For a beautiful and timeless portrait, the focus should be on faces, not on clothing or jewelry.
A little planning can go a long way, so we’ve put together some guidelines to help you make decisions about your portrait wardrobe. First, and most importantly, select simple, classic clothing, preferably something with long sleeves in solid neutral colors. Bright colors and bold patterns, like stripes and plaids, all attract attention away from the face, as do trendy or exaggerated styles. Also, think “If I see myself wearing this in 10 years, would I still like it or would I think the outfit looks dated?” Our goal is that when you look at your portrait in 10 years, you would never know it was ten years ago because of the clothing.
For families and large groups, it is essential for everyone to visually relate to each other in order to create a harmonious portrait. We recommend that everyone be dressed in a similar color and tonal range, i.e., all in shades of dark blue or all in shades of light blue (avoiding mixing dark and light blue). Coordinate the style, be it casual, formal or chic, and communicate that approach to the group.
Colors that work best for shirts and blouses are medium/dark color tones, like black, brown, gray, blue or maroon. Colors that work best for pants and skirts are black, brown and charcoal gray.
For casual portraits, darker fitted designer jeans or khakis, with neutral shirts work well. For outdoor portraits, shirts in jewel tone colors, especially medium to dark blues, look beautiful. Please remember that all clothing should be wrinkle free.
Please note a few things that don’t work well for portraits: white shoes, white socks, faded loose jeans, blousey/baggy tops, uncollared shirts, tank tops & sleeveless tops.
Clothing summary:
- Clothing needs to be consistent in color with all family members coordinated so that everyone has equal prominence
- Solid colors work best; no prints or patterns unless very subtle; don’t mix light and dark colors
- Timeless classic look
- Long sleeves look nicer than short sleeves and help to minimize distraction from the faces in the portrait
- Dark denim works better than light and looks more sophisticated
- Khakis should be similar in tone
- Minimal, classic jewelry
- Scarves don’t always photograph well and aren’t recommended
- Shoes need to be same color, brown works best for casual, black for formal
- No white shoes or socks
- Groomed hands