I don’t know if you are still using family photo outfits for the occasional idea post, but I loved the way these ones turned out last fall. The canyon we were in was so freezing cold we HAD to wear our coats, but it worked out perfectly with the backgrounds we found by a red train and some different wood structures. I also have to say that I love our photographer

http://victoriabainesharris.com/

because she always catches natural poses. I’ve really enjoyed seeing other family picture ideas so thank you!

Jess:  Thank you for your submission!  I love the red, as per usual

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

Our reader, Jillian, said:

Maybe you’ve seen enough family pictures to last a lifetime but I had to share ours anyway.    I am happy with the casualness and coordination we pulled off without looking totally matchy-matchy.  The flip-flops are so US!

Photos by Lindsay Silsby at http://www.piedpiperphoto.com/

Jillian – your photos are adorable and especially those little boys!  Thanks for your submission and Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

Dear readers, we have not forgot about your family/engagement photos!   We had so many wonderful responses that we weren’t able to get them all done.  Keep checking back to see your feature!

Our reader, Amy, said:

Hey!  I found this site when I was looking for something to wear in my engagement pictures. You guys were so helpful so I thought I would share! I actually found the purple dress I wore in some of the pictures from your site.  You guys featured something from The Limited and it got me looking on their site which is where I found my dress. I love all the advice and ideas you guys have to offer. Keep up the good work!

Thanks,

Amy

Amy:  you guys are the cutest couple!  These photos are great and so are your outfits.  Glad we could help!

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

Our reader, Crystal, said:

Liv-
I wanted to send you our family photo.
Let me tell you though, the worst thing about being a photographer is thinking you can take your own family’s pictures.
I knew I was going to shoot us in the yellow leaves- so everyone had a little mustard, mixed with silver, gray, navy and a bit of green.
As a photographer, and a mom, I know the stress  mom’s go through trying to coordinate outfits.  My advice is you don’t have to go shopping just for something to wear for pictures.  We didn’t.  Just don’t try so hard to match and layer even more than you usually do.  It is alright if you have five different colors on people, as long as at least half of those colors are neutrals… and yes metallic, gray, tan, and navy all count as neutrals.

Crystal
crystalfreemanphotography.com

Crystal – thanks so much for the great advice.  The pics are adorable!

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

Our reader, Lindsay, said:

Just thought I’d share some of my family photos too! My extended family and I all had a really fun time picking out our outfits this year for photos. It was a little tough, but I think they turned out great. Being matchy-matchy isn’t our thing, so we mixed it up a bit! We decided on 3 main colors along with brown and tried to make sure we didn’t have too much of one color. We really love how they turned out

Lindsay:  good job!  I don’t like matchy-matchy either.  I love how these turned out as well.

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

Our reader, Erin, said:

Erin,  thanks for your submission!  I love how the colors pop as well!

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

Our reader, Ashley, said:

Here are some outfits of engagement/couple pictures! Me and my husband are the ones where he’s in brown, and i’m in white with the orange scarf.   I’ve also included some other pictures I’ve taken of other couples engagement shoots.

Ashley,

Thanks for your submission!  I, (of course) love all the scarves.

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

Our reader, Kristen, said:

Picking outfits is the hardest part about getting family pictures taken.  I had a few colors in mind for the overall look, but decided to pick an outfit that I loved, and felt good in first.  THEN, I coordinated my boys & husband to my outfit.  I thought that if I felt like a hot mama, then I’d stress less.  It worked!  Kids look cute no matter what they are wearing.  I had heard to use a lot of layering.  I think the layers gave more depth to the photos, and brought out more personality.

The clothes were mostly from GAP and Old Navy.

Photos taken by Jen Korth Photography: http://jenkorthphotography.com/

Kristen:  Thanks so much for sharing!!  Your little boys are adorable and I love love love that nature photo.

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping

Our reader, Brooke, said:

Hi Livi,

I really liked what we wore for our family photos this year. Sometimes it’s hard if you only have boys to get enough funk and color in the photo without being outrageous…especially when they have an opinion, but this worked out well…Good for group and single shots without being too matchy.

Thanks for all the tips!
Brooke Romney
(photos by Alys Morris)

Brooke:  Thank you so much for your cute submissions and your great advice!  Your family is adorable.

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping.

Our reader, Agnes, said:

Hi again Livi!

