In order to give my clients good advice on getting ready for a family photo shoot, I have always felt that I need to go through the same process to truly understand what it feels like. Plus, I LOVE getting my family together for a portrait and capturing that time in our lives.  Wether they have braces or are missing a tooth, it doesn't matter. That is who they are at that time.  So, I have been getting ready for our family photo shoot planned for this June.  This involves a lot of thinking, planning and shopping! Good thing I like to do all of that!  First, I decide on the color theme.  One year I did all white on the beach.

One year I did blues. One summer I did a pop of color with the teals and corals.  In the mountains, I did tan and greens. Last fall I did grays and black. This year I wanted to do organic neutral colors.  How did I start the process? I find it hard to get shirts for all three males in the house. I can never find the right color in the right size. But I came across some really soft browns and then the shorts were easy.  I already had a tan skirt I that I liked. I came across a tan shirt that was flowy and light-weight at Nordstrom Rack.  I wanted to have my daughter wear a dress. I found that there is much less to choose from for young girls. I did love this lacey cream dress but I do worry that it will blow out the highlights as it did in this photo.  Whites and cream are high key and they can do that easliy where the tans are a medium tone.  I hire a photographer to do the shoot and practice what I preach! 

Lulu the photo bomber jumped in this shot.   I keep the tags on the clothes so they look great for the shoot plus everyone is happy to put new clothes on, right?  Getting clothes that really blend well together make the portrait look professional and pleasing to look at. It is worth it!!  Hope this helps you get ready for your photo shoot!