What should I wear when I get my portrait taken?

Deciding what to wear doesn’t have to be overwhelming even if you don’t have a personal stylist. Not all of us are lucky enough to have Tan France to hand-pick our wardrobe. Consider a few basic concepts and then ultimately decide on an outfit that makes you feel good about the way you look. When you know you look good, your body language and facial expressions change and in turn helps you look your very best. It’s a catch-22. So with all that said, here are a few basic things to consider below.

Color

Senior portrait by Evelyn Mae Photography

When choosing a color think about the location your portrait is going to be taken at. You want your clothes to compliment and/or stand out (high contrast) from your surrounds but not clash. If there is going to be a lot of greenery, wearing something red will compliment green. Having your portrait taken at a beach would give a wonderful opportunity to play with an orange and blue color scheme. If you don’t have a lot of bright clothes you like, choose neutral colors such as white or grey. Neutral tones will stand out against one dominant color provided by the enviorment in an appealing way.If you want to go the extra mile with color, there are many more color scheme ideas to play with. Analogous colors are three colors next to each other in a color wheel. Maybe your favorite colors are cool colors; you’ll want to make sure green, blue and purple are in your portrait. Triad colors are evenly spaced apart throughout a color wheel. For example: purple, orange and green. Then there are split-complementary colors, which stem from one base color and two colors on either side of the complementary colors. For example: orange, yellow and blue. Wouldn’t that be easy to do at a beach or within an urban environment?

Patterns

Following suit with the advice above, remember to consider the environment and pick patterns that compliment and/or stand out without clashing. Plus patterns can be a fun easy way to show-off your outgoing or trendy personality in your portrait.

Shoes

Don’t forget the shoes. It is easy to crop shoes out yes, but shoes are the cherry on top of any outfit. If you wear flip-flops make sure they are your nice dressed-up flip-flops. If you wear sneakers make sure they are clean and scuff mark free. Shoes are another opportunity to add personality and style to your portrait.

Layers

Embrace layers! Layers make it easy to build more sophisticated color schemes and add texture to your outfit. They also distract the eye from parts of our body you might not be proud of. Plus, layers will help maximize your portrait session by providing variety. When you shed layers you have a whole other outfit to pose with.

Families and groups

Black and white bride and groom portrait

I'm turning into a broken record, but this one simple concept really helps. Choose complimentary. You don't all have to be wearing the same thing to look like a cohesive unit. Take my advice above about considering the environment and how it plays into your outfit, and apply it to how your outfit compliments or stands out from the people you are standing next to. Bride and groom portraits are the perfect example because they are high contrast and they look fantastic.

Still not sure?

At your consultation or before your portrait session with me, show me a few things you are thinking about wearing and I can help you brainstorm and make a final decision on what to wear for your portrait session. Schedule a free consultation by getting in touch with me below. [wpforms id="1484"]

What to wear for your portrait session