Photo Session

What to Wear Guide

Here’s a quick guide to help you choose the perfect outfits for your photos so you can feel confident and look amazing!

An outfit can help you tell your story—it can represent who you are, what you love to do, how you choose to express yourself, etc. An outfit can also help translate the ‘mood’ of the images in a location. For example, if you two are huge hikers and choose to have your photos in the mountains and want to really capture your love for each other and hiking, it makes sense for you both to choose your favorite hiking outfit and boots to really capture that part of your story.

Will choosing the ‘wrong’ outfit ruin your images—that’s gonna be a big no from me! There is no wrong outfit honestly, if you feel good, you look good. So, as with most things I say, take these following tips with a grain of salt and always feel free to break the ‘rules’! I want to help you choose the best outfit out of what you would normally wear—not invent a whole new persona cus the images won’t really feel as genuine to you and your partner.

Does it Make Sense?

Think about the weather, location and environment and plan your outfits around that. If you’re having photos done on the beach and wear chunky boots and a sweater, it doesn’t totally make as much sense as a light outfit with sandals. If you’re headed to the mountains for photos then make sure to wear something warmer and don’t forget solid footwear with grippy tread so you don’t roll an ankle. Heals and dress shoes in general are almost always not a good choice—unless you wear good walking shoes and carry the fancy shoes to change into when we are in a specific spot.

Try and be as comfortable in the environment as possible, honestly that’s way more important than anything else!

When choosing an outfit, not only do you want it to look good, but to compliment the environment as well.

Solids vs Patterns

A hot topic among everyone getting photos taken or taking photos—to pattern or play it safe with all solids?

Firstly, I want you to be able to showcase your personality through your outfit—so if you’re super into patterns, textures and layers—please don’t feel you need to dial yourself down for photos!

But, if you really just need a little advice on what to do, here are my thoughts:

  • Soft subtle patterns are great when one of you is wearing the pattern and the other opts for solids.

  • it’s typically not the best to pair a pattern with another similar pattern, like thin stripes and thick stripes, or stripes with plaid, etc. (not that it can’t be done, cus it can, it’s just tough to do without them clashing.)

  • bringing extra options can be perfect, that way you have different options to pick from!

  • avoid logos, big patterns and loud colors as it can all distract from your faces and environment.

Colors

Think of the environment you’re going to be in, is it a super green forest? A yellow sand beach? In some cases matching the environment can be really cool, but mostly I think it’s best to opt for a color choice that will pop you off the background.

So if you’re going to be in the forest I would avoid the same shade of green and opt for an olive green instead, along with mustard yellow, soft maroon, browns, tans, soft blues, etc. Choose colors that will not make you blend into the environment.

And for colors between your two outfits, you want to choose complimentary colors between your outfits as apposed to matching too much. You want your outfits to have a variety of colors, textures, patterns, accessories and tones that all work well together but still have some separation between you both. So if you’re both really into black jeans for example, try one of you wearing black and the other wearing dark grey so your legs don’t look like a big blob.

Mood.

Your entire outfit can evoke a feeling/vibe/emotion in your photos. From the material you choose to the color palette can make a difference.

If you know you have a specific feeling you want in you photos like warm and romantic for example. Opting for earth-toned clothing colors that compliment your skin tone and the environment with materials that allow for even the tiniest wind to create movement can really catch those romantic feels.

Accessories, Props + Activities

I love when couples bring accessories like hats, jewelry, scarves, jackets, etc. it easily adds so my variety and personality to your final gallery!

Props like motorcycles, trucks, your pet, a pizza, neon lights, lanterns, lights, board games, whatever are AWESOME—its fun, badass and totally YOU!

Keep it simple and just bring yourselves to your photoshoot, or plan a fun activity like a campfire, picnic, paddle, hike, champagne pop, etc. Opting for an activity can not only be fun and elevate the whole experience, but it can also dial back those “being in front of a camera” nerves I think we all get. It allows you and your partner to plan a like date day, where you happen to be getting 3rd wheeled by your photographer!

Hair, Makeup + Tanning

Should you go all out doing a spray tan and glamming up for your photo session?

I will say, it’s usually best to look and feel like YOU—if you’re truly your best self in full hair and makeup then, YES go for it (it’s also a great opportunity to do your hair and makeup trial for your wedding if your doing that). Often times tho, I hear from people that don’t typically wear a lot of makeup regularly that they love the photos, but they wish they hadn’t had the fake lashes/big hair/orange skin, etc. or they wish they looked more like themselves. You can go for something in the middle and have hair and makeup that’s more of a natural look, but you still get to pamper yourself!

So, it’s really up to you, the most important thing is that you feel confident!