How to Style Your Family Picture Outfits from Thrift Stores | Whitney Beth Photography

Hey Macklemore, you wanna go thrift shopping?

A couple weeks ago I asked on my stories what your average is that you spend on family picture outfits. My scale was in three parts; $0, $50 and $100+. Not surprisingly, by the end of the poll the average was on the higher side of $50. Which, to be honest, is pretty modest if you're getting outfits for all the people in your family - depending on the size. 

Getting family pictures taken is a luxury and an investment. That being said, if I'm going to shell out the big bucks for my yearly family pictures, I'd much rather spend my money on the backend and order prints and photo books as opposed to a new dress. Which leads me to today's post, my secret weapon to styling and planning allll of my family pictures; thrift stores. 

In Utah, we have your typical second hand stores like Goodwill, Savers, etc, but they also have Deseret Industries, or the DI as it's called by the natives. The DI is a non profit that helps provide jobs and experience, and it's where 85% of Utah donate their spring cleaning. I wanted to show how easy it is to find outfits for a family of 5, all while staying under $30, in one shopping trip. The Zamora's graciously agreed to be my models and I met up with Sophia to shop for everyone in her family.

1. LEAVE YOUR EXPECTATIONS AT THE DOOR.

Don't walk in expecting to find a certain style. If you have your mind set on a wrap dress with florals, it will cloud your mind and you won't be open to seeing what is there. 

2. IF YOU LIKE IT, AND IT FITS, PUT IT IN THE CART.

Doesn't even matter if they are completely different styles, put it in your cart and you can sort and organize at the end. 

3. SHOP FOR THE PICKIEST PERSON FIRST.

If you haven't guessed by now, I like to make sure everyone is as happy as they can be while taking pictures. In most cases, that means picking their outfit first and basing everyone else's off of theirs. (When shopping at the DI, it's really easy to find kid clothes, I suggest getting the adults first)

4. ONCE YOUR CART IS FULL, FIND A CORNER AND START LAYING OUTFITS TOGETHER.

I like to arrange them by the hangers on the cart handle. It makes it easier to slide around and play with patterns. 

Because of Corona I didn't have Sophia bring her kids with her to try them on, so we had to guess. All were a perfect fit except her oldest daughter's dress. She ended up going back without me and finding a different one that worked, and for only $3, too! In total we were there for less than an hour and spent $17 for all of their outfits. 

For only 17$, they were able to get two baby gap pieces, a Banana republic dress, Costco shirt and a regular cotton dress. Not too shabby. But it's one thing to find clothes at the second hand store, it's another thing to see how they photograph together. I think their pictures speak for themselves, what do you think? *look for their blog post with their full session next week!