Deciding what to wear for family photos in Sioux Falls can be one of the most stressful things about having a family portrait session! It’s one of the first questions I am asked when talking to a client about creating the best family photos I can! 

A popular belief is that selecting a color and everyone wears that is dated. While not totally wrong, I have a better suggestion for selecting outfits that not only coordinate and match your personal style, but also are modern and polished. Your family can look on-trend, but also lasting so your family portraits will stand the test of time.

Instead of picking one color for your family portraits, choose a color palette instead. Much like designing your home color scheme, selecting an array of coordinating colors will give your wardrobe flexibility and allow each member of the family to stay true to themselves.

Pick one or two main colors, and coordinate with neutrals.

Don’t be afraid to be bold and bright with your family wardrobe when having family photos taken.

For example, Teal and coral are terrific bold colors that go well together, but a large group of teal and coral can be overwhelming. Instead, let one family member go with the bold color, and the rest of the family can coordinate from it by mixing in neutrals.

• Teen girl - teal dress

• Teen girl 2 - coral dress

• Mom - Navy dress with teal/coral flowers

• Little girl - navy dress

• Son - navy shirt, neutral shorts

• Dad - teal shirt, neutral shorts

• Son 2 - coral shirt, neutral shorts

Navy, cream and pinks oh my!

Another example of a color scheme that works great and is a little more conservative is navy, pink with cream and maroon neutrals. See this example below of this perfectly coordinated family! These guys are experts at dressing! They are picture perfect examples of how to select clothing for your family photos!

• Mom - Neutral top with jeans

• Dad - Maroon plaid with jeans

• Son - Maroon with jeans and blue under

• Daughter in law - Navy dress with pink and cream floral

• Grandson - Blue with jeans

• Granddaughter - Pink dress

• Baby - Cream with blue
  

Maroon, navy and pink are a great combination for a fall family photography photoshoot in Sioux Falls!

When you are choosing a family portrait photographer in Sioux Falls, I set up a planning meeting with you where we can discuss your home style, your vision for your family portraits, and together, plan your wardrobe so your images will display in your home as works of art.As a family portrait photographer, my goal is not only to take good photos with my camera, but to advise you the entire way from wardrobe to delivery on how to make your images spectacular! The difference between an ok familly portrait and a WOW family portrait is all in the details.

I would love to create a family portrait for you. Give me a call at 605-610-9557 to book a consult!

Moms with their kids are one of my favorite subjects. I had this vision for Erin’s family and she met me all the way!

Erin is just an incredible human. I am sure she thinks I am ridiculous because I fawn over her, but I am so impressed with her energy and ability to wear so many hats! When I met her a few years ago, she told me all about her deep love for her sweet husband and a dream of a big family. She was on baby #4 then when we created some stunning maternity images. Now there’s six beautiful kids and each one as sweet and adorable as the next one! Three boys and three girls who charmed me with smiles and different personalities. Little Jenny told me all about the baby calves. George is dad’s sidekick. Clint is a little surly, but has these puppy-dog eyes that will get him his way. Anna wasn’t really into photos, but likes to dance and has the best laugh. Erin and John makes some gorgeous and well-behaved kiddos!

One of my personal goals in creating family portraits that are beautiful and stand the test of time. I want to work with each client to select wardrobe and talk about ideas that will make for images they are proud to hang on their walls!

Erin is my favorite kind of client! She loves photography (and is a photographer herself in her “free” time!) and she was totally on board with making my idea come to life. She knew I had a plan and together this happened…. Gorgeous beautiful images of the sweetest kids and her family.

For over 15 years I have been able to photograph this gorgeous family. From years ago on the capital steps in Pierre, to this past fall when they trusted my new location idea! These are my people. My oldest — and favorite — clients. <3

I have seen it grow from four people, to five, then to six, seven and eight! Some families imprint a special place in your heart and from Miss Kait as just an 8th grader, to photographing her senior photos I have loved seeing her turn into a fantastic adult. She dotes on her sweet niece and handsome nephews. There was a few years we lived in separate cities, but I was able to photograph Miss Jorja and Mr. Beckett as newborns.

This family treasures family portraits. They make a special time each year to capture the kids growing bigger, the family growing larger, and the changes all of them have made alone the way. I am forever grateful they choose me to capture these memories year after year.

