I get asked for suggestions on what to wear all the time for engagement & family sessions, so I decided to create a page as a reference for anyone who wants my opinion on how to dress! I must reiterate that this is based solely on MY [professional] opinion. My sessions are always about YOU and what YOU want, so if you want everyone in your family to dress in jeans and white T-shirts, you are more than willing, but if you want a recommendation by me on what I think looks best, here you are.;)
—COORDINATE, DON’T MATCH
What I typically tell my clients is to coordinate together with colors & patterns. Coordinating is very different than matching. When you match, everyone wears blues, blacks, whites, etc. When you coordinate, you choose a few colors that go well together [like example below: red, black, gray, brown] and mix those up with different patterns, solids, jewelry, etc.
This family chose a few colors that coordinate and go well together, but mixed it up with checkered bows, colored hats, and a fur vest to separate the plaid tops.
Dress in the tones you would like your images to reflect. I edit all my sessions differently. When a couple wears bold colors, I edit with more bold contrasts & vibrance. If a couple wears light, soft colors, I tend to edit with less contrast and more “airy” tones. Every couple & session is unique, so I edit accordingly.
So consider what kind of style you would like to reflect in your images. Next, think about your location. Are you going downtown where there will be a lot of walls with bold colors? Are you going to a field or outdoor space with a lot of light & earthy tones? What time of the year is it? It’s always great to reflect your location and how the scenery will look that time of year with what you’re wearing.
—BOLD & BRIGHT
Dressing in bright colors is a great way to make the image more vibrant and alive, regardless of your background/location. Wearing black is okay but can sometimes be a harsh color against some backgrounds. It also is difficult to make out the detail in black or dark navy outfits when the image is in black & white and can appear dramatically dark against the rest of the image.
Here are some great examples of dressing boldly.
Sasha & Tim had an urban Cincinnati photo shoot, so they wore colors that were just as bold and fun as their surroundings.
Garrett had a nice pattern on his sleeves, and Amanda pulled a color from there for her dress. Amanda was able to have her jean jacket for some and remove it for others.
Garrett wore the brightly patterned outfit and to coordinate, Amanda wore a solid, but she threw on a pop of color with her necklace to top it all off.
—SOFT & AIRY
Don’t want to be that vibrant & colorful in your photos? Dress in neutrals! If you’re worried that look will be boring, put on a yellow shoe, coral necklace, red lipstick, fun hat, or something to spice your look up.
I love when the sunlight is perfect at that golden hour and the couple is wearing light colors. It can create an ethereal setting that just cannot be matched when the couple is in dark colors. With Taylor’s cream sweater (that has some texture to it) and Michael’s light gray shirt, these earthy tones look beautiful with the golden light. Lighter colors give a more peaceful and calm look to your images.
Janessa’s floppy hat was my favorite! Feel free to wear accessories you might not choose to on a daily basis. As much as you want to look like yourself, this is your opportunity to wear things you might not always get to regularly, but want to. We took some with and without the hat, but the hat really completed the look with the ice cream cone and others we took in a flowered field. Still wearing light, neutral colors, but breaking them up with a large pattern.
—STYLE
Casual or dressy? This is a common question. What represents you as a couple or family best? If you have a 90 minute family or engagement session (engagement sessions can run closer to two hours if you have multiple outfit changes), do both! I would recommend bringing 2-3 outfits for more variety.
Here’s a great example of a couple who switched their style up in a couple outfits.
#1- This couple looks dressed up with a bow tie and romper, but still look casual enough to shoot in the woods. I adored these suspenders, but dressed it down with jeans. Jenny wore a super cute romper, but the big pattern makes it appear more casual. The burgundy in the suspenders help bring the outfits together by subtly pulling colors from her outfit.
#2- Casual, but still very put together. Jenny breaks up the two neutral colors with a bold stripe.
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Whew! That was probably too much information and a bit too overwhelming, ha. Hopefully the visuals gave you some ideas of what will work the best for YOU. Now you know how you can affect your shoot with what you wear!