Tag Archives: what to wear in family pictures

‘C’ Family Sneak Peek!

October 29, 2009 – 7:00 am

I shot the C family a few weeks ago just outside of downtown Houston. I couldn’t have asked for better weather and an even better family to shoot. I can’t believe this is the third holiday family portrait I’ve shot for this family - how time has flown!


W is growing into such a handsome guy!

One thing that hasn’t changed is his love of dinosaurs and he’s as rambunctious as ever!

Stefanie did an AWESOME job styling her family. I absolutely loved how the colors tied into one another - notice the deep red W is wearing? If you look closely you’ll find hints of that same color on Mom and Dad. Also notice dark brown Dad is wearing? You’ll find hints of it on Stefanie and W. I can’t forget to mention how much I LOVE the layering - it adds so much interest and dimension to the images. (and is so flattering!)

sidenote: The C family ran a little late to their session and I chuckled when Stefanie called to let me know why. She admitted that she chose W’s outfit first and now understood why I advise Mom’s to choose their outfits first. It took her all day to decide on their ‘look.’ Styling is hard work! Good Job Stefanie!!

By janellelynn | Posted in Families, What TO Wear | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

What TO Wear - Look 2

October 16, 2009 – 9:32 am

The entire look is from Old Navy except for Mom’s shoes which are from Payless Shoesource.

Purple is EVERYWHERE! Everytime I go into the mall the shop windows are filled with purple looks. Accessories, shoes, clothes - you name it! It’s as if purple is the new black for this fall. This is a very casual, comfortable look - especially good for families who like to roll around in the grass.

As usual, I started with Mom’s look first - dark jeans, purple sleeveless top layered underneath a basic black sweater. The purple plaid flats add a little bit of fun into an otherwise conservative outfit.  In my own wardrobe I love layering color under black sweaters.  The black sweater is slimming while the color adds just a bit of interest.

After I determined what Mom was going to wear I shimmied on over to the girls section and found the cutest pair of purple pants. It’s the perfect tie-in to Mom’s outfit! Once I decided on the purple pants, it was pretty easy to decide on the girly, printed pink shirt layered uner the grey shrug.  Of course the shoes with the purple flower embellishment were too cute to pass up.

After deciding on the ladies wardrobe it was time to dress the guys. As you can see from above, I kept it very basic and simple - dark jeans, white t-shirt layered under sweaters followed by cute “Vans-like” shoes.

You CAN be comfortable and NOT match for family portraits - try it! :-)

© 2009 janelle lynn photography
This post is protected and under copyright. If you are reading it anyplace other than janelle lynn photography it is stolen.

By janellelynn | Posted in Families, What TO Wear | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

What WE wore

October 8, 2009 – 3:11 pm

This past May Hubby, Miss J and I took a little vacation to San Francisco, CA where I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to have our first family pictures taken. I’ve been a blog follower/stalker of Ed Pingol for the longest time and thankfully he fit us into his busy schedule. Above is one of the images he shot and shows what we wore.

How I came up with the look:

Since we were going to be in San Francisco I wanted our pictures to be taken with the iconic Golden Gate Bridge in the background and Ed suggested Bakers Beach. Since we were going to be on the beach I knew two things right away:

1 - Hubby and I were going to wear jeans.
2 - We were going to be barefoot.

So all I had to figure out was what we would wear on top. One day as we were perusing the sales racks at Baby Gap Hubby fell in love with a green, peasant dress for Miss J. According to him, THIS was the dress she had to wear for family pictures. I wasn’t too sure as I had yet to choose what I was going to wear! (remember my first piece of advice?) Well, I gave in mostly because Hubby rarely has an opinion about Miss J’s wardrobe and it was a cute dress.

With Miss J being the focal point I wanted our clothing to compliment her dress - no way was I going to put the both of us in solid green shirts. The greens would have been way to hard to match and I did not want us to look like the Lucky Charms cereal leprachan. =P I ended up finding a argyle-like shirt for hubby and a cute green tank for me. San Francisco’s weather is unpredictable so I planned for cold weather by choosing items we could layer over and under - a long sleeved black shirt for him and a lightweight black sweater for me. I also layered a long sleeve white onesie under Miss J’s dress.

All in all, I think the look was flattering for all of us and I’m so happy with the images Ed took!

Click here to book your Holiday Mini-Session today!!

By janellelynn | Posted in Personal, Travels | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

What TO Wear - Look 1

October 6, 2009 – 9:06 am

“What do we wear?” is the most asked question after a family books a portrait session. (followed closely by the statement “I don’t want to match.”) With the release of the Holiday Mini-Sessions I thought I’d put together a few “look” boards to help families along. The boards will consist of looks for a family of 4 - Mom, Dad, Daughter and Son - pretty generic, huh? I figure by doing it this way it will give Mom’s a headstart on how to decide what the family should wear for photographs. Let’s face it - family photographs are more important to Mom than they are to Dad or the kids. =P

1st piece of advice: Moms should choose what they’re going to wear first!

More often than not, Moms will select the kids outfits then decide on what she and Dad should wear. And more often than not, Mom is uncomfortable and not entirely happy during the photo session. So Moms, choose what you’re going to wear first. Try it on and look in the mirror - if you think, “I look GOOOD!” you have your outfit! Now comes the fun part, selecting what the kids (and Dad!) are going to wear.

The ‘looks’ in the board above are from the Gap except Mom and Dad’s shoes which are from DSW.

Thoughts behind today’s ‘look’:

1: Casual and modern. This look is for the family that wants a sleek, modern, yet casual look. Moms - if you’re uncomfortable wearing a skirt, the denim skirt and boots can easily be switched out with dark denim jeans and cute flats.

2: A note about wearing jeans/denim: If everyone in the family is going to wear jeans make sure everyone is wearing the same wash. If you have one member in light blue jeans, then another in dark blue jeans, then another in a vintage wash - it’s too distracting. This will probably be the only time I tell families to dress the same. I prefer families wore dark denim - it’s casual yet tailored at the same time.

3: Layers!! Layers add dimension and interest to pictures. In addition, layers allow you to be photographed in two different looks without having to change clothes. Just remove the jacket/vest/sweater and there have it!

4: Color!! In pictures, you want your eye to be drawn to one point then venture outwards. By having the girls in color and the guys in neutral it provides a nice balance.

That’s it for now. If you have comments or questions leave them below. I’ll have another ‘look’ next week!

© 2009 janelle lynn photography
This post is protected and under copyright. If you are reading it anyplace other than janelle lynn photography it is stolen.

By janellelynn | Posted in Engagements, Families, What TO Wear | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)