Every single person that books a session with me eventually asks this question. I find it rather funny, because I am by no means a fashion guru, myself. I do have a few tried and true tips to share with you though, that I think will help with the tedious task of deciding on what (or what NOT) to wear.
WHERE WILL YOU BE?
Location can make a difference in clothing choices. For example, I think urban environments lend themselves to more casual clothes. Neat alleyways, rusty pipes, train tracks and peeling paint can look really cool with jeans and funky t-shirts.
Here is an example of casual clothes in an urban environment:
On the other hand, I love the unexpected juxtaposition of dressy clothes and the great outdoors. The engagement session in the previous post is a perfect example of this:
For dressy shots, guys usually look good in khakis and long sleeved shirts, girls in fun dresses and skirts.
Multiple clothing changes are always welcome! Bring several outfits, both casual and dressy and switch them up!
TEXTURE, TEXTURE, TEXTURE!
Regardless of clothing style, texture is important. Frayed jeans, wooly sweaters, and layers all photograph really well. Consider scarves, hats, jackets, etc. Texture makes skin appear smooth and creamy and makes faces “pop”.
ACCESSORIZE!
Accessories can really make a shot. Delicate items do not show up well in photographs, so big and bold is better. Long, dangly earrings and chunky bracelets look awesome in photographs. Ladies – as for makeup, more is better. The camera tends to lose details, so wear a little more makeup than you usually would, concentrating especially on the eyes and lips. Don’t forget about the hair. You may want to consider a visit to the salon and have a professional style your hair (and possibly do your makeup). You can actually have this done fairly inexpensively and it will make a big difference in the final images.
GROUPS SHOULD COORDINATE, NOT MATCH
In other words, when multiple people are photographed together, you don’t want to clash, but you don’t want to look like the Bobbsey Twins either. Dressing identical is lame. Plain and simple. One thing that works well is to pick a palette of 2, 3 or 4 colors and have the group pick outfits within those colors. Here are just a few color palette examples to get your mind going:
Don’t get too hung up on the exact shades. As long as people aim for “greens, yellows and browns” for example, you can have variation within those colors and it still looks great.
BABIES AND KIDDOS
The same texture rules apply for the little ones. Again, layers rule. Kids are adorable in hats, boots, etc. Hair accessories such as bows and flowery headbands look adorable on little girls and babies. Don’t forget fun props like umbrellas, jewelry and favorite toys. These things can make kids feel more comfortable too, which helps to get natural, candid images. In the image below, the pearls gave my daughter something to play with and distracted her long enough for me to get the shot before running away from the camera, per usual
WHAT NOT TO WEAR
In general, avoid prints. Of course, all rules can be broken (see photo above), but especially in groups of people, prints are distracting. If someone does wear a print, it should be just one person in the group, with the other in solids. Prints also tend to go out of style quickly, so your photos may appear dated in years to come.
Writing and images on shirts are a no-no.
Avoid white. White tends to get blown out in photographs and loses all detail.
Open weave fabrics and some sweaters can become transparent in some lighting situations. Unless you like the look of illuminated underwear, wear undershirts and slips.
Avoid pulling little girl’s hair back in pony tails, it has a tendency to make them look bald.
ONE LAST THING
When choosing what to wear for your photo shoot, you also want to consider where you will be displaying your prints. This may not initially have occurred to you, but you may not want your clothing colors to clash with your decor. If you hang a beautiful 20″x30″ Canvas Wrap in your earth toned living room, you might not want everyone wearing bright pink and blue. Just something to consider.
Remember, all rules can be broken. These are just some general guidelines that I thought might help. Have fun with it!
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