BE COMFORTABLE

In my opinion, comfort is king! While I wish it was acceptable to wear fuzzy pajamas 24/7 - it’s not always something I want to be photographed in. Choose something that makes YOU feel good. Maybe it’s not the dress you wear constantly - but something in a similar cut that makes you feel confident. So make sure all your clothes fit well - not too big and not too small. You do not want to have to be constantly adjusting your outfit because it is ill-fitting. 

CHOOSE A COLOR PALETTE

The next thing to do is to choose a color palette. While the idea seems daunting and really the whole concept of color theory is a whole day lesson - keep it simple! The first thing you will want to consider is - are you going to be hanging these photos in your home or are they just a fun holiday card? If you plan on decorating your home with your family photos - consider the colors of your decor while you don’t need to make everything match, wearing similar tones will add your interior theme. But hey - if you are strictly taking funny holiday photos with ugly sweaters let's do it! 

So in general start with one outfit and then grow from there - I suggest Mom's outfit since she's most likely the one wanting family photos. The tone is the next thing to think about - while primary colors are beautiful they tend to be a bit distracting in photographs -opt for neutral and subdued colors that will let your faces be the center of attention. 

COORDINATE DON’T MATCH

Matching family photos have a place and time - trust me, my sister and I have many photos with matching outfits for holiday cards. I think family photos should be timeless. So not everyone needs to be in jeans and a white t-shirt. Maybe Mom wears a long flowing maxi dress in a solid color, and someone else has a plaid shirt with that color included in the pattern with dark denim jeans. This all references back to the color palette you choose.