What to Wear for Christmas Portraits: Three Looks That Work on Our Naperville Set
The question we get asked more than any other before a Christmas session is "what should we wear?" So this year we answered it properly. Every family who books with us gets a full getting-ready guide with three coordinated looks, color palettes, and shoppable links. Here is a peek at how it works.
First, the set. Our Christmas set at Studio 25 Naperville is white brick, three evergreen wreaths, and soft window light. It is clean and bright, which means your outfits do the talking. Soft, warm colors with a little texture photograph beautifully against it. Bright white and busy patterns do not.
The one rule: coordinate, don't match. Pick one look below, choose two or three of its colors, and dress everyone from that palette. Nobody needs to wear the same thing. Mom's outfit is usually the easiest place to start, then build everyone else around it.
Cozy Cottage
Look 1: Cozy Cottage
Soft, warm, and a little rustic, like Christmas morning at home. The colors are oatmeal, sage, and camel. Chunky knits and gentle colors keep everyone relaxed, and sage and camel soften the white brick and wreaths without matching them.
Mom: oatmeal cable-knit sweater dress, camel boots
Dad: sage or camel sweater, dark denim or chinos
Girls: sage knit dress with cream tights
Boys: camel cardigan over oatmeal cords
Baby: oatmeal knit romper
Evergreen and Cranberry
Look 2: Evergreen and Cranberry
The classic holiday look. Deep evergreen and camel do most of the work, with cranberry as the accent. Keep cranberry to one or two people so it pops rather than takes over.
Mom: cranberry dress or sweater
Dad: deep green sweater
Girls: evergreen velvet or a soft plaid
Boys: cranberry sweater
Baby: evergreen knit with a cranberry bow
Look 3: Winter Woods
Look 3: Winter Woods
Earthy and grounded. Deep evergreen, chocolate, and cream. One note on this one: keep cream to a single person so nobody blends into the white brick behind you.
Mom: chocolate knit dress
Dad: evergreen or chocolate sweater
Girls: evergreen dress with chocolate tights
Boys: chocolate cardigan
Baby: cream knit set
A few things that make every look better
Texture photographs beautifully. Velvet, chunky knit, corduroy, and wool all add depth.
Keep patterns large and soft, and limit them to about one pattern for every three people. Tiny prints get busy on camera.
Layer the little ones. Cardigans, vests, and tights add interest and keep them warm.
Solid shoes or boots. Leave the light-up and character sneakers at home.
Skip logos and words.
Babies are happiest in soft knits, rompers, or simple dresses.
Bring a comfort item for the littlest ones. We keep it just out of frame.
Do a dress rehearsal a few days before, and steam everything the night before.
Booking Studio 25 Chicago?
The skyline set has three looks of its own, and they are shoppable too: City Classic, Velvet and Pearl, and Lakeshore.
Booking with us in the city instead?
Our set at Studio 25 Chicago is different: ivory, warm wood, evergreen, and the skyline out the window, fifty-one floors up. So the city guide has three looks of its own. City Classic is ink black, ivory, and camel. Velvet and Pearl puts burgundy velvet at the center with ivory and camel around it. Lakeshore is navy, camel, and soft gray, and the navy picks up the lake behind you. Same rule everywhere: coordinate, don't match.
Our Christmas sessions are November 7 and 15 at Studio 25 Naperville and November 8 and 14 at Studio 25 Chicago, and there are only a few left. Every booked family receives the full getting-ready guide with tips for the day and what to expect at your reveal, plus a makeup touch-up before you step on set. Reserve your session in Naperville or in Chicago, or call or text us at 312-600-5151.
Ten Little Bluebirds by Emily Cummings photographs Christmas portrait sessions and family photos at Studio 25 Naperville (25 W. Jefferson Ave, Naperville, IL) and Studio 25 Chicago in Streeterville (220 E. Illinois St., Chicago, IL).