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The One Color That Makes Kids Disappear in LSU Game Day Photos You've got the little ones dressed head to toe in purple, everybody's gathered on the tai...
You've got the little ones dressed head to toe in purple, everybody's gathered on the tailgate in the parking lot outside Tiger Stadium, and when you flip through the pictures later half the crew looks like a shadow. That's the purple. Deep, saturated LSU purple is gorgeous on a jersey and murder in a photograph, especially when the sun drops behind the stadium and everything goes soft and dim.
Here's why it happens, and what to reach for instead.
Purple is a dark color, and dark colors absorb light instead of bouncing it back. That's fine when you're standing in bright noon sun. But most game day photos don't happen at noon. They happen in the late afternoon shade of a tailgate tent, in the tunnel walking in, or under stadium lights during an evening kickoff when the whole scene is already low on light.
Put a toddler in a rich purple romper in that setting and the fabric goes flat. The camera can't find the edges of them. Their little face, which is the whole point of the picture, ends up floating above a dark blob where their outfit should be. On group shots it's worse, because everyone in matching deep purple melts into one solid mass and you lose the individual kids entirely.
It's the same trouble people run into with navy at evening weddings or black at Christmas Eve service. The color reads beautiful in person and disappears on camera. LSU purple is just a particularly stubborn version of it, because it's so dark and so close to the shadow tones already in the frame.
The fix isn't to ditch the team colors. It's to flip the ratio. Make gold the star and let purple play backup.
Gold is a light, warm color that catches whatever glow is around it, so it holds up in shade, under lights, and in that golden-hour window when the sun's going down over the parking lots off Nicholson Drive. A little one in a gold dress or a mustard-and-white striped set will pop off the frame even when the light's fading. Their face stays lit because the outfit is reflecting light back up at them instead of soaking it in.
Then you bring the purple in as an accent. A purple bow. Purple shorts under a gold top. A purple appliqué tiger on a cream tee. You still read clearly as an LSU family, but now the camera has something bright to grab onto, and the kids stay visible.
For a full sibling group, dress them in varying amounts of gold and cream with purple touches rather than putting everyone in identical deep purple. The variety keeps each kid distinct in the shot, and the lighter base tones mean nobody vanishes.
If you want the easiest win, build the outfit on cream or white and treat purple and gold as the accents. A white eyelet dress with a purple sash and gold hair bow photographs beautifully in almost any light. A cream polo with purple and gold trim keeps a little boy looking sharp without turning him into a dark spot.
Cream is a little softer than bright white and tends to sit nicer next to skin tones, especially in warm evening light. It won't blow out and glow in a way that steals attention from faces. For fall game days once the season kicks off, cream also plays well with the warmer, lower sun you get later in the year around here.
Purple isn't the enemy. It's the amount and the light that cause trouble.
If your photos are happening in strong daylight, an early afternoon kickoff, a bright tailgate spot with no tent over it, purple can absolutely hold its own. In good light the camera has plenty to work with and the color reads rich and deep instead of muddy. Purple also works great as a smaller piece, a skirt, shorts, a jacket that comes off, so you're not committed to it for the whole shoot.
What you want to avoid is head-to-toe deep purple in dim or dappled light with no lighter color anywhere to break it up. That's the combination that eats kids alive in pictures.
A few small choices make a big difference in how the whole outfit photographs. Keep the color closest to their face on the lighter side, so a gold or white collar, bow, or headband. That's the piece the camera reads first, and you want it bright. If the top is dark, add a light accent right up near the chin.
Watch out for shiny, slick fabrics in dark colors too, because they can catch harsh glare from stadium lights and create odd bright spots. A soft cotton or a matte knit behaves much better under those conditions.
And if you're stepping out into real Louisiana heat before a game, breathable fabrics matter as much as color. Kids overheat faster than adults do, and a miserable, flushed toddler doesn't photograph well no matter what they're wearing. The CDC's guidance on keeping children cool in hot weather is a good reminder to dress them in light, loose layers, which happens to line up perfectly with the lighter colors that also look best on camera.
Picture a Youngsville family walking into the stadium: the oldest in a cream jersey dress with a gold and purple bow, the middle one in a gold romper with purple ruffles, the baby in a white bubble with a tiny purple tiger on the front. Everybody clearly LSU. Nobody disappears. Every little face lit up and sharp in the photo you'll actually want to frame.
That's the whole trick. Let gold and cream carry the outfit, sprinkle the purple on top, and save the deep all-over purple for the bright-sun games. Your kids stay the stars of the picture, right where they belong.
Come see us when you're ready to build their game day look. We'll help you find the pieces that keep your littles glowing in every shot, Geaux Tigers and all.