The Family Edit

The family photos that hang for a decade all obey one rule the matching-white-shirts era forgot: coordinate, don't match. Identical outfits flatten everyone into a uniform; a shared palette lets each person stay a person while the frame still reads as one family.

The formula is three colors, one of them neutral. Pick a hero color, a soft second, and cream or oat to breathe between them. Dress one person first — usually mom, usually the piece she feels best in — then build everyone else around that. Texture is what replaces pattern: knits, linen, corduroy, denim. They photograph rich where graphic prints photograph loud, and nothing dates a portrait faster than a slogan tee.

Kids get one non-negotiable: clothes they can move in. The best family frames are the between-poses ones — the chase, the pile-up, the laugh — and stiff outfits kill them. Bring a backup for the youngest, shoot the formal frames first while everyone's clean, then let the session fall apart beautifully.