clothing ideas for large group

[scrapnmom77]

A friend has asked me to take pictures of her family. There will be 14 people in the group. 6 are kids. We are doing it outside in a garden area, lots of trees. They will be wearing jeans for pants, but I'm looking for some ideas for shirts for a group this large. I told her no bold prints. What are some good colors for a large group, male and female, young and old? What are some colors to avoid? I know yellow only works on certain people or it makes them look washed out.

Thanks for your tips.

[windrider86]

Some folks may cringeat this one but if done correctly it makes for a great photo. Everyone has a white cotton shirt, how about that?

[brwneyes16]

I just had this discussion with a friend who wants me to take some outdoor portraits of his family. He wants to do all white shirts. My other friend mentioned that his father once did a group shot of a family all wearing different color bright shirts and it made a cool picture. We might try that shot too - do a wardrobe change.

[mad editor]

I like white shirts with either khakis or blue jeans. Depending on the terrain, barefoot is a nice look too. (Can you tell I'm always at the beach?)

[AnneWynne]

Light blue is another nice color for shirts...will go well with the jeans and most people look good in light blue.

You could have family members chose a color for their family sub-group. Just keep the colors in the same tone/intensity. Even when people are wearing the same color, ther can be a lot of variance in the shade/tone/intensity. You want the colors to balance. That does not mean that the colors cannot be vibrant, just that they either should all be vibrant or they should all be pastels.

Performance - a set on Flickr is a link to some group photos I took of a performance group. One set they are wearing "jewel tones" the other is in performance formal. I have color and bw photos of both. Might give you some ideas.

GL
Anne

[kencaleno]

Pastel shades-plain-no logos

[rpcrowe]

I especially like light blue. The shirts don't have to (and probably should not) be replicas of each other just that they should not clash.

The problem with white shirts is that they will often be over exposed to the point where you lose detail. In fact, you will often lose either detail in the white or in the facial tones.

Actually, I have seen some effective family photos wherein the males wore blue and the females wore some other color such as pink or yellow.

[raenme]

I'd suggest going back out to the location that they, the subjects are wanting to use. Consider what colors will both compliment the background and the subjects. Ask what colors they would prefer. Study what areas make the best background and think of what type of poses you think would make this shoot unique. You know, some post processing i.e. b/w with subjects lightly tinted, antique et al.. would props help. Don't forget to study whether or not you'll need reflectors or fill flashes to reduce shadowing.