Extended Family Photo Color Schemes and Wardrobe Tips

Yay! You’re getting extended family photos taken! It’s an accomplishment, first of all to get multiple generations of family in the same place at the same time. Convincing everyone to have photos taken is even harder.

But now you have texts from two aunts, one sister, your sister-in-law, and your mom, and everyone is asking: What should we wear for pictures?!

What to wear for extended family photos

The instinct with extended family photos is to get super specific, so there’s no ambiguity, but that’s how we ended up with the “white T-shirts with khakis” thing.

JUST SAY NO to matching outfits. Please, I beg you.

Here’s your to-do list, my friend:

1. Share a color palette.
2. Share the do’s and don’ts.

 Find a color palette (or make your own)

A good palette for a small family contains 3 to 6 colors.

For extended family, you need to go BIG. Give folks a lot of colors to choose from, so they don’t feel limited.

Pro tip: Any two-color palette is not going to work, especially if those colors are black, white, or khaki. Trust me when I say that you will not like your photos if you dress this way.



Find a palette you like or put one together.

The positive of a big palette is that you still look cohesive, but not too matchy-matchy.

Let’s look at some example color schemes.

Extended family photo color scheme #1

We have a lot of great colors in here to choose from. A lot of neutrals, both light and dark. A few bold colors, but nothing too crazy.

Extended family photo color scheme #2: Jewel tones + neutrals

This one has overlap with the one above, bold colors and more neutrals.

Extended family color scheme #4: Blues, grays, blush and an accent

Another way to go if you’re a little more color-averse is to focus everyone on neutrals, but give one accent color. Like this:

DO’S

1. Clothes you feel good in and can move around in, including comfy shoes.
2. Vary textures and fabrics: think textured knits or chunky sweaters next to cottons and denim.
3. Accessorize! A statement necklace, scarf, belt, suspenders, bow tie (I’m also a sucker for spunky socks). Hats on the ladies frame faces nicely, and newsboy hats on men can be really sharp.
4. Super bold colors only as accents, or only on the smallest family members.
5. Long skirts and dresses, both for comfort and movement.

DON’TS

1. No clothing with logos or words on it. It’s super distracting.
2. No glitter, sequins, or other extras that reflect light.
3. No trucker hats on men (white foreheads are no big deal; I can fix that in editing).
4. No thick stripes or small stripes/checkered print. Cameras do not like them.
5. Don’t overdress (unless you know everyone else is doing it, too).

COLOR DON’TS

1. No neon colors—including on socks and shoes.
2. Keep pure white and solid black to a minimum (they read as flat in photos).
3. Make sure any pure white/solid black fabrics are textured, not flat. Think waffle knit, ribbed… just search “textured women’s white top” and you’ll see what I mean.
4. Creams or deep grays are great alternatives to black and white.
5. Watch the gray on family members who sweat a lot. Sweat marks show like crazy on gray.