Brick and Burlap sponsored this post.  All opinions are my own.  

Hey pretty lady! Happy weekend! I am so excited to share this post with you because it is all about what to wear when you take family or couple photos! This could be engagement photos, family photos, anniversary photos, or just because photos! I will be using my most recent shoot as an example throughout my tips, but make sure to scroll through the end to see some past outfits we’ve worn as well.

First, you can shop our outfits here and get 10% off when you use code “EVERYDAYELLIS”:

Sage Green Dress  || White Skirt Extender  ||  Men’s Button Up Shirt 

Kyle’s Hat (Contact me for purchases at karli@everyday-ellis.com, Kyle owns the hat company so I can get you a special discount!

Tip #1: Figure Out Your Style + Theme For The Shoot – My biggest tip is to figure out your style.  You want to be able to see your personality not only through the way you act in the photos, but through your outfits as well.  I always think first, “why am I taking the photos and where I will be using the photos?”.  This shoot was a “just because” photoshoot, but I will be using the photos on my gallery wall in the living room so I needed something to match my living room.  I knew I wanted these photos to showcase our personalities and our everyday style.  That was why I wanted Kyle to wear a snapback hat and me to wear a casual dress.  I love dressing up, but still casual and Kyle is always wearing hats, so that was a no brainer.  These outfits helped to showcase who we are as a couple and as individuals.

Tip #2: Location – Once I’ve figured out the style I want for my shoot and the reason behind the shoot, I start thinking about locations.  I knew I wanted something with a city feel, but still casual so a rooftop location was perfect.  Some of my other favorite suggestions are in home, white wall studios, mountains, or local parks.

Tip #3: Choose A Color Scheme – This is always the hardest part for me because I can never narrow down my color scheme, so I have decided to break this tip into 3 separate tips.

a. Start with one outfit and go from there! If you have a dress that you really want to wear, use that as your color scheme and then choose the other colors that will go well and move forward that way.  

b. For this shoot I wanted to go with more neutral colors.  I always choose the color of Kyle’s pants to be opposite of the color of his shirt.  So because I found this cooler tone, more neutral color top for him, I wanted to do a lighter and more warm tone for his pants.  If I would have put him in blue jeans, it would’ve been an overload of darker cool tones.  He has a lot of different color of hats, so finding one to match his outfit was easy.  

c. Make sure to choose just one person to wear the pop of color.  Since Kyle had the two neutral colors, I was the one that got to wear the color.  We choose a sage green to be the color choice to stick with cooler and more neutral tones, but still have some color.  Green and blues are always great pops of color for when you want to stick with simpler tones and colors. My dress was not long enough, so I used a cream colored ruffle skirt extender underneath and then the cream helped to match Kyle’s pants as well.

d. Don’t choose your colors first.  I’ve learned that if I can choose the type of look and outfit I am going for it helps to finalize the color scheme.  Also your location will determine what colors you wear, so I recommend determining colors after the location. 

Tip #4: Use What You Already Have – When I did my engagement photos I wanted to get a new outfit, but what I absolutely loved to wear the most was already hanging in my closet.  I did buy a dress, but my more casual outfit was something that I already had.  After you have figured out your color scheme, your theme, and location, check your closet to see if anything stands out.  I had found the lace vest in my closet a few days before and realized how perfect it was for the theme and color scheme.  Kyle already had a good pair of pants as well and then we found all our shoes, and accessories in our existing closets.  

Tip #5: Accessories – Choosing the right accessories can help to finalize and bring together the perfect outfit.  I choose a brown watch to bring out the natural tones and help tie in my choice of shoes.  I also decided to put a cream lace vest on top of my dress to help add more than just a plain colored dress to my outfit.  Kyle wore a simple watch that matched his shoes as well, and then brought his hat.  You can notice that we didn’t use the hat for all the photos.  If you are going to wear hats to a photoshoot I recommend not wearing it until halfway through the shoot.  That way you have a variety and you don’t have hat hair if you decide you want some photos without the hat.

Tip #6: Have Fun + Be Comfortable – This tip is pretty obvious, but one of the most important.  Have fun picking out your outfits and wearing them.  Make sure you feel happy, comfortable, and confident in the outfit.  If you are iffy about any part of the outfit, I would choose something else.  You will probably look back at your photos and regret your choice if you are not absolutely loving it before the photos.  Make sure your outfit fits right and that it looks good for your body type.  Then once you get there, laugh, have fun, relax, and move around! Movement really helps to produce fun and candid shots, which are my favorite! 

Tip #7: Find A Good Photographer – This doesn’t have to do with your outfit, but I think it is extremely important! A good photographer will be able to capture your best self in your outfits and showcase your personality.  Make sure to view a photographers work beforehand and see how they edit their photos.  A photographers editing can definitely impact the way your colors come out in the photos, so be aware of that when choosing your color scheme and outfits as well.  If you are in Utah, I highly recommend Charissa Lee Photographer for any photography needs, but especially couple photos such as engagements or anniversary sessions.  She is incredible and makes you feel comfortable in front of the camera and really captures the couples’ personality.  I also love her bright and happy editing! You can view her work and contact her here.

Also special shoutout to my amazing hair and make up gals! My amazing make up was done by the incredible Peacock Artistry.  She always gives me the exact look I am looking for without even knowing it.  My hair was styled by the extremely talented Madi at Glamour Gel Salon.  

Hope you found these tips to be useful! I’d love for you to comment below with any other tips you may have or let me know for what type of photoshoot you are using these tips for! Have engagements coming up or are taking photos just for fun? Let me know below!

Don’t forget to pin, pin, pin! I appreciate it and so do your friends (who doesn’t love seeing useful tips on Pinterest?)!