The Best Way to Dress for Portraits

"What should I wear for the photos?"

I get this question all the time so I wanted to share a few ideas with you.

Formal or casual style of clothing - First you want to start with whether you want a casual portrait or something more formal. Mixing styles is never a good thing to do (ie. dad in a suit and son in jeans and a t-shirt). Think of the location you're planning to have your photos done and choose accordingly. Formal attire is usually reserved for the studio and more casual portraits generally take place outside.

Pick a color scheme - Look at what colors are popular for that year (this year is honeysuckle, vintage wine and citrus yellow). It's usually easier to find clothing in the colors that are in. Also, think of denim as a multi-tasking color like black or white, it goes great with anything. If your doing a group portrait of any kind think of going with a base color and then you can use variations of it. Uniform shades draw equal attention to everyone in the image. Or you can choose a color scheme and then have everyone pick their outfit to revolve around that color scheme, like the sample below.

Avoid sharp contrast or matching clothing - For instance if everyone is in black shirts and khaki pants...not good for photos. Not to mention if everyone is in the exact same outfit the eye tends to focus on the clothing and you loose interest in the people. You could do those colors, but think of maybe switching it up, have some people in black pants and a khaki (or off white) colored top; or maybe a patterned black and white shirt. Don't forget you can use different textures to add contrast (ie. a button down cotton shirt on dad vs. a knit sweater on mom) Not to mention if everyone is in the exact same outfit the eye tends to focus on the clothing and you loose interest in the people. Below is a great example of how they choose a color scheme and used different shades and a pattern to break up the monotony of having the same colors.The squint trick - Lay out the clothing that everyone plans on wearing for the photo and squint. Ideally, you want the colors to blend well and compliment each other. If there's any one piece that stands out, swap it out for a different piece of clothing that blends well with the others.

Don't forget your shoes! - They will show in some of your images so make sure that they coordinate with your outfit.

Avoid writing or logos - These will immediately draw attention directly to that area of the image.

Other random tips for picking out clothing:

• Darker colors are more slenderizing than lighter ones.



• Be festive - if you're celebrating a special occasion coordinate colors based on that event.



• Be you - if you're the more laid back type, don't try a suit and tie for your photo. You're going to take a much better image if you're comfortable in what your wearing.



• Keep it simple, classic, and timeless!!