The Family Styling Edit

— Section one

Start with the location, then the palette

If we are shooting at the beach, your palette should echo sand, sea and sky — creams, oats, sages, soft blues, terracotta. If we are in studio on cream backdrops, the same earthy tones work beautifully. If we are at home, look at your living room: photographs hung on a warm-grey wall need different tones than a pale linen one.

Pick three to four colours that live happily together. Every person wears two of those, in different proportions. That's the whole formula.

— Section two

The two principles, in plain English

• —Palette over matching. Same family of colours, never the same outfit. A 'matchy' family in identical white tops and jeans reads as a stock photo, not a memory.
• —Texture over pattern. A linen shirt, a chunky knit, a flowing dress, soft denim — varied textures in the same colour family look layered and warm. Bold patterns fight each other and date quickly.

— Section three

Three-person palette — Coastal Cream

Mum, dad, one child. Beach or studio. Easy, warm, ageless.

• —Mum. Long cream linen dress or wide-leg cream trousers with a soft camel top.
• —Dad. Stone or oat linen shirt, sleeves rolled. Light wash chinos or stone shorts. Barefoot or simple sandals.
• —Child. Off-white or oat dress / shirt and shorts. Soft terracotta or sage accent — a cardigan or hair ribbon.
• —Accents. Tan leather, woven straw, brushed silver. Nothing shiny.

— Section four

Four-person palette — Sage and Sand

Two parents, two children. A little more depth — green pulls coastal images together.

• —Mum. Sage green midi dress, or cream top with a sage skirt or wide-leg pants.
• —Dad. Oat or cream linen shirt, soft denim or sand chinos. A sage knit over the shoulder if cool.
• —Older child. Cream dress or shirt, with a sage or terracotta layer.
• —Younger child. Soft white or oat romper. Nothing patterned.
• —Avoid. Pure white tops (they glow on camera), red or bright pink (they cast colour onto faces).

— Section five

Five-person palette — Earth and Ocean

Two parents, three children. The trick is to spread the palette so no two people clash.

• —Mum. Terracotta or rust dress with cream details — anchors the group.
• —Dad. Oat or stone linen shirt, dark sand chinos.
• —Child one. Cream dress or shirt, soft sage cardigan.
• —Child two. Soft denim shorts, cream linen shirt or tee.
• —Child three. Oat romper or simple cream piece — let the smallest one stay quietest.

— Section six

Where Aline shops locally

• —Country Road and Trenery (Warringah Mall). Reliable cream and oat basics, soft knits.
• —Spell & Gypsy (online). Flowing maternity-friendly dresses in earth tones.
• —Seed Heritage (Westfield Warringah). Beautiful children's basics, especially oat and sage.
• —Witchery (Warringah). Linen shirts for dads, simple jewellery.
• —The Iconic (online). Great for filtering by colour — search 'oat', 'sage', 'terracotta'.