I need some quick help please. We are going shopping tomorrow night (2/20) for at least tops for our 4 kids to get pictures done on Saturday. My problem is the boys have dark stuff, the girls have pastels mostly and they don't go blend well for a picture. I didn't see any older kids in the photo conference here to get ideas. Please help if you can. I'll only get these messages until 12:30 pm on the 20th, so please answer soon if possible! (I won't do just plain black or white shirts - they aren't good colors on my kids) Thanks for any suggestions.

Jared - 7 yr old boy - med blonde/blue eyes
Emily - 4 yr old girl - brunette/ brown eyes
Nathan - 4 yr old boy - med blonde/blue eyes
Allison - 4 yr old girl - light blonde/blue eyes

Trip33
Jared 10/96
Emily, Allison & Nathan 3/00 at 37 wks

We have always had the same problem. Family photos make me crazy. Some shots I've seen:

red turtlenecks for all
red for one sex, white for the other
denim for all
denim for boys, red for girls

I have had the best luck with using primary colors for all. One photo we did had the girls in red and yellow and the boys in red and blue. Another time, I found pink and blue for all four kids. Once I really lucked up and found coordinating shirts at Dillards for all four in red and purple. Good luck. Post to let us know how they turn out.

I like the denium idea. If you have the boys in denium, you could put almost any one color with it, even pastels. I'm not sure if you are planning on dresses for the girls, but you could tie them in with the denium by wearing denium skirts or jeans, depending on how formal you want it. Good Luck. Can't wait to see what you decide.

Kris & Co.
Nicknamed "Supermommy!" (by DH) to 4 super kids:
(B)Schuyler-7
Spontaneous Triplets born @ 33wks 5-18-99
(G)Katrena-4
(G)Kourtney-4
(G)Kerisa-4

........... Kris & Co. ...........

My kids have the same coloring as yours. I dress them depending on the backgrounds. My DS (blond/blue) I had in denim and white for an autumn background picture and my DD's (blonde/blue and brunette/blue) I put in pink for a pastel background. Now I need to take all 4 for a group shot and I don't know what to put on them either! I'll be doing the antique photos with them in April but they supply outfits.

Korrie~
^i^B/G/G 24 w 3d,1/17/00
B 10/31/01
B 1/27/03

<a href="http://lilypie.com"><img src="" alt="Lilypie Kids birthday Ticker" border="0" /></a>

My kids have the same hair color as yours. I think the best pictures we have had taken of the group were:
1) denim jumpers with different pastel turtle necks (pink/purple color range)
2) different primary color cord jumpers (1 in blue, 1 in green, 2 in red with white shirts)
3) all white dresses

Good luck! The hardest part is getting everyone to smile naturally. My 8 yr old has a forced grin in almost every picture now.

Nettie

Mom to g/g/g age 4
and 8 yr old big sister

Nettie

Mom to g/g/g age 7
and 11 yr old big sister
and ^angel big brother^

Go to a store that has the girls and boys departments adjacent to one another. Right now, lots of the spring clothes are coming in. I have had great success dressing my four boys (similar coloring to your but a few with hazel eyes) in a rainbow. Each boy gets a primary color with a pair of jeans. Polo shirts are great for boys. Places like Old Navy and Gap tend to have the same colors for both sexes but different styles.

I would also consider putting the two boys in one color and the girls in the same (but different from the boys) color. Do you girls have matching dresses? If so, then coordinate shirts for the boys and voila!

We've done several three generation photos. We've had the boys were denim shirts or navy blue shirts and the girls wear white "tank" shirts with denim/blue overshirts. Everyone wore jeans. Another time, we all wore cream shirts (less stark than white) and bought everything from Lands End. I've also done a red/white/blue theme with the boys that came out terrific.

Photos are stressful, aren't they?!

Sharon
7 year old b/b/b + 10 year old son

Hi there again,

Happy Shopping! My kids are all very blonde, fair, with blue eyes...

Are you going to The Picture People? Remember their background colors when you are shopping- they use...black (usually only for close ups), green (I hate that one personally), yellow (not an option for us), purple (this one to me looks washed out- we just did some pics of Sierra this week), white (one of my favorites), and blue (my favorite). I have had a ton of pics taken there and I have found that my kids look best on the white and blue backgrounds. The photographers told me that just about all blondes look great on the blue background. The blue is more like a royal blue so keep that in mind when you pick out your pictures.

Here is what we have had good luck with!

dark denim overalls/jumpers with vibrant red shirts underneath
dark denim jeans/jumpers/overalls with crisp white shirts
anything red works well for us...the sharper red the better
vibrant purple shows up really wellon the white and blue
light blue/bright lavendar looks beautiful on the blue background

I think it all depends on what background color you like, KWIM? My kids all look beautiful in pastels but they don't show up well, even on white and I find that frustrating as my Mackenzie especially looks very pretty in pastels.

Are you looking for a dressy look or a casual fun look? Old Navy has some really cute unisex shirts in red and blue I believe. Gymboree was having a great sale too..ask about their hair accessories- for some reason they had them behind the counter when I was there- maybe they were still marking them down? They were marked down form $7.50 to a $1.50 when I was there a few days and they add a nice touch to the pictures. Hats also add to the pictures, IMO...I like to do a few close-ups with hats- I just bought one of Sierra with a lavendar GAP hat on and it looks so cute.

Let us know how your shopping went. And we're all healthy so if you want to get togetehr to play sometime...let me know! I have found a few new fun places too! Good luck with the pictures!

Oh wait, I just thought of something else. The Children Place has these really cute denim jumpers and skirts with lace accents. Then they have boys denim jeans and jackets in the same shade. I am planning on buying those (AFTER THEY GO ON SALE) and getting their pics taken in those.

Cindy
Happy & Proud Mommy to:
Shannon Alexis 12
Trevor Jack 10
Sierra Brooke 7
Madison Rose 5
Mackenzie Lynn 5
Max Christopher 5

Hi there - thanks for the advice. I hope I have good luck shopping tonight. We'll go to Carousel tonight and the pictures will be from Sears in Auburn. I have a Smiles Saver Plan that expires this month, so I'm getting one more sitting in before it ends. We'll see after a full day today how the kids are for us tonight. It's late for them and I know they'll be tired. I think I'm trying to cram too much in today/tonight. Of course, Allison picks at the cat and gets a big 'v' shaped scratch on her face last night too, so I'm hoping a day of medicated ointment and a little make-up tomorrow will hide it.

Thanks again for the help - I hope to post the pics when we get them in like a month or whatever.

Trip33
Jared 10/96
Emily, Allison & Nathan 3/00 at 37 wks

A nice green would work for all of them . You can also use many different back grounds.

Danielle
Easton, Blake & Hunter
1-24-99

They did very well for pics this year! I was so pleased. The disk I bought from Sears has the pictures upside down and sideways and I don't know how to turn them and post them correctly, so you'll have to crank your necks a bit - sorry. Thanks again.

Trip33
Jared 10/96
Emily, Allison & Nathan 3/00 at 37 wks