If you’re interested in your own family portrait session, we’d love to chat!

Why Family Portraits Will Mean as Much to Your Kids as they Do to You.

Sioux Falls Family Photography.

For those of you who are moms who clicked on this blog post thinking about the begging, pleading and the fights you’ve gotten into with your kids before a portrait session, let me say first; I feel you.

I know how hard it is to coordinate the schedules, coordinate clothing and the prayers you say that nobody gets sick the day before the photo session. I know that you’ve taken the dog to the groomer, you’ve skipped the pedicure for yourself chosen closed-toed shoes instead, and you’ve promised non-organic, GMO laced treats that you would normally never allow to your kids after the session if they Just. Smile. And. Cooperate.

But, hear me out.

If you’ve ever seen the look on the face of a kid who realizes that the family portrait hanging in the hall doesn’t include them, you would understand why I’m so passionate about making sure that family portraits are kept updated.

Have you ever noticed how much little kids love to look at photos of themselves?

I hold myself to the same standard, by the way. Every year my family and I have our photo taken by another professional photographer.  And as I stand there smiling, trying to forget about how my youngest screamed at me 5 minutes before as I combed through her hair. I try to block out how my teenagers sulked in the car resenting every hair on my head and how my husband grumbled about wasting a perfectly good Saturday….. I truly feel your pain.

This is my family in Mexico a few years ago! Photographed by Monica Lopez in Cancun! https://monicalopezphoto.com/monica-lopez-photography/

When children are young, they look to their family to understand more about the world and their place in it. In this safe place, they begin to understand the hierarchy of their extended family, and where they fit in the world. Understanding these connections are the building blocks of their self-esteem.

Have you ever noticed how much little kids love to look at photos of themselves? How much they love looking at photos of their family?  This doesn’t change as they get older, though they may attempt to hide it in their teen years. You know how much you love seeing your kids grow, and they do too. Making sure they are seen in family photos matters to them.  

Seeing family photos on the walls sends a message to your kids that “You are loved. You are a part of this family.”

Seeing family photos on the walls sends a message to your kids that “You are loved. You are a part of this family.”

And as we all know, these photos will be even more treasured as they age. How many of us say that photos would be the first thing we would grab in a fire?

If you’ve been putting off family photos for “someday when…” don’t. Your family is perfectly imperfect right now. I’m currently booking late summer and fall 2019 family portrait sessions now, so get in touch!

Last summer we photographed this adorable couple and their amazing dog Wild Bill! When Kathy called and asked if we could photograph their newly adopted baby boy, we were so thrilled! They were married right in the gardens of McKennan Park, so we decided the best place for their first family portraits was also at McKennan Park! It was a glorious late spring evening and the flowers were blooming. It’s my favorite time of year!

We had a blast with this family and I hope we get to spend more time with them as they grow!

Thanks for having us!

The S boys are showing off their smiles! So entertaining to get to know and capture all their smiles! What a great day and a great family!

It's the E family! We had a beautiful morning to capture this sweet sweet family! With all their smiles, they knew how to rock their session and did!

We had so much fun downtown with the H family! These trendy kids added so much style with the urban look. We were able to capture all their personalities and they rocked it! 

What a gorgeous family we got to spend time with! We absolutely loved all the colors they chose for their session with the fall colors. This fashionable family can dress us anytime! 

We were able to get some fun in with the H family! They rocked it! They decided to go for some different looks. While we captured some classic fun in the sun, we were also able to change it up a little bit by adding some hats! 

We were able to get a little girls time in for this shoot! Miss K did an awesome job with all her fun smiles. It a fun day in the park with these girls! 

We had tons of fun with this growing family! From capturing those beautiful moments to playing with Star Wars, this family knows how to have fun! Big brother is so excited to meet his little sister!

What a fun evening we had with this family! The boys loved showing of their sweet personality while giving us lots of fun smiles. The H family rocked their session!

The M family showed off their style with lots of fun colors in maroon. So gorgeous with all the fall colors and the sunshine! 

We had lots of fun on a foggy morning with the D family! We were able to catch some beautiful moments between them before dad heads overseas. Big brother Kai was all smiles as he was super excited to become a big brother to his baby sister!