Keep It Simple
The most important things to keep in mind when choosing your outfits and color schemes for Florida Keys Family Portraits are comfort, confidence, and something that feels like you! Wear something comfortable that you can move in! We like to incorporate fun and energy into our photos and we want you to be able to laugh and play with your family. We highly recommend wearing something you feel confident in as well. The camera can already be intimidating for some, so wear what makes you feel like your best self. Most importantly, choose a style that exemplifies you! Family portraits are NOT the best time to try something new and out of the box to see how you look. Wearing something that says YOU will look natural in the camera. This is crucial because it ensures both comfort and confidence too! Feel free to adds pops of color, pattern, or accessories that are fresh and exciting; just don't overdo it!
Colors
We like to first start by building a base of neutrals to work off of. Incorporating neutrals is the safest, best bet when caught in a pinch. Best neutrals for the Florida Keys are khaki variations, whites, tans, and grays. If trying to coordinate colors is too stressful, when in doubt, dress in neutrals.
From there, integrating pops of color works great! For our Florida Keys Family Portrait Sessions, the best pop of colors to incorporate are hues of blue, pinks, and corals. Here are some of our favorite colorful clothing options:
If those colors aren't for you, we recommend finding a color palette that you love to help incorporate complimentary colors into your session wardrobe. Here are some sample color schemes:
Don't be afraid to mix it up! Guys can wear neutrals & navy and ladies can wear whites and corals! The important thing to remember is that the brightest colors are going to draw the most attention. So pops of color work great, but too much of any stand-out color takes away from the beautiful scenery around you.
Difference in Colors
If you want the colors in your photos to be vibrant, do not wear desaturated colors. Here is an example of a family wearing desaturated colors versus punchy/vibrant colors. In contrast, if you want your photos to look light and soft then desaturated colors are a great option.
Patterns
Keep it clean and simple! Avoiding loud and complex patterns is best. Flowers, chevron, and stripes are all great, but not too much. We don't want complex patterns to take away the attention from you, our subject. If you choose to wear patterns, have your spouse or kids wear something more plain to balance!
If you are prone to sweating you should abide by the following:
Stick to solid colors. If you are wearing any patterns (even simple ones) and sweat through your shirt we cannot remove it in post processing
Do not wear linen or cotton, those materials show the most sweat
Pick a fabric that is moisture wicking so it is unlikely for sweat to show. This is especially important for late spring and summer sessions. Columbia makes great button down shirts for men that look good and are moisture wicking
The boys in the photo below are wearing performance, moisture wicking shirts. Not a single drop of sweat showed in any of the photos during this late spring session.
Accessories
Accessories are a great touch and can really bring photos to life! Clothing and accessories that catch the wind look amazing and add a great energy to the photos too!
Wearing Red
Stay away from the color red. While it is a lovely color, we adjust the red hues in our post processing. A lot of times our clients arrive to the session sunburnt or have a little bit of Sun-kissed skin. Due to this, we change the red hues in the post-processing to blend into the skin so that you’ll never know that you are sunburnt. Because of this the red hues look more of a coral or orange color. The same goes with dark pink, the color ends up having a little bit more of a coral hue which looks great but may not always be desired.
Dress & Clothing Layers
Be mindful of the layers on a dress. Any fabric that has extra hanging pieces can look cool with movement but on super windy days can be really difficult to shoot. The extra fabric pieces can sometimes fly up and make you look larger than what you are or whack you in the face. This is not as much of an issue during summertime but during late fall, winter, and spring when it is really windy it becomes problematic. We cannot fix this in post processing. Avoiding those styles of dresses and loose flutter sleeves is best during windy season.
Wearing White
We prefer when clients wear colors that go together versus wearing the exact same thing. If you would like to wear the exact same thing like all white, we recommend adding in different hues of white by throwing in some creams, off-whites, and mixing up the textures.
Bras and Tan Lines
Ladies, choose the right bra for your outfit. Wear a strapless bra if you are wearing a spaghetti strap or sleeveless dress. Also be mindful of the style of dress you are wearing and coordinate that with your bathing suit. The Florida sun is super harsh and you will likely end up burning or with Tanlines. Pick a dress that will cover those Tanlines and bra straps for the session. We cannot stress this enough.
Glasses
If you wear glasses think about switching to contacts for the session or wear anti-glare glasses. A lot of eyeglasses show reflections, have a glare, or look like sunglasses due to transitions. This is NOT something we can fix in post-processing.
Hair
If young girls are attending the session, considering putting their hair up or in braids to pull it out of their face. It can take a lot of time constantly moving flyway hairs out of their faces and we can’t always edit them out.
The Florida humidity is no joke. If you are worried about frizzy hair, oils can help tame the frizz and add shine. Argan Oil works wonders.
If you need more inspo, check out some of the clothing options our other families have worn to their sessions!
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