Clothing Suggestions For Your Portrait Photography Session.
Picking out proper clothing for your portrait is a critical factor in the preparation for a successful portrait. If the clothing is noticeable or overbearing in a portrait, it can easily become a distraction. Clothing that does not attract attention to itself is the ultimate goal (unless the photo session is supposed to be about your clothes). It could be the difference between a very successful portrait and just another picture.
Think about what look and feel you want the portraits to have. Go online to get inspiration I've even made a board on Pinterest to help. Do you want a vintage or more modern and simplistic look? Do you want to be more casual or dressy? I usually lean towards a more casual look, so I go for clothes that are nice, but have a more lived-in, timeless look. Once you have decided, lay all the clothes out together and take a picture of them together. Does it work? Do you love it? If the answer is yes, then you probably have a great collection planned.
Dark Colors
Dark clothing tends to slenderize. Darker clothing helps to blend the bodies with the background, so that the faces are the most important part of the photograph. After all we want to see all those happy smiling faces. For family pictures, it helps to have complementary colors, so picking a color scheme you like works best. I would say 2-3 main colors (for example – tan, gray and blue or blue white and yellow) and then adding some pops of colors looks really good in photos. If you’re planning on hanging the pictures in your home, you might find inspiration there. What colors do you decorate with? What colors make you feel good?
Bright Colors
Go easy on bright colors. Bright colors draw attention away from the face and may be reflective (causing that color to reflect onto other people in the image). Avoid wearing red, bright pink, bright green etc. When choosing lighter colors, stick to pastels, but avoid skin tones - no one wants to look nude. Pale yellow and pale blue work well, especially with jeans or khaki pants. These colors work great in nature for example, if you have a sunset photography session booked in.
Matching Outfits?
No need for matching. Sure, if you have some adorable little ones, matching can be totally cute, but usually matching everyone in the picture just doesn’t work. I have a family portrait from my childhood where we wore matching Hawaiian shirts, ouch. The pictures can look dated as this trend has passed. If you want your photos to have character and depth then coordinate, don’t match your outfits! This also lets everyone put a little piece of their personality in the picture. You will find amazing tips here.
Prints and Patterns
NO Prints and patterns. This includes logos - what's cool today may not be cool at all tomorrow. Your little one might love their character shirt, but graphics can be very distracting in a photo…just say “no.” Avoid prints of any kind and patterns. In the case of digital portraits, in particular, small patterns in clothing (even a small herring-bone or checkered pattern) can cause terrible distortions to appear in the portrait that are not originally there.
Cover-up Men
Men should avoid short sleeve clothing and shorts. Long sleeved clothing is a MUST! For casual portraits it is equally important to wear long pants instead of shorts. But if the point is to show off the great weather or your personal brand always wears short sleeves and shorts – go for it.
Only your favorite Accessories
Women don’t over accessorize! Overbearing or heavily noticeable accessories can be a major distraction. Simple and minimal works best.
Make-up
If it is your style go for it. If not don't. However, if you choose to wear make-up just stay away from any bronzers or metallic that reflect light or else there is a good chance your cheeks will shine like a mirror! A powder that reduces shine works great (I think...I mean I've never put on makeup, but I know that less shine looks better in your pictures).
Now, after writing all of this I tell you to throw it out the window because... you have your own sense of style so show it!
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