Whether you have a little, older, or teen girl or boy, these family picture outfit ideas for styling kids will help them look their best and feel comfortable and confident no matter their age! From choosing your girls’ or boys’ outfit colors to their shoes and accessories, these kids’ clothing ideas for family pictures will help you create images you’ll love!
Selecting Kids’ Outfit Colors and Patterns for a Family Picture Session
When selecting your kids’ outfit colors for a family picture session, we suggest choosing light, neutral colors over bright, bold, or neon colors. Light, neutral colors look softer on camera, complement skin tones, and create a timeless look in your photos.
We also highly recommend wearing solid colors instead of tiny, complex patterns because they can be distracting and create unusual colors and overlapping, distorted patterns in your images.
How to Coordinate Your Family’s Outfits for Family Pictures
To coordinate your family’s outfits for family pictures, we recommend selecting Mom’s outfit first and then creating a coordinating color palette around what colors pair well with it. You can use those colors to give each family member a dominant color in their outfit while incorporating coordinating colors as accent colors into each person’s accessories. Mixing coordinating colors throughout everyone’s outfits will create more visual interest and variety in your family pictures.
You could wear a white dress with a powder blue, tan, and light blush floral design (making white your dominant color). Your husband could then wear a powder blue long-sleeved collared shirt with a white sweater, tan dress pants, and a light blush tie (making powder blue his dominant color). Your daughter could wear a light blush dress (making light blush her dominant color). Your son could then wear a white collared shirt with a beige suit vest, beige dress pants, and a light blue bow tie (making beige his dominant color).
For information about what colors to wear for fall pictures, feel free to check out our blog post, Fall Picture Color Schemes. Also, for tips about preparing for your family photo session, you can read our blog post, How to Prepare for Family Photos.
Family Picture Outfit Ideas for Styling Little Kids (6 Months-5 Years)
Little Girls’ Clothing Ideas for Family Pictures (6 Months-5 Years)
To create an adorable, timeless look in your family pictures, we recommend that your little girl wears light, neutral dresses, onesies, tutus, dressy shirts, skirts, dress pants, etc. Simple frills, lace, and sparkles on dresses, skirts, or shirts create a fun touch! She could wear small ballet flats, sandals, or booties for shoes.
Cute accessories will add more visual interest! Some of our favorite little girl accessories for family pictures are:
- pearl necklaces/bracelets
- fresh flower crowns/bouquets/baskets of flowers
- headbands
- hairbows
- barrettes
- diaper covers
- a light-colored, coordinating blanket for your family and her to sit on
For example, your little girl could wear a blush dress with white pearl bracelets or a white dress with a beige and light blush design and a flower headband.
Below, we have included little girls’ dress ideas for family pictures.
Little Boys’ Outfit Ideas for Family Pictures (6 Months-5 Years)
Collared shirts, button-downs, suit vests, knit rompers, sweaters, sweater vests, khakis, dress pants, jeans, onesies, corduroys, and overalls always look great! Your little boy could wear closed-toed dress shoes, dress boots, booties, or boat shoes for shoes.
Layers and accessories create an adorable touch while adding depth and visual interest! Some of our favorite little boy accessories for family pictures are:
- bow ties/ties
- suspenders
- newsboy caps
- diaper covers
- a light-colored, coordinating blanket for your family and him to sit on
For example, your little boy could wear a white knit romper with tan buttons or teal overalls with a light-colored, coordinating blanket.
Older Kids’ Clothing Ideas for Family Pictures (6-12 Years)
Family Picture Outfit Ideas for Older Girls (6-12 Years)
We recommend your older girl wears dresses, skirts, dressy shirts, jeans, khakis, corduroys, and dress pants. They create a gorgeous and editorial look! She could wear ballet flats, dress shoes, sandals, or dress boots for shoes.
For example, your older girl could wear a white dress with a navy and blush design and a jean jacket or a white and navy dress.
To add a cute touch and more visual interest to your photos, she could wear accessories like:
- necklaces/bracelets
- fresh flower crowns/bouquets/baskets of flowers
- belts
- earrings
- headbands
- hairbows
- barrettes
- a light-colored, coordinating blanket for your family and her to sit on
What Older Boys Should Wear for Family Pictures (6-12 Years)
Solid, collared shirts, button-downs, polos, pullovers, suit vests, sweaters, sweater vests, Henley shirts, khakis, slacks, corduroys, jeans, and dress pants will create an editorial, timeless look in your family pictures! They’ll also help your older boy feel comfortable and confident! He could wear closed-toed, leather dress shoes, dress boots, or boat shoes for shoes.
