What to Wear Guide 

What to Wear Guide

I know it can feel kind of daunting to choose what to wear for your photos but I promise you that we are in this together!  I have put together a few guidelines to help you choose what outfits will best work for your session.  As your photographer it is my personal goal to create the best images for your family and part of this begins with clothing. Before we get started I want to mention that I offer personal styling to all of my clients.  I can choose your look for you or we can work together to create it!  Please utilize this option!

A lot more goes into photographs than just picking up a camera and snapping images.  Think of it like peanut butter and jelly.  Location and clothing both go hand in hand and play a very important role to help make your images look the best they can! I also want YOU to be the focus of your images.  I want my clients faces to be the first thing I see rather than their outfits.  My focus is always to have you feeling amazing and comfortable on the day of your session so please remember these are only guidelines, not rules!   I want this to be fun and stress free for you all. Our time together is all about YOU.

 

Color Pallets

I typically recommend sticking with neutrals and earthy tones.  I know when you think neutrals, you might think of boring browns and grays but there’s actually neutrals of every color (see image below).  For example:  Mustard yellow, forest green, navy blue, burnt orange, etc..  I always recommend staying away from bright, fluorescent distracting colors. Think bright pinks, bright oranges, and reds. The only reason I recommend this is because it results in people looking really pink and sometimes weird in photos.  Also, I always recommend mommas or the female (couples sessions) to find their dress first.  You don’t have to wear a dress but I typically recommend it as there is something about the way a dress flows naturally through the breeze.  I love the movement that it adds to images!

Patterns

I typically suggest avoiding big, chunk, loud, crazy patterns.  I do however, love smaller more subtle ones! Remember, if the pattern is too loud, it will distract from your faces! I try to avoid pairing too many patterns together as well because it makes the photos feel a slightly hectic and distracting from the location and your faces.

 

 

Accessories

I love when people bring hats, jewelry, and bows for little girls hair. Suspenders for small boys are a must in my book and I absolutely adore that look! You can never go wrong with Haikus in Hawaii either!

 

Props

I’m going to be really honest with you all right now.  I don’t adore props.  If you really want to bring props, I’m ok that!  My idea of “props” would be blankets, a bouquet, a paddle board, food for a cute little picnic, or even a campfire. If you have props you want to incorporate, just let me know so we can make sure to incorporate them in a non-cheesy way!

 

In Home Sessions

As far as in home sessions go, I love the more comfortable natural look. Everything that I have mentioned above still applies.

I don’t recommend heavy layers, because let’s be real, most of us walk around without pants on anyways! The more skin showing the better- this doesn’t mean basically be naked either.  Great examples for in home sessions are tank tops, shorts, sweaters, and jeans to mix and match!  Anything that shows a little skin is perfect!

 

Hair & Makeup

I get asked a lot about Hair & Makeup. Should you get your hair and make up done by a pro? I always answer this question simply with: “Whatever makes you feel the best, do that!” I do not think it is necessary by any means.  I think the most important thing is that you feel confident.  If you do decide to get your hair and make up done, scheduling at least an hour prior to the time you need to leave for the shoot is ideal so that you aren’t late.

 

Another fun tool is this color pallet wheel which helps you to find complimentary colors. Once we find your focus piece (typically the momma’s dress), we can study the color wheel and identify the colors directly next to that color and across from that color which are most complimentary.  Again, don’t be afraid to mix in a pattern, floral, or subtle stripe.  Adding one on every style board really breaks up the monotony.

 

 

 

 

Style & Select

I offer all of my clients this amazing online website that literally does all of the work for you.  You don’t even have to step out of your own home and can use this in your PJ’s if you’d like.  I mean, 90% of the time that’s what I’m in! I highly recommend using this website!

When you book with me I will send you the link and the passcode to login and this will be your first screen.

 

 

 

This is literally the simple online tool to use!  You just type in the number of people in your family, their size and sex, and then you choose the style of clothing and color palettes.  You’re results show up on the next page like this for each individual:

 

 

 

 

 

You will then just “heart” pieces and it will create a board at the top so you can swap outfits out until you’ve created the perfect outfit!

 

 

Here are a few examples:

 

 

It truly is so simple and nothing to stress about!  Below I’m going to attach a few more color pallet ideas that I love- please keep in mind these are not the ONLY pallet colors to go by!  I can help you with this!  If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to ask!