What to Wear for Authentic Family Photos in the Tri-Cities (And Why The "Perfect" Outfit May Not Be What You Think)

Let me start by asking you a very important question... why are you considering getting professional photos taken? I am of the mind that photos taken today are not for the YOU of today, but the YOU decades from now.

When you look back at their childhood and your motherhood, what will you wish to gaze upon?

This is your official permission slip to wear what feels like you. Let your children wear what feels like them right now. Let me help you shift the paradigm on the question, "what to wear for my family photos."

Imagine this scenario:

You're 70 years old. Your children have grown and have families of their own. In the blink of an eye you have become extended family, and so, while you don't see them everyday any longer, they do come to visit. And when they come to visit, you pull out the heirloom albums. The pages are as crisp as the day you first placed them on the shelves, and the images are just as sharp. You run your fingers over the images on each page, caressing the sweet cheeks of those children you held for what now feels was only a moment.

As you look, you linger on an image of you with your daughter. She's wearing the dress she wore so often you had to wash it while she napped. The one that broke her heart (and yours) when it no longer fit. The one that you have in a box in the attic. The one that reminds you that those days were real. She's looking at you, and you're wearing your trademark outfit. You know the one. It's comfortable, and cute enough to tackle the day but doesn't feel so special that you're afraid to get it dirty. You are a mother, after all. In this outfit you wiped tears, boogers, and sticky hands. In this outfit you pushed strollers and walked alongside wobbling bike riders. And when you see her wearing what she wore, and you wearing what you wore, you are transported back 40 years in time. You can close your eyes and remember her sweet little voice. That voice that called out, "Mommy!!! Look at me!!" You can feel the fabric and the way it fell on her little body and the smell of her strawberry shampoo. No doubt you'll cry when you open your eyes and realize that those days are gone. But how grateful you'll be to have these special memories. The ones that feel so real that it feels almost like time travel. I love a beautiful posed family portrait as much as the next photographer. But when you're old, that's not what you'll wish you had more of. You'll wish you had more of the real stuff. If you are ready to stop stressing over matching outfits, throw away the rigid Pinterest boards, and preserve the beautiful, messy reality of your family's current season, I would love to help you capture it.

I specialize in unscripted lifestyle photography across the Tri-Cities, turning the fleeting moments of today into tangible heirloom artwork you will run your fingers over decades from now.