Wanted to share our engagement pics. We had plans to do a casual-styled session and a more dressy session, but our wedding date came closer and closer and we just didn’t have time. So for our casual look we went with a classic cardi for both of us. (Can’t go wrong with cardi’s!) I attached my faves and these are links if you want to see the entire set. Thanks again, love the blog…keep up the great work!

http://3oclockwalk.blogspot.com/2010/04/wedding-official-engagement-photos.html

http://vabeachphotography.com/blog/2010/04/04/agnes-and-kyle/

Agnes:  these are adorable!!!  I love the colors.  Thanks so much for sharing!

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping

Our reader, Jackie, said:

Here is a family picture for ya!
This is my family with my mother and my brother + wife

We chose to wear gray and navy

(This is us http://sarager.blogspot.com)

Also, the picture was taken by Kristin here
http://www.pickledpepperphotography.com/

Jackie:  Thanks for your submission!  I love everyones natural, happy posing/faces.

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

That’s right, this year we got family photos taken for the first time ever! I didn’t really spend a lot of time coordinating our outfits because it wasn’t really a “family shoot”. I had to get my picture taken for the DownEast Basics blog and asked Lashley (our photographer) if she minded snapping a few photos of the family at the end. So… I guess I’m trying to say the photos turned out awesome, but this is not a post on how to put together a wardrobe for your family photos. (In fact, Zach asked me what he should wear and I was too busy to really care, so I didn’t even know what he was planning…) If you want to see how some of the pictures of just me turned out, check out Lashley’s blog here.

I hope you have a great weekend, and don’t forget to check out my posts over at DownEast Basics!

How to wear the Countess Skirt

Skirt Giveaway! You have until Sunday at midnight to enter!

Celebrity Scene: Hilary Duff!

Meet the Chief Operating Officer of DEB

Our reader Jami, said:

I am sure you are getting a TON of family photos, but here is ours as well.  We chose bright colors instead of muted and I think it represents our family well.

Love the blog!  Thanks for all the ideas on cute modest clothes!

One question…  Do you have any ideas for a cute winter boot that I can wear on a day to day basis?  So nothing with a big heel that I can’t chase my kids around in. Something that will go with most casual outfits, but still be stylish?  I am having a hard time finding something.

Jami

Jami: Love the photo!!  As for your winter boots question, go HERE there are options with and without a heel and it will get your on the right search.

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

for family photos that is!  (or so says Jill!)

Our reader, Jill, sent in her family photos and said this:

i sent mine in last year and thought i’d do the same again this year.
i was so pleased with how they turned out and thought your readers might want some “outfit ideas.
all are extremely budget friendly/modest, which your readers will surely appreciate.
i think everything came from either old navy, gap or banana. all my stuff was old navy {maternity}…we’re expecting #3 in march!!
we went with jewel tones for the most part and just added the rusty red flowers for a pop of color from the opposite end of the color wheel!

thanks again for all the fantastic ideas on your site…..

Congrats, Jill!  Thanks for sending in your beautiful family pictures.

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!

We get a lot of requests for what to wear for engagement/family photos.  We had our great previous post about what to wear for family photos – so here comes the time for family photo submissions!!

We invite you send in your family/engagement photos and we will post them on SS!

One of our readers said, I’m stuck. I have no idea what to wear for my engagement photos. I want them to be fun and semi casual (jeans would be fine, but so would a dress with flats). I don’t even know where to start… help!

I think engagement photos run along the same line as family photos as far as rules go (see previous post on family photos)

However, I think you need to take in consideration what your personal style is. When I got my engagements done, I had hardly ANY time to think about it.

We got engaged and married in .2 seconds and had to get our photos done ASAP. I just decided on dark jeans and black tops because I knew thats what I would be most comfortable in.    (I really liked those jeans, black is slimming and it looks great against my white hair.) I chose not to wear my standard bright red lipstick because I knew that would be too harsh and not as classic as I would want (would I like that look in 5 years or be embarrassed by it?)

As far as what the then fiance’ would wear, we were at a loss.   I just told him to wear black because I feel like black doesn’t count for matchy-matchy because it comes across very classy.  (I mean, I’ve always worn a lot of black and living in New York just solidified that)

It also helped that our photographer, Cyndee from Ashki Photography, was very talented and good at finding different scenes and bringing in the background color and variety to our photos. We went all over downtown so we I wasn’t really able to change outfits, but if you can do that, I would highly recommend it.  That way it gives you a variety.

