No matter if you are one the taking the photos or if you are having them made, picking out what your kids should wear for the photo can be quite a challenge. If you have ever wondered how to dress your kids for photos, you are in the right place. And you want to know a scary stat? The clothes in an image make up 90% of the photo.

Ok, I totally made that up, but it’s SO TRUE. It doesn’t matter how cute your kid’s smile is (which you can find a post all about how to get them to smile here!) … if the colors are off, the photos will not be good. No worries though! I am here to make sure that never happens and I promise it’s a lot easier than you think. Today, I am going to give you some simple steps on how to dress your kids for photos.

Timeless

Trends and fads come and go. When choosing what your child should wear, try for a style that is as timeless as possible. A good trick is to ask yourself, “If someone were to see this outfit in 100 years, would they know the year in which the photo was taken?” If the answer is no, you’re good to go! If the answer is yes, consider the next steps following.

Solids

Nothing screams the time period like a busy pattern or print.  Remember when chevron was all the rage not too terribly long ago? Of course, it was a fad and is now long gone (thank goodness.) The 80s were full of rhinestones and glitter glue. The 90s had bold neon colors and prints. Instead of going for something that is “in fashion”, try for a classic look. Choose a neutral solid color shirt, pants, or dress.  White, grey, or beige. I personally do not like dark colors in my photos- avoid blacks. I know, I know. Black is probably your favorite color. But if you want to get a light and airy look, your colors need to be light.

In my personal opinion, denim never goes out of style and is always a safe choice.

Coordinate

If you are photographing multiple children, coordinate- don’t match. Do you remember when everyone use to wear the exact same white or black t-shirt on the beach? Everyone looked exactly the same making the photo quite uninteresting.

Every year, I get matching pajamas for Christmas for my boys. While that’s cute and all, it’s a much better option to have them coordinate instead of an exact match. Next year, I plan to get Wisdom (who will be 1 year old) a pajama set (little boy PJs have cute options!) and then get Worth (he’ll be 6) a solid color set that will compliment Wisdom’s PJs. This will keep the image from getting too busy and also keep the 2 outfits from competing with each other. Both boys will be the star of the photo.

So there you have it! You now know some simple tricks on how to dress your kids for photos. I told you it’s not so hard! Choose a timeless style by picking an outfit with solid colors. Coordinate your children’s outfits instead of having them match exactly. Now it’s time to get photographing!

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