There are several things to consider when choosing clothing for your portraits. Hopefully these 6 tips will alleviate some of the butterflies while preparing for your portrait session. Read them. Think about them. Decide which rules you want to break because you know what they say about rules.
1.Think about the color wheel when choosing clothing for your portraits.
There are warm and cool colors.
Warm colors are oranges, reds, and yellows. Warm skin tones look great in warm colors and earth tones. Earth tones are just as they sound, “of the earth”; think of the richness of clay or dirt.
Cool colors are blues, greens, and purples. Cool skin tones are flattering in cool colors.
Another idea is to have several cool colors and one warm color as an accent or vice- versa.
Look at colors opposite each other on the wheel. Complementary colors usually look great together: oranges and blues, reds and greens, and yellows and purples.
2.Think about what you’ll wear at least a week before your session.
Give yourself time to try options on.
See what accessories you can add to the look to create visual interest.
Make sure you know where everything is.
Does it fit well?
Pro tip- hats are fun but not great for photographs because they present shadows on the face.
3.Choose clothing that will be comfortable both physically and emotionally.
Wear broken-in shoes vs. new, stiff ones and clothing that feels good on your body.
Choose something that makes you feel confident because you look great in it.
4. Coordinate but don’t match others exactly (if you’re not the only subject in your portrait session).
Have one or two people choose patterned clothing and others find a solid color from the patterns to wear. (Keep the patterns to a minimum because they can become too busy and visually distracting.)
Avoid all wearing the exact same solid colored shirt and/or pants, although variations of a color look great together. (The outline of your bodies will be hard to distinguish from one another when photographed together if you’re wearing the same color.)
5.Layers and multiple textures can add visual interest.
Layering can be weather and comfort dependent: sweaters, jackets, scarves.
Fabric variety offers interesting textures: lace, denim, wool.
6.Consider the environment where you’ll be photographed.
Certainly think about the colors in your setting and how your clothing works with those colors.
Does your clothing make sense in that environment? Is it too formal? Is it too casual? Or are you intentionally creating that visual contrast?
These are tips-things that over my several decades of using a camera I’ve found that work. Follow them if you like. Most importantly, are you happy and comfortable in what you’ve chosen to wear? Please consider these 6 tips for choosing clothing for your portrait session, but feel no pressure.
Contact me to schedule your portrait session. I’m happy to be as involved as you’d like in the styling of your session, from looking at phone pics through email to sharing a Pinterest inspiration board with you. I’ll also aid in finding a location that works well with your clothing. Please ask!
