It’s here, y’all love fall! And one thing I can really appreciate about the season is the deep jewel colors! Maybe it’s because these are the warm colors and it makes me want to get all cozy, but no matter what, if you love color, this is your season.

I know a lot of you have a hard time putting outfits together for your fall photo sessions, but hopefully, this gives you a start. Now, I clearly posted female outfits, but this is for two reasons, one, mom is usually in charge of the outfits either by default or because she’s just better at it and two if momma is in charge she needs to feel fab so it’s best to start with her! In the past, I have started my outfit planning around a dress I just loved for my daughter or a shirt my mother-in-law made by hand for my son, in those cases go with it. Nevertheless you need a starting point and hopefully, these 8 simple outfits will get your creativity going.

To help further I’d like to share my THREE simple tips when it comes to fall outfit planning for the family!

ONE: Keep it simple. Try to stick with solid colors or a very simple pattern for one member of your family. Remember that if you taking outdoor, nature pictures you’re going to be surrounded by leaves, trees, and lots of other busy backgrounds. Now if your photog, (me) is shooting with a large aperture meaning…a blurry background, it’s going to really make you pop and all the busyness in the background will fade away. Still, you should try to keep it easy on the eyes.

TWO: Think about your home.  What does your home have to do with your outfit? EVERYTHING! Ok now if you’re going to be printing your images, which is the point. Sorry not sorry I believe in printing not just some FB or Insta likes…anyways you need to think about how that shoot will look in your home. For example, in my home, the colors are dark blue, gold, pink, and grey and if I did a shoot with a lot of red I would hate it. Even though red goes with blue, I wouldn’t want to print out big images for my home because I know I would hate it and clash with my decor. On the other hand, if I’m thinking more of Christmas cards and holiday decor I would have no problem with red, but those pictures will come down after the season. There really isn’t a right or wrong way of doing this, it’s totally a personal preference. So if you don’t care what your color scheme is then no big deal, but if you’re thinking of finally getting that big wall gallery or single family picture above your sofa or fireplace you just need to think a little differently.

THREE: Be in-season and think practical. What I mean by this is to not dress in a summery top for your fall shoot even though it’s 80º outside still. I’m also referring to Michigan fall, if you’re in AZ then clearly photo shoots go a different way because of the scenery. If you love your flowy dress that according to the fashion influences is summer only, it’s ok to wear it anyways, but maybe add a scarf to warm it up or a jean jacket for an added layer. Toss on some in-season accessories like earrings, headwrap, boots, or necklace to really make it work. By being practical I mean, get those kids all cute, but think about what they’ll be doing…and if it’s a shoot with me they’ll be playing. No need for sweats and t0shirt, but you want them to be able to move freely and not have to adjust them every 2 seconds. With typical studio photography, there isn’t a lot of movement and these outfits can work, but when we decide to visit a park with grass, trails, and hills it’s not practical.

Final thoughts…don’t get all caught up on the suggestions, because they are just that, suggestions. Every rule is made to be broken and let me tell you I wish I’d break more rules! So find your inspiration, head to your favorite store, or in my case online app and get shopping! If you hate this whole process I want to help, because I LOVE OUTFIT PLANNING let me know and I’ll work with you and with any budget… bonus I love finding a good deal and outfit no one else will have!

In the gallery below are 8 PANTONE color trends for this fall to check out! If you click on the image it will open bigger for you to see and read the description.

If you have ANY questions, feedback, or comments please leave them at the bottom of this post. I read everything and want to hear from you too!

XOXO

Michelle