Kelowna Wedding Photographer | Traditional Japanese Wedding Ceremony

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J and C went through multiple plans trying to plan their wedding during the pandemic back when there were lots of different rules about the amount of people per event and the rules were changing so quickly. In the end, their ceremony was held at the Kelowna Buddhist Temple. The bride wore a beautiful Japanese kimono and portraits after were taken at Kelowna Kasugai Gardens, the perfect setting for their Japanese wedding!

Ceremony Location: Kelowna Buddhist Temple

Portrait Location: Kelowna Kasugai Gardens

Hair: Hair by Daphne Tennant @hair_by_daphne_tennant

Calgary Photographer | Coordinating Your Photo Session Outfits

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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!

A mother and a daughter walk through a field into the sunset. The daughter is riding a miniature horse and they are wearing matching outfits of blue jean shirts and white skirts.

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.

A family of four look at the camera, smiling. The woman is holding her son and the man is holding his daughter.

Logos/Graphics/Writing

Clothes with photos, large print and large designs are visually distracting and pull focus from the subject’s face.

A man and a woman embrace and he leans her back while they smile at each other.

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.

A family of five are standing on the farm. A boy is riding a miniature horse and smiling at the camera while holding the reins up in his hand. The father is standing next to the boy and smiling at his son. A girl is sitting on a large white horse

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!

A couple embrace in the golden hour light. The man is looking off into the distance and the woman is leaning her head on his shoulder, looking at the camera.

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.

A family of three is smiling at the camera. The woman and man are kneeling down next to their toddler in between them.

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.

A man is carrying a woman in his arms and they're looking lovingly at each other.

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.

A family of four stands in a green treed park. The man is holding his daughter's hand and the woman is holding her son in her arms. Everyone is smiling at the young boy.

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!