Clothing choices for your Portrait Session

Everyone wants to look their best in photographs. Here are some guidelines to help you choose clothing for your session.

Choose clothing that is:

Comfortable            Fits well

Solid colors or subtle prints         Not overly 'trendy'

Okay, the comfort thing is pretty obvious.  If you're uncomfortable, it's going to show in your

expressions.  If clothing is either too big or too tight, it's not going to look good or feel right.

 Sleeveless styles are often not flattering, unless you're blessed with extremely toned upper

arms. 

 

Solid colors or subtle prints are better, so that they aren't in competition with your face.

 And the more people in a photo, the more important this becomes.  When I'm photographing

a large family group, it's preferable that there's at least a little color coordination in place...

 either all in pastels, or all in jewel tones, for example, simply because the family then appears

to be a connected group.  Also, everyone in the group should wear the same level of

'dressiness', for want of a better word.  You don't want some in formal attire, and some in flip

flops and tattered shorts.  Not that there's anything wrong with either, just not all in the same

photo, or it will end up looking like a random snapshot, rather than a planned family portrait.

 

Exceedingly trendy clothing, while it can be fun (and keeps the fashion industry humming

right along) will put an obvious 'time stamp' on your portraits.  Think of how we remember

each decade:

nineties = huge puffy sleeves 

eighties = big fluffy hair

seventies = loud prints and hippy styles

I was a little kid in the sixties, so I don't remember what we wore.  *smile*

So, if you want your portraits to have a classic look, choose classic clothing.  In the case of

senior portraits (when it is the norm to bring more than one outfit) then of course you have

more options.  Often seniors involved in sports will bring their uniform along for some shots, or

musicians might bring their instrument.  Personalizing senior portraits this way is a terrific and

fun idea!