All right all you mamas! here is my biggest fashion tip in styling for family pictures:

I’ll begin by saying that moms, you need to dress yourself first! Styling family pictures is all about the mom! Sorry dads and kids, you are going to have to wait your turn! Mom, find something that makes you feel beautiful. If momma doesn’t like the way she looks, the pictures are a bust! Once you have found your dress, (hint to my family picture styling tip) something that makes you feel amazing, proceed to style the rest of the shoot around your outfit.

Now here’s my biggest tip for styling for family pictures:

Wear a dress. Wear a dress. Wear a dress.

I understand that not everyone is a dress person. I get it. I think a good pair of jeans looks fantastic! A well put together outfit with jeans can be fire! However, I have found for pictures, when the woman shows up feeling absolutely beautiful, she’s wearing a dress!

Benefits of wearing a dress

Number one:

Only one piece to worry about! Seriously this is money! When you wear pants you have to put together all the other elements of the outfit. A shirt, blouse, jacket, the shoes, All.Of.It! A few years ago I became pretty determined that I wouldn’t wear jeans. I had worn a dress for every single family picture so I thought it was time to change it up. I spent hours, really days, trying on outfits, so many outfits! Nothing looked right. Nothing was flattering. In the end, I went with a dress.

Number two:

Dresses are so flattering! Especially a good wrap dress. Wrap dresses are so flattering on pretty much every body type. I am yet to find a wrap dress that doesn’t look gorgeous on every body type, and I have seen so many beautiful different body types.

Number three:

Once Mom has picked out her beautiful, flattering dress, pulling the rest of the outfits for the family is so much easier. The dress sets the tone for the rest of the picture. You can layout your dress and start pulling outfits for the rest of the family. Don’t get stuck in one or two color combinations. You would be surprised to see the different color combinations that look amazing. Most important; coordinate DON’T MATCH!

Here are a few examples of family picture styling with mom in a dress:

In this image, the mother had her dress picked out, I would say a year ago. In fact, I had seen this dress before and I told her that she had to wear it. Based on her beautiful flowing yellow dress her daughter wears pants and a button-up and it looks so good together. The boy’s colors and textures perfectly compliment the whole look. I love that Mom is the centerpiece of the pictures! My dream is for all you moms to stop fading into the background! You birthed these children! Shine on! Please shine!

In this image, Mom is again killing it in a dress. We have two daughters in dresses, we have a daughter in pants, and we have all different layers and colors. It all looks fantastic and it’s that dress that brings it all together. Seriously, this mother of six is killing it!

Ok, I know, this is exactly a dress. It’s a romper, but it’s dress-like and so it’s included. Once again, her dress is pretty much everything! Yes everyone else looks amazing but come on! This shot would not be what it is without her beautiful pink floral romper, (and those legs!)

As stated wrap dresses are money check out this mother and her beautiful polka-dotted wrap dress. Look how much it flatters and complements her skin tone and her body type. She shines! And she shines her light on her beautiful family.

I have photographed this family For years. Every single year she kills it with her dress game. She then uses her dress as a foundation for the whole style of the shoot. We have done, formal, casual (yes, there are casual dresses) and downright glamour. My favorite is that her husband just shows up and trust in whatever she wants him to wear. It’s always perfect!

Joyfolie and Boden are great places to find dresses for women, teens and children. It’s amgood idea to put all your outfits in your cart to see how they go together.

In general, Free People, Lulus, Roolee, and Boheme are a few great places to start when looking for that perfect dress.

Since I live in Missoula I’m going to give a shout out to some of the local boutiques in town.

While online shopping is convenient, nothing beats going into beautiful boutique and seeing and trying on your picks in person. What I love about a small boutique the shop owners know their merchandise! They can help you find exactly what you want.

Here is a list of my favorite in Missoula:

Cloth & Crown

Mood Boutique

Clover

Olive+Iron

JL+KO

Each of these boutiques is beautifully curated. I suggest checking out their websites first to see if their style fit what you are looking for. Then go on in and get the whole downtown shopping experience!

I should also mention that Montana has no sales tax!

Let me know in the comments, what do you think about wearing a dress for pictures?