Calgary Photographer | Coordinating Your Photo Session Outfits
/What to Wear For Your Session
Now that you’ve booked your session, it’s time to think about what you are going to wear!
Here are some helpful tips to make your images look cohesive and flattering with examples from these beautifully coordinated past sessions!
Clothing Colour and Background Colour
The colour of your clothing will depend on the time of year and the location of your session. It’s important to avoid wearing the same colours as the location so that you don’t blend into the background. I’ll let you know what the primary colours of your session will be and what tones will work best with the scenery.
Logos/Graphics/Writing
Clothes with photos, large print and large designs are visually distracting and pull focus from the subject’s face.
Colour Coordination in a Group Session
It looks great when there’s a common colour thread between two or more people’s outfits. The colour doesn’t have to be the exact same either; it could just be a similar shade which unifies and coordinates everyone together.
Colour Coordination in a Couple’s Session
In a couple’s session, you are going to be really close with your partner. Be wary of the "blending" phenomenon which is where two people wearing the same colour clothes might end up looking like one large body with two heads!
Comfort
Perhaps above all else, your comfort is the most important part of how you dress during your session. If you are feeling comfortable, that will come through in your images.
For family photos, especially with babies and young children, practice moving in your chosen outfit: kneeling down, lifting your baby/child in your arms to see if your clothes are still fitting properly and feeling comfortable.
For a couple’s session, practice moving around and reaching up with your arms (there might be dancing or lifting involved and there will definitely be lots of hugging!) and see how you like your neckline, the bottom of your shirt, the top/bottom of your pants, skirt, etc.
Pet Lovers?
I unashamedly admit that my clothing always had some form of dog hair stuck to it and that was just life for me! I think that’s life for most pet lovers. If that accurately represents your life, then I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having an errant piece of animal fur stuck to your clothes! Do you?
If, however, you are totally covered in really fine, short cat or dog or bunny fur, you may want to run a quick sticky roller over your clothing. But again, that’s up to you!
Check Each Other!
This might be the most important part of your session: check each other out! This is especially important with small children and babies or for anyone when the weather is cool or cold: check everyone’s noses! Bring tissues just in case. That brings me to the last point!
Some other things to keep in mind:
I recommend bringing a bag with a zipper to put your pocket belongings in during your session so you can put it to the side but easily pick them up afterward. Objects like keys, sunglasses, phones, tissue packs, etc. left in pockets leave strange impressions against the fabric.
Questions?
Once you’ve considered these tips and picked out your outfits or if you’re still unsure of what to wear, I’m always happy to provide feedback and further help! Feel free to send a photo of what you’re thinking of wearing!
