How to match without being “Matchy-Matchy”
What to wear
Ah, the age-old question, “What will we wear for our family photos”? Ok, ok, so it’s not technically an “age old” question, as photography has just been around for about 197 years and only more widely available for about 75 years but, still, it is a question that will cross the mind of family photo clients, all around the world, 100% of the time.
No “matchy-matchy”
One of the worse things a family can do is show up wearing clothing of clashing colors. Another big one on the list is showing up exactly matched, like everyone wearing all black tops with blue jeans. not that those matchy-matchy images look terrible, because they don’t, but they just don’t look genuine. A family photo is supposed to capture the personality and family dynamic, to look back on as time goes on. I can’t think of any time, other than family photos, where an entire family dresses exactly the same. It’s just not who your family is, “in real life”, so you don’t want to immortalize that in your photos. In 5 years you will hate those images (well, your kids probably will before you do).
Have fun with it
The regular “rules” apply, like not wearing neon colors, no logos or graphics, no broad strips or distracting prints and patterns, etc, but you can (and should) have fun with it. You might want to start with one person’s favorite outfit or shirt and build off of that. If you aren’t really great with color-coordination, the internet is a great resource. HERE is an amazing Google search result with various pantone palette swatches to help guide you. A quick search like this on Pinterest is another great resource for choosing the perfect outfits for your family session. If you are feeling particularly adventurous (or if you are struggling to get your family to cooperate, you can always look at the display of color swatches at your local Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sherwin Williams or other place where paint is sold.
Visual Reference
As I mentioned, already, you can choose one article of clothing or outfit and build everything else around that. I highly recommend actually creating a color swatch set of 2-4 colors that go well together and pick the other clothes according to that. If you’re really lucky, you won’t have to go shopping at all, and can save that expense. Don’t forget that I also have a client closet of wonderful gowns for mom, girls and even “mommy and me” sets that are provided for your use, at no additional charge, if you would like. You are welcome to come in for a fitting to see what you like. If you want some help to see how the charting idea works, I have included examples, below.
