Styling Family Pictures by Josephine Hauser

My busiest time of the year (for styling) is the fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas because people are having their holiday card pictures taken. It is also one of my favorite things to do because when the session is over, the family is happy with how each of them looks and they have these beautiful photos to cherish forever. The Christmas cards can be sent out with confidence. This can be completely overwhelming for a lot of people.

Styling Family Pictures

Coordinating multiple people for photos, that EVERYONE you know will see, can be daunting. You want pictures that are going to capture who you are and look like you and your family. It’s important that you all are comfortable in your pictures or it will show in your pictures even with Photoshop :-). Important things to consider are the location and the time of day. Your photographer will most likely pick both of these but if you have something specific in mind, make sure you ask.

My favorite time of day is a little before sunset. The lighting is so beautiful.

When it comes to picking out what we should wear, I, generally, start with one piece and build off of that. Usually, I pick my dress or Hollins’ dress first because generally it is patterned or has multiple colors and Allen and the boys’ clothes tend to be solid. Sometimes I have clients that come to me with nothing for the pictures. Other times they will say “I have this particular dress or skirt that I want my daughter to wear” or “I found this great dress for me” then I can help then build everyone else’s outfit from there and incorporate what they already have.

I have even had clients just want a certain colors in there picture because they have already selected a holiday card and they think certain colors would work better. I put together a style board (or 2 if you want options) with every outfit for each member of your family and links to purchase your pieces. It is truly a service to make your life easier.