Choosing outfits that blend beautifully with the natural beach environment can elevate your family photos and make the entire experience more enjoyable.
As photographers who spend most of our sessions documenting families along the coast , we’ve seen firsthand how thoughtful wardrobe choices elevate a session. If you’re currently planning a session in North Carolina, you can learn more about our work as Outer Banks Photographers here.
Stick to soft, neutral, and pastel tones.
Shades like light blue, sage green, beige, ivory, and blush pink always look great against the sand and sea. These colors create a clean and airy feel that photographs beautifully.
Use long flowy dresses.
They add movement, a romantic touch, and are a comfortable, flattering choice. Flowy fabrics allow freedom to move, sit, and interact with ease, while offering coverage and grace in every pose.
Coordinated doesn’t mean matching.
Choose a color palette and build outfits around it, allowing each family member to express their style while still looking unified.
Avoid identical outfits
They can make the overall look feel generic or less elevated.
Choose Natural Fabrics.
We always recommend natural fabrics like cotton, linen, and gauze.These materials breathe well and look beautiful in OBX family portraits, especially on warm beach days.
start with mom
We recommend starting with Mom when planning outfits for Outer Banks family photo sessions–because let’s be honest, when she feels beautiful and confident, everyone wins.
A stunning dress can become the foundation for the overall color palette. Beginning with this piece allows for smoother coordination of the rest of the outfits.
Be carefull with patterns
Too many bold prints can become distracting, especially in group photos.
A balanced approach works best for beach family sessions, especially with groups. You can include one bold or large-scale pattern as a focal point (often on Mom or one child), and then support it with neutral, smaller-scale patterns like stripes, polka dots, checks, or tiny florals on one or two other family members. To complete the look, include one or two people in solid tones that provide visual balance and tie everything together.
Coordinating Multiple Families in One Session
For Outer Banks beach portraits, this approach works beautifully when coordinating outfits for a large extended family with multiple smaller family groups:
- Choose one shared color palette for the whole group (3–4 complementary tones work well).
- Have each smaller family dress within that palette, but with their own variation in shades and textures
For example, if the palette is dusty blue, ivory, and sand:
- One family might wear ivory and beige
- Another could wear light blue and soft gray
- A third might wear blush pink with tan accents
This approach keeps the group looking cohesive in your OBX family photos while still giving each family a lot of individuality.
Learn more about our family photography experience →
Read our full guide: How to Prepare Kids for a Beach Photo Session →