Also, I brought a lot of scarves and accessories that we took on and off throughout the shoot.

**all photos done by Cyndee Wanyonyi of Ashki Photography

Our Reader, Jenn said:

The holidays are running at us and this means… family pictures.  Do you have any suggestion on what to wear?

I decided to consult the experts.  I reached out to Katelyn of Kate Jennings Photography. (Find KJP here)

I asked Katelyn as a photographer and mom, what her suggestions for family photos are.  Here are her tips from our Q&A:

Ciao Ciao and Happy Shopping!!!

Another lovely family photo. The baby is only 6 weeks old in this picture!

Is this photo gorgeous or what? The trees in the background are absolutely beautiful, and the colors they are wearing are great! By Zobbie Photography (And no, this is not Emily of Sensibly Styled…)

Hey all! By popular demand, we have added a way to search Maternity and Family Photos. On the Right hand side of this page under “Shop By Type” there are now links to Maternity (including nursing wear) and Family Photos (includes our advice as well as the many family photos that have been submitted.) I went through all our past posts, which is A LOT and tried to find them all, I know I’m missing some, but hey. it’s a start! Please enjoy, and sorry this is just now being done!

(Also, when you search under Outfit, that is where you can find a lot of the emails we have answered)

Great photo! Love the stripes on the little boys! And the little one on the left has this look that says: Yeah, I know I’m cute!

DON’T FORGET TO SEND IN YOUR OUTFIT FOR THE DOWNEAST GIVEAWAY! AND, MAKE SURE TO COME ON MONDAY TO VOTE FOR THE WINNER!

I Lu-hu-huve these! I love the simplicity of them, the wood floors, neutral background. Just perfect. Photos by Jon Willis as part of the Simple Portrait Project.

Okay, I know every mother thinks their baby is the cutest… but look how cute my baby is! She just turned 10 months today… she is getting so big!

Remember Alisa from this post? Well, we were in UT last weekend and she was able to take some pictures of my little one. I love them, and can’t wait to get my prints! Thanks Alisa!!! Click here if you would like to view more pictures of Jane!

My friend Livi (we were neighbors in college) sent in her engagement photos. We also get a ton of emails asking what to wear for engagement photos. And what could possibly be more romantic than posing next to Jay and Silent Bob? Yeah, I don’t know either. Thanks for sending these in Livi! Photos by Cyndee Waynyoni (Boise).

What a good looking family. Love the little girl at the bottom squeezing her brothers leg! Thanks April for sending this in!

Love this family picture. Again, capturing a families silliness is the best. And I can’t help but totally love the little boy on the far right… so cute! Thanks for sending this in Kendra!

Doesn’t this picture just make your heart melt? Those babies (who, in this picture are only 10 days old!) are so precious. Melissa’s family pictures were taken by Rachel Acord.

Love. Love. Love. This family picture! One of my favs! Thanks Lindsay for sending this in! (Oh and I’m loving the little guys hat!!!)

I absolutely LOVE family photos that capture the family in their silliness. My friend Alisa is actually the photographer for these pictures and is in the top photo (3rd from the left) Anyways, I always LOVE her work! She took my engagement photos, and we were very happy with them! Anyways, if you live in Salt Lake area, and need an awesome photographer, Alisa is your lady!

Anyways, I thought I would throw in my engagement photo from 3 years back. Zach borrowed this sweater from his roommate Matt, because all he owned was t-shirts. And, his roommate didn’t know until he got the invitation. haha that was really funny. And I just threw this on… we didn’t plan very well… but regardless, I think it turned out great!

So, I love the background colors in both of these pictures. But I love the flags in the second pictures. Thanks for sending these in Carolyn!

Great pictures. I especially love the one with the blue background. It makes me smile… Thanks Ellie for sending these in! (Ellie is the photographer who took these pictures!)

Love the little girls dress and the fall leaves! Thanks for sending this in Kristin!

I LOVE this picture. I think it looks like it should be a Gap ad or something… And what’s cuter than seeing a bunch of little boys in Keens? (Other than Crocs of course… jk…kinda) Thanks Chris for sending this in!

Great Setting! The trees, and the snow are beautiful! Thanks Angela for sending this in!

Love the colors in these photos! Loni is even wearing the dress suggested in this post! Thanks for sending these in Loni!

More greatness. And more to come! Sent in by our reader Kelli.