Layers and accessories always look handsome while adding visual interest! Some of our favorite older boy accessories for family pictures are:
- bow ties/ties
- suspenders
- newsboy caps
- a light-colored, coordinating blanket for your family and him to sit on
For example, your older boy could wear a light blue and white collared shirt with a light blue pullover and tan dress pants or a white collared shirt with a beige suit vest, beige dress pants, and a light blue bow tie.
Family Picture Clothing Ideas for Teens (13-17 Years)
Teen Girls’ Clothing Ideas for Family Pictures (13-17 Years)
Long and medium-length dresses and skirts bring extra movement to your family pictures while creating an elegant look! Your teen girl could pair a dress or dressy shirt with a blazer, cardigan, dress jacket, or chiffon shawl for a cute touch. Another option is wearing long dress pants, jeans, corduroys, or khakis. She could wear ballet flats, dress shoes, sandals, or dress boots for shoes, or she could go barefoot for a few photos if you would like and the location allows.
She could wear accessories for an elegant touch in your family pictures, such as:
- necklaces/bracelets
- fresh flower bouquets
- belts
- earrings
- headbands
- barrettes
- a light-colored, coordinating blanket for your family and her to sit on
For example, your teen girl could wear a cream or sage dress for your family pictures.
Clothes Teen Boys Should Wear for Family Pictures (13-17 Years)
We recommend your teen boy wears a shirt, bottoms, accessories, and shoes that help him feel comfortable and confident! He could wear a long-sleeved jacket, blazer, collared shirt, Henley shirt, sports coat, button-down, polo, sweater, sweater vest, pullover, or polo for a handsome, editorial look. Rolling his long sleeves up for a more casual look will create more variety in your family pictures! He could wear long khakis, dress pants, corduroys, slacks, or jeans if the temperature permits. Also, he could wear closed-toed, leather dress shoes, dress boots, or boat shoes for shoes.
We suggest your teen boy wears a darker shade for his bottoms and a lighter shade for his shirt. For example, he could wear jeans (darker) and a light gray collared shirt (lighter) or tan corduroys (darker) with a cream Henley shirt (lighter). If the temperature allows, layering his clothing will create more depth and visual interest in your family pictures!
Regardless of the season, accessories always create a polished touch for family pictures! Some of our favorite accessories for teen boys are:
- ties/ bow ties
- suspenders
- newsboy caps
- a light-colored, coordinating blanket for your family and him to sit on
For example, your teen boy could wear a tan solid, collared shirt with a beige sweater and tan corduroys or a cream solid, collared shirt with a brown sweater and beige corduroys.
Family Picture Cold-Weather Clothing Ideas for Styling Kids
When selecting kids’ cold-weather outfit ideas for family pictures, we suggest your girl wears a cardigan, sweater, dress jacket, warm tights, jean jacket, or peacoat with her outfit to help her keep warm. She could wear a long dress or skirt or long dress pants, jeans, khakis, or corduroys for her bottoms. Closed-toed ballet flats, dress shoes, or dress boots will help cover your girl’s feet during frigid temperatures.
Your boy could wear a jacket, blazer, sports coat, pullover, sweater, or jean jacket with his outfit to help him stay warm in the chilly weather, and he could wear khakis, dress pants, jeans, slacks, or corduroys for his bottoms. Closed-toed, leather dress shoes, dress boots, or boat shoes will help cover your boy’s feet.
Please ensure your kids wear layers and cold-weather accessories to help them stay warm while creating more visual interest in your family pictures. Some of our favorite cold-weather accessories for children are:
- hats/newsboy caps
- mittens
- scarves
- sweater vests/sweaters/cardigans/dress or jean jackets/shawls/peacoats/blazers/etc.
- a light-colored, coordinating blanket for your family and them to sit on
One Final Note
We believe children are some of God’s greatest blessings and treasures; always remember to love and cherish them 🙂
We hope these family picture outfit ideas for styling kids will help your children have the best portrait experience and feel comfortable and confident throughout your session! Feel free to email us at Jenn@JenniferHallPhotographyLLC.com if you have any questions.
