Spring Family Portrait Outfit Inspiration & Tips for Choosing Your Own

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Spring is finally in full swing! I wondered if we would even see a spring after winter just kept dragging on and on and on… But here it is, and with spring comes warmer weather, the return of greenery and colorful blooms, and much more opportunity for outdoor portraits! Spring is a popular time to have family portraits taken because the weather is finally tolerable here in Michigan and you can take advantage of the natural light with outdoor portraits without having to get bundled up to go outside. When planning your spring or summer portraits, a couple questions might come to mind: A.) Where should we have family portraits taken? You can view some ideas on locations HERE. and B.) What should we wear for our family portraits?

Naturally, I’m drawn to blues any time of year, but in the spring, I’m typically drawn to lighter blues and lighter colors. One of my favorite color combos for spring and even summer portraits is to pair light blues with a hint of pink. Of course, if you plan to hang your photos on the wall, you should consider the color scheme of your decor when selecting your outfits. I decorate with a lot of blue, so my attraction to blue when picking out outfits works well for me. When choosing our outfits for our recent spring family portrait, I started with the adorable floral dresses shown in the photo below, and selected coordinating colors. Two of my daughters are at the age where I can often find matching outfits, so for just the two of them, I decided to match their dresses. By matching these two, I was able to create a good starting point to build from and it kept me from adding too many different colors and patterns. As long as you aren’t making everyone too matchy matchy, it’s okay to match just a little. The key is to coordinate versus match your outfits. The next outfits I chose were the light blues in my son’s shirt and my baby daughter’s dress, which I pulled from the light blue in the floral dresses. You don’t want to mix too many patterns, so you’ll want to try to keep it to just a couple. Since the floral was a pretty bold pattern, I stayed away from adding other bold patterns, and fell in love with this light blue and white striped dress for myself that read more as a solid from a distance. The color of the dress coordinated with the other outfits and the subtle pattern added interest without clashing with the floral pattern of the girls’ dresses. The last outfit to be selected was my husband’s, and I struggled with this for a while because I didn’t want to add another pattern to the mix, but I knew we already had too much of the light blue. We needed some contrast. After a lot of searching, we found this really nice darker blue solid shirt that had a nice lighter blue subtle pattern on the inside of the cuffs and collar to coordinate with the rest of the outfits. The darker blue was also pulled from the floral pattern. Overall, I was really happy with how the outfits all pulled together and the shades of blue went beautifully with the blues of the beach setting.

You can find our outfit details here (Please note that not all items are exact, as I couldn’t find everything online. The men’s shirt is similar. The girls’ floral dress is not offered in this pattern online, but was purchased in store. Everything else is exact.) :

H&M Cotton Dress • H&M •
Van Heusen Indigo Blue Chambray Dress Shirt – Slim Fit • Van Heusen •
Dickies Relaxed-Fit Twill Shorts • Dickies •
Calvin Klein Cotton Striped Wrap Dress, Regular & Petite • Calvin Klein •
H&M Easy-iron Shirt • H&M •
H&M Chino Shorts • H&M •
H&M Sleeveless Jersey Dress • H&M •

All of our children’s outfits came from H&M. They offered so many cute options that I took some time to put together a few spring outfit inspiration boards for you; all from H&M.

For this outfit collection, I pulled the light colors from the little girl’s butterfly dress, and again chose a coordinating subtle pattern and solid colors for the rest.

You can find these outfit details here:
H&M Short-sleeve Shirt Regular fit • H&M •
H&M Knee-length Cotton Shorts • H&M •
H&M V-neck Dress • H&M •
H&M Cotton Shirt • H&M •
H&M Chino Shorts • H&M •
H&M Sleeveless Jersey Dress • H&M •
H&M Cotton Dress • H&M •

My color scheme here was the same as the other outfit inspiration boards, but I added more white to the mix. I coordinated the white in the little girl’s dress to the white in dad’s shirt and the light blue of mom’s dress with the light blue boy’s shirt. There’s just a pop of pink in the little girl’s dress to add interest.

You can find outfit details here (the boy’s shirt is similar, but not exact):

H&M Short-sleeved Shirt Slim fit • H&M •
H&M Knee-length Cotton Shorts • H&M •
H&M Long Lace Dress • H&M •
H&M Tulle Dress • H&M •
H&M Cotton Shirt • H&M •
H&M Chino Shorts • H&M •

For this outfit collection, I wanted to add a little contrast with some darker colors. Initially, I selected colors from the light blue striped little girl’s dress, but upon writing this post, I was no longer able to find this dress online. I have linked a similar dress below the photo. The colors all nicely coordinated with a little mix of subtle patterns.

You can find the outfit details here (I chose a similar little girl’s dress because I couldn’t find the exact one from the board online):

H&M Short-sleeve Shirt Regular fit • H&M
H&M Knee-length Cotton Shorts • H&M
H&M Wrap Dress • H&M
H&M Shirt with Tie/Bow Tie • H&M
H&M Chino Shorts • H&M
H&M Cotton Dress with Smocking • H&M
H&M Shirt and Shorts • H&M
H&M Cotton Dress • H&M

When selecting outfits for family portraits, you can choose any color scheme you’d like, but it is helpful to remember these few tips when planning out your outfits:

1. Don’t overdo it with patterns. You don’t want to select patterns that will clash. It’s usually a safer option to stick with one bolder pattern and if you choose to add another pattern, go with a more subtle one in a coordinating color that reads more as a solid.

2. Try to coordinate your colors without matching outfits exactly. Because we have a family of six, I had two of my girls in matching outfits and coordinated everyone else’s outfits from the colors in their dresses. Having everyone in matching colors or patterns can be too much, but coordinating different colors off of one pattern can add nice contrast while also complementing each other’s outfits.

3. When choosing a color scheme (or pattern to build off of), consider where you will hang these photos in your home. You may choose to pick a color scheme that matches or complements the decor in the room where you’ll hang your images.

4. Consider your photo location, as well, when selecting your outfits for family portraits. If you’re looking for inspiration for your outfit color palette, looking at the location where your photo will be taken can provide some direction. Choose a complementary color that will pop a bit against the background, helping your family to stand out in your images. (example: If your background is primarily green, I’d avoid dressing anyone in solid green. A pattern with a hint of green could be okay!)

Wishing you the best of luck in selecting your family portrait outfits! If you like the outfit inspiration boards and would like to see more from season to season, let me know in the comments!