What to Wear

The hardest part of getting pictures taken can be finding what to wear. There are so many choices and so many people to dress! But it doesn't have to be that way. Actually it can be a very FUN part of your session!

Clothes, aka styling, for your shoot is a powerful way to take your session from cute snap shots in a pretty place to a full blown portrait. Wear to start? Color, I always recommend color! It sets the tone and can bring warmth, spunk, and interest to your portraits. White also has a place in setting the mood. I LOVE a white dress. It conveys innocence in a classic way. Black ... it may be slimming, but honestly not flattering in photos. That is; however, my opinion. As with any rule I'm sure there is an exception, but until I see it I will stick hard and fast to my rule of ALWAYS choose color.

That being said there are a couple colors that should be kept in moderation! First, orange. LOVE orange. But family pictures with dad wearing a bright bright orange polo, mom in an identical orange jacket, and kiddos with more solid orange is definitely too much of a good thing! Hot pink, anything neon, and of course black all fall into this category as well.

The importance of color being established there are two ways to attack assembling the ensembles. The first way is to choose two colors. Just two. It keeps things simple. Here's the perfect example. I chose blue and purple. All outfits from this sample are from gap.com in case you're interested.



The two colors, however, do not all need to be exactly the same shade of your color. If you notice there are a couple variations of blue, but they are within the same tone and feel of blue. Same with the purple. And, as is always a good idea, there is a neutral that accompanies the two colors. It happens to be denim in this case.

The best tip I have for this type of approach is to not feel that you have to have each person in both colors. Or that each person needs to be in the solid color. Break it up. Have one solid (mom) a pattern that incorporates both (dad and brother) and a couple pieces that just work (sister and baby girl). It's not too matchy matchy (everyone wearing solid denim) but still looks casual and cohesive.

Which brings up another question - patterns. Avoid tiny hypnotizing checks or stripes. They blend together and look weird in photos. Likewise very large patterns can draw more attention to one person than another. Patterns are perfect for layering. Put a busy shirt under a jacket or cardigan. Then the color can peek through without being distracting.

The second approach is to choose a certain tone or feel for your colors. I recommend this approach especially for couples. It's much more interesting when you only have two people to have more color variety. The clothes for this are all from jcrew.com.



This approach is a little more difficult, but not necessarily. Here I picked a more formal look perfect for the fall. That does not mean that formal clothes make for formal portraits. It will just make for a different feel. And since I had cooler weather in mind I really tried to play up how layers add awesome dimension to photos. Try a scarf with a fun color, shoes with funky laces, or even fake frames to add a pop of color. Have a green pea coat? Or a long blue trench? Bring it! Even an umbrella, balloon, or favorite stuffed animal can add to your portrait. When in doubt bring it! Worst case scenario we don't use it.

Compare this shoot with this shoot. Both exhibit beautiful clothing choices. They both produced beautiful photos with two completely different feels.

I hope that helps give you some visuals for a good jumping off point for your own upcoming sessions. I LOVE styling shoots too! So if you have further questions always always ask! I've been known to accompany my clients on shopping trips or email suggestions! I want the feel of your photos to really reach that next level.