What to Wear for Fall Family Photos on Long Island
Fall is my most requested season for family portraits on Long Island, and it makes sense. The light gets softer, the air cools down, and the outdoor locations around Nassau County are genuinely hard to replicate at any other time of year. But if there is one thing I hear from almost every family before a fall session, it is some version of the same question: we have no idea what to wear.
That concern is more common than people realize, and it is worth taking seriously. Outfit choices affect how a finished portrait feels in ways that go beyond personal taste. The wrong combination can pull a viewer's eye away from the faces in the frame. The right one tends to disappear into the image, leaving the family itself as the focus.
If you are just beginning to think through the details of your session, you can learn more about family photography sessions on Long Island, including session options and what to expect on the day.
Start with One Person and Build the Rest of the Look from There
The most reliable approach to coordinating outfits is to anchor the look to one person rather than trying to plan everyone's outfits simultaneously. I usually suggest starting with the youngest child who can be dressed in the brightest color or in a pattern, and then building the remaining outfits around that piece.
If the anchor outfit is a dress in rust, ivory, and sage, those three tones become your palette. Other family members do not need to wear matching shades, but they should pull from the same range. A dad in a warm caramel or deep olive reads as part of the same family. The same dad in a bright cobalt would not. Working from an anchor also prevents the common mistake of choosing everyone's outfit online and only discovering once they arrived that nothing relates to anything else.
Colors That Photograph Well in Fall Light
Fall light on Long Island has a warmth to it, particularly in late September and October, and colors that lean warm tend to complement that light naturally. Deep burgundies, rusts, terracotta, warm taupes, camel, sage, forest green, and ivory all tend to read well. Navy is a surprise standout that I love when families incorporate.
A few things that tend to be harder to work with: bright white can draw attention away from faces; heavily saturated neons feel disconnected from the season; and graphics or lots of patterns will pull the eyes all over the place. While striking in some contexts it can read as chaotic depending on the background.
And in case you're worried...fall colors do not have to mean orange. Some of the most beautiful fall portraits I have taken used an almost entirely neutral palette with just one warmer accent. The goal is not to match the foliage. The goal is to choose tones that feel cohesive together and that your family actually feels good wearing.
Studio Sessions and Outdoor Sessions Require Slightly Different Thinking
This detail does not always come up in general styling guides, but it is worth knowing for my sessions specifically. Outdoor sessions have more visual complexity in the background, which means bold patterns and large graphics compete more directly with the environment around you. In a studio setting, the background is controlled, so the outfit carries more visual weight and you can introduce a bit more texture or layering without it feeling busy.
If you are booking a studio family session, you have slightly more flexibility with textured fabrics, layering pieces, and mixed materials. If your session is outdoors, simpler tends to photograph better, and the palette generally benefits from pulling from what is already in the environment rather than working against it.
How to Coordinate Without Everyone Matching
Matching outfits were standard for a long time, and I understand the instinct. There is something reassuring about knowing everyone looks unified. But for most families, coordinating works better than matching because it allows each person to wear something genuinely flattering to them rather than a version of the same outfit in different sizes.
Coordination means pulling from a shared palette while allowing each person's outfit to suit their age and build. A toddler in a rust-colored romper, an older child in ivory and sage, and parents in forest green and camel can feel like a beautifully pulled-together group without a single matching item. The key is that every outfit in the group should be able to relate to the others through shared tones or textures, even if no two pieces are the same.
A Few Practical Notes Before the Session
Unpack outfits and hang them the night before. Wrinkled clothing is the most common avoidable issue in portrait sessions, and it is much easier to address the night before than the morning of.
If children are involved, have their outfits completely ready before the session day. Let them know you're going for photos and get them involved so on the day you're not surprised (bonus if you let them help pick their outfits!). And if you are genuinely uncertain about your outfit combination, I am happy to look at photos before the session. That kind of pre-session communication is a normal part of how I prepare with families, and it saves everyone time on the day.
When you are ready to start planning, you can reach out here and I will walk you through everything.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many outfit changes should we plan for a fall family session?
Most sessions work with a single well-chosen set of outfits. An outfit change can occasionally be worth doing if a family wants both a more formal and a more casual set of images, but it is not necessary in most cases, and on outdoor sessions almost impossible. The more important investment is in choosing the first outfit carefully.
Should everyone in the family wear the same color?
Not necessarily. Coordination works better than matching for most families. The goal is a shared palette rather than identical shades, which allows each person to wear something flattering to them while still appearing unified as a group.
Can we wear black for fall family photos?
I love a black clothing look! Again, this is meant to be relaxed and to bring out the best in your family. With black tops and different bottoms throughout the family, focus will pull to your faces and it will be gorgeous.
Is denim appropriate for a family portrait session?
Denim works well in any time of session! Coordinated tops and similar denim can really help your family look cohesive.
When should we finalize our outfits?
I would suggest finalizing outfits at least a week before the session, which leaves time to make a small adjustment if something is not working. But if you're like me and you're rushed until the last minute, it's no problem! Just follow the brightest color on the littlest person and go from there.
Comments