What to Wear?

People often ask me, “What should I wear?” when preparing for a photo session. We all have seen the family photos on the beach with everyone wearing white and khaki, and there is a reason for that. Simplicity is key. (more on that later)

First and foremost, your family/engagement session is NOT a time to experiment with a new style. If you are trying a new style, try that out at your next date night, not your portrait session. Also, choose clothing that makes you feel fabulous! If you feel great, it will reflect in confidence and more natural poses during your session.

If you have particular body parts that make you self conscious, don’t highlight those areas. I’m on team, “You are perfect as you are.” However, I understand we don’t all like every part of our body. For example, if you are self conscious of your arms, don’t wear a sleeveless shirt. You want to feel amazing before you set out on your portrait session, not self-conscious. 🙂

Wear solid or large patterns. Try to avoid pants or shirts with a lot of small detailed patterns. Typically, this creates a lot of unnecessary internal complexity in your photograph and detracts from the most important part of the portrait, your face! Also, if you are in a group photo with multiple people, and one person is wearing a busy tight pattern, they will stand out like a sore thumb!

Clean up your nails! Especially if you are doing engagement photos. There will inevitably be at least one photograph showcasing your hands in an engagement session, so you want to make sure that your nails are ready and able to play the part!

When you have group photos, it’s always a good idea to speak with your crew ahead of time and coordinate cloths. If half of the group is wearing white and one person shows up in red, guess who will look like the family rock star? I have had families that all wear a white shirt, red, or white with blue accents. Dark blue is also a really flattering color in photographs that almost anyone can pull off! How about plan for everyone to wear a version of their favorite flannel for a bit of fun and color?