Confessions of a Wannabe Stylist (Fall Family Photos + Tips)

Have you entered to win $75 from the Pleated Poppy yet? (I’m linking up with her for What I Wore Wednesday today!).

I have this fantasy that I would really love being a magazine stylist. I can imagine putting whole photo shoots together with one fabulous bracelet or torn-out picture or pretty plate as the inspiration for the elaborate, perfect-down-to-the-last-detail finished product.

In reality, though, I’m pretty sure I would be a stressed out mess with damp armpits and a tension knot tighter than my almost-3-year-old’s sphincter—at least when she’s sitting on the potty—at the base of my neck. And while I massaged that sucker, I’d be busy second-guessing the placement of that bowl or the scarf on that model. Plus, I’d be worrying about how many more months of potty-training my fragile psyche could take before I snapped and bought stock in adult diapers since that’s clearly a good investment for us.

“Hey Maaaaamma. I just made you a present!”

Not too surprisingly, I’m sticking with my day job because a) baby girl twins don’t get all, “I’m sorry, but I don’t do horizontal stripes” on you when you dress them in high-water leggings (apparently, they just had a growth spurt), and b) I don’t think anyone wants me “styling” them when I’ve got soggy cracker crumbs and goodness knows what else all over my shirt.

(From left to right: Nola-13 months, Simon-almost 6, Evy-13 months, Ezra-7 1/2, and Della-almost 3)

Plus—bonus—when you find an adorable green/navy polka dot shirt dress that you would wear if only it came in something other than toddler sizes, you can buy it for your toddler instead and begin what will surely become a longstanding tradition of living vicariously through her.

“Mama, you can’t fool us. We know these ‘shirts’ are actually six-month dresses that Great Aunt Tonya gave us last Christmas. What, you couldn’t spring for something in our actual size?”

{Can you tell that I am attempting to will all 6 of our heads in the same direction by the sheer force of my concentration and ability to smile while talking through clenched teeth? It almost worked!}

Little boy clothes are so much better than they used to be. Seriously. Chambray shirts for my not-quite-six-year-old? Swoon. Also, sweet brother love? Swoon again.

I love Evy’s expression (center), which clearly says, “Who are all of these laughing people and why am I forced to sit here in their midst?”

And in this one, it’s Della’s expression that takes the cake. Either that, or Nola’s “Thriller” moves.

Not that it took Della too long to catch on to the zaniness (pardon her glowing green dress. For some reason, it reacted more strongly than any other color in the picture when I lightened it).

Good grief. Seriously, y’all. Sometimes, I just look at my children and think, “How did I get so blessed?” Of course, 5 minutes later, I’m thinking, “Where is the nearest bus stop and will they pick all of them up if I put a bow around their middles?” But still. They’re pretty great kids.

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering about my philosophy for styling our family for pictures, here’s how I like to roll to keep things coordinated but not too matchy-matchy.

I’m certainly no expert, but these guidelines  have served me well for our other photo shoots as well (you can see how I applied similar concepts in  our prenatal shots, our family photo shoots 1 and 2, Mother’s day pics and our lake pictures)

Clothing sources (I’m only listing the ones I bought recently):

Della’s dress: Old Navy outlet (about $8 after a coupon)

My dress: Anthropologie (a $50 splurge; I posted about it on the blog when it was still full-price; it’s sold out online, but you might be able to find it in stores. I bought mine 2 weeks ago in South Carolina at Allume)

The twins’ leggings (which have adorable ruffles on the bum): Old Navy outlet ($3 each after a coupon)

Ezra’s shirt: Target ($10)

Simon’s shirt: Kohl’s ($10 after a coupon)