated to create a cohesive look. Whether the photographer is capturing mom and dad, the kids, or dad with his girls, any combination of family members will look perfectly polished and pulled together.

Next is a jewel-toned ensemble featuring sapphire blues, ruby reds, and emerald greens—perfect for women with bright, cool coloring. A hint of pattern adds visual interest to each individual outfit, but the variety in size and scale ensures they complement rather than compete with one another.

This ensemble captures the lively spirit of fall, with cream pieces grounding the bold pops of orange, cobalt blue, and marigold. The outfits share a consistent level of formality, ensuring the family looks perfectly coordinated and unified in style.

The final outfit grouping is seasonally appropriate while flattering women who look best in soft, dusty colors. The heavy use of denim allows for easy movement, giving the photographer plenty of opportunities to capture candid, natural moments.

Which outfit grouping do you love the most?