Do you have a photo shoot with Crystal Starr Photography coming up soon? Have you thought about booking one soon? Let me help you have the best possible experience and create photos you will treasure forever! Let’s begin with the basics. What should you wear? What kinds of clothing are most flattering and look best in portraits? Let’s get into that.
What NOT to wear!
- Anything you don’t feel comfortable in. Seriously! If you aren’t comfortable then you will not look comfortable in photographs. You will be self-conscious or fidgety.
- Avoid solid dark colors and solid light colors. When everyone in the group is wearing all white, all black, all gray, or all navy blue you create photo that is more 2 dimensional, flat, and to be quite honest… boring! Not to mention very unflattering for everyone. It becomes difficult for the eye to determine where one person begins and another ends so EVERYONE ends up looking much wider! No one wants to look wider, trust me.
- So toss out the white shirts and khaki pants or jeans. You can do better. I promise!
- Avoid tiny stripes or patterns, or logos. These are distracting and are not picked up well by the camera.
- Avoid having everyone wearing just the same thing. Seriously, the matchy matchy look is just not flattering or interesting!
So what SHOULD you wear?
- Alright, I just massacred all of your ideas didn’t I? Before you run away screaming keep reading! Bright, bold, saturated colors photograph best.
- Choose colors that go well together. One way to style your family is to choose one colorful piece of clothing (like Mom’s dress) and coordinate everyone else’s outfits around it. To be more specific, choose three bright colors and purchase everyone’s clothing around those colors. Perhaps pink, blue, and yellow are your colors. Maybe sister has a sweater with those three vivid colors. Dad has a nice shirt in blue, brother is dressed in yellow, and mom has pink and blue in her attire. Coordinated and interesting but not totally matching.
- If we are shooting a large extended family then think in much the same way. Choose three colors and just invite everyone to go with it.
- Bold elements are a lot of fun! A big bold necklace, a wide brimmed funky hat, a brightly colored scarf, big chunky healed shoes, all of these things add so much interest and variety to a photo. A talented photograph can use these fun things to bring out the best in the photos and they can ensure these things do not overtake the photo.
Below I have a photo of one of the best dressed sessions I’ve ever had. You can see they are definitely coordinated but each outfit is distinct and if you knew these children then you’d know what they were wearing is what they like and feel most comfortable in.
Confession time! I stink at coordinating my own family for photo sessions. I am NOT a shopper! I cannot STAND malls. I’d like to hire this Momma to dress MY FAMILY!
I hope this tips helps you when planning your next photo session!