5 Tips for Perfect Family Pics with Kids!

Thank you for all of your kind words and support on my 5 Tips for Styling Family Photos! It was perfect timing since so many of you are taking pics for Christmas cards, I can’t wait to see your photos! Family pictures can be so stressful, once you’ve found your photographer, your outfits, and your location, you never know how it’s all going to come together. Will it rain? Will my hair cooperate? Will my children smile? Will they take a nap that day? Will they wake up happy from said nap?

5 Easy Tips for Styling Your Family Photos

When I shared our family pictures from this year, I told you guys how I plan on taking pictures every year as a family until I’m cold and dead. It’s so important to me to have pictures taken and I know I will always treasure them. Planning for pictures can be daunting, you want to coordinate but not be matchy-matchy so I put together an easy how-to to get you started! Finding pieces that match the look and feel you’re looking for can be tough, but I really enjoy the entire process!

Our Family Pics 2016

When Matt and I first were married, I told him we'd take family pictures every year until we died. I want to be able to see our family over the years, have something to look back on that captured our family and varying stages of its growth. While in Washington, one of my aunt's had their playroom covered in their family pics from over the years and I loved looking back at them and seeing their family grow. It's exactly what I want in my own home, 100s of pictures over the years and stories to tell with them. Pudgy fingers, goofy smiles, bad haircuts, missing teeth, awkward years, I want to remember and have something tangible to look through when I'm old and gray and share them with my grandchildren.

For pics this year, we met with Dana and Nate of Lovers or Love photography at the Santa Rosa Plateau. It was a gorgeous location and gave us a few different backdrops, I think we'll even go back next year and check out a different part of the park. Just like last year's, I had this planned for months and months. Our outfits had been carefully picked out before Easter even! It was our fifth session together with them and they did not disappoint. We're so comfortable shooting with them and I can always count on our pictures turning out just beautiful. I was worried about the girls, but they hammed it up! Smile after giant smile and these pictures would have to be my favorite ever! Yesterday, I had several printed and switched them out in our frames. I have so many more I want to print, it's just so hard to choose my favorites! Below is just a few of them, otherwise I'd have to include them all!

Family Photo OOTD Info

When I posted our Family Photos, I forgot to include where everything is from (I've since updated the post) and wanted to do a post about the items specifically. Blame lack of sleep. I absolutely love our pictures and I only shared a handful of them. Now I just need to decide which ones to print out and buy a million frames and put them all over our house now.

Finding outfits for family pictures that are all cohesive and go with where you're shooting at can be so difficult. Luckily, we already owned everything we wore- score! I did buy my top with the intention of our pics though. We also almost always incorporate blue and gray into every.single.session. I swear it's not on purpose, but it's so easy to shop for, looks good on everyone, and photographs easily. In 10 years we'll look back on our pictures and realize that we always wore variations of the same things. Why fix it if it's not broken?

Me: Top from Coco and Main through Jane // Jeans

Eleanor: Top (from Target, no longer available, similar here) // Shorts // Bow

Matt: Top (TJ Maxx) // Jeans

Emma: Swaddle // Bow

Emma:  Headband (c/o Willow Crowns) // Swaddle from So Chic Boutique thru Jane

Emma: Headband and Bloomers are both from Jane, two years ago

Emma: Swaddle // Bow

Book

Sheets // Blanket

Our Family of Four

At the beginning of the year (like January or February) I scheduled our family pictures for our little one's arrival. At the time, I didn't know if we were having a he or a she, or exactly when they would arrive. Luckily for me, Lovers of Love penciled us in over a two week span. This is the fourth time they photographed us and I absolutely love working with them. They are so talented and I choke up a little bit every time I look at the beautiful memories they've helped our family capture. These pictures mean so much to me and I love all of them so much, each picture really makes my heart swell. Here's just a few, it was so hard not to share every one. Thank you again for capturing the love of our family in our home, I'll treasure these for all my life!

Me: Top from Coco and Main through Jane // Jeans

Eleanor: Top (from Target, no longer available, similar here) // Shorts // Bow

Matt: Top (TJ Maxx) // Jeans

Emma: Swaddle // Bow 

Emma:  Headband (c/o Willow Crowns) // Swaddle from So Chic Boutique thru Jane 

Emma: Headband and Bloomers are both from Jane, two years ago

Emma: Swaddle // Bow

Book

Sheets // Blanket