Beach Family Photo Outfit Ideas | What to Wear for Beach Family Photos

For Clients

You have scheduled your photoshoot, and now you are totally stressing on what to wear for your family photos?! Finding the perfect beach family photo outfits is usually the hardest part about getting family photos taken, am I right? I personally have spent hours searching for the perfect family outfits every time we plan a family photoshoot.

I have no problem finding amazing inspiration on what to wear, but then I have to spend hours upon hours trying to find a similar dress or outfit for Greyson because the inspiration doesn’t have everything linked. Can you relate? As a family photographer, it is my goal to help my clients create beautiful heirloom family photos and a small part in that co-creation is helping YOU find clothing that you look and feel amazing in.

Beach Family Photo Dress - Beach Vacation Photo Style

Tips for What to Wear for Family Photos

If you are struggling on what to wear for your family photos, my best piece of advice is to dress everyone in clothing you feel comfortable in — whatever that might be.

Start with dressing mom (or finding your inspiration item) – It is often easiest to dress you, (I’m looking at you, mama), first. Find a dress, skirt or outfit you love and use that as the inspiration for your family. If it’s a breezy, linen dress in a floral print, use the colors in your dress as your color palettes for the rest of your family. Maybe its a white maxi dress that you look a-maz-ing in. Use that to pull similar textures and fabrics into the rest of your family photo outfits.
Coordinate colors and patterns – Pick a color palette and style your family photo outfits around this color scheme. I’ve pulled together 30+ looks below using this very method. You don’t want everyone to wear the same color, but it’s a good idea to choose a color scheme or theme that will tie everyone’s outfits together. You want to keep your family in similar colors but not necessarily in the same colors in the same pieces. For example, if you are wearing white, consider dressing your husband in a light blue shirt and grey pants. Put your toddler son in white pants and a taupe shirt and then have your daughter in a printed dress that has all of these colors.
Avoid clothing with large logos or graphic – T-shirts with large logos, graphics or characters can be distracting and take away from the connection your photographer is trying to capture during your family photos. Consider outfits with solid shirts and pants that bring in textures and simple, clean patterns.
Choose styles that flatter – Choose clothing that fits well and flatters each family member’s body type. Loose, flowing clothing can be great for the beach, but make sure it doesn’t look too baggy or unflattering in photos.
Consider what this season of life looks like + how you want it documented – If you a heading to the beach, you may want to consider wearing coordinating beach looks like bathing suits, cover-ups and breezy dresses vs a dressed up beach session. This is a great idea if you have little kids who love to run in the water, splash in the ocean and play in the sand and you want photos that document what your days at the beach actually looked like vs just a pretty photo of you all dressed up.

30 Perfect Beach Family Photo Outfit Ideas

I curated 30 different family photo outfit ideas with color palettes and shopping links for you to help you find the perfect family photo outfits for your beach or summer family photoshoot. Use these mood boards to shop the complete look or simply for inspiration in your own closest.

If you LOVE neutrals, be sure to check out my newest what to wear guide, neutral family photo outfits for every season.