What to Wear

One of the most frequent questions I'm asked is 'what shall we wear for the photoshoot?'   This is just as important as checking yourself in the mirror before a photo to make sure your hair isn't sticking up. 

Careful consideration of clothing can turn a photo from a 'holiday snap' into a stunning image.  I'm not saying peoples holiday snaps aren't stunning, but thinking about the colours & styles of outfits really makes an impact on the final photos. 

Think of it like this:  Unless you are modelling clothes, you don't actually want anyone to even notice what you are wearing.   That is the testament of a considered choice. 

Styles:

      

In a family shoot, if someone is in tracksuit trousers, someone in denim shorts and someone else in a smart dress, you can immediately picture a mismatch of outfits.  So I suggest ensuring everyone is either casual or smart.   However, you don't want to look like clones of each other, so everyone in jeans & t-shirts is fine but a variation of styles and colours will look more natural.  

Patterns: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black & white images can look really cool when there are patterns involved - as you cannot see the colours, then patterns create variety.  If however you want coloured photos created, then too many spots,  stripes and checked outfits can just be too much!  As mentioned in 'styles', we are not asking for everyone to look identical, so definitely not all in checked shirts or spotty skirts please.   Plain is fab with the odd person wearing a pattern. 

Colours: 

   

     

You can probably guess by now what I'm going to write in this section.  So instead of pointing out what 'not' the wear, please consider the 'shades' of a colour (baby blue through to navy for example), and how 'neutrals' like black, white, cream, brown or grey can blend in with those colours. 

Also, think about complimentary colours (use the 'colour-wheel' concept to help) as you can see above, the orange has worked well in x2 of my family shoots as a contrast. 

Finally, take into account the time of year.  An Autumn shoot can be emphasised by family members choosing the same colours found in nature that time of year, so explore with mustard, burgundy, navy, dark orange, dark green etc.  A summer sunset shoot can feel light & airy with pale blues, pale greens etc. 

Can everyone wearing white?  For both a studio shoot and outdoor session, whites do look crisp and clean but I personally feel that if everyone wears white, the brightness is overwhelming, the definition can disappear and it looks too un-natural to me.  Variety is the key.  If two-thirds wear white & the rest mix it up a bit, then this is my preferred combination.   

Headshots:  If you are booked for headshots, then the colours will depend on your skin tone, hair and eye colour, plus the colour backdrops we have discussed to use.  Black backdrop looks fab with a bright coloured top, e.g. red, turquoise.  There are lots of examples in my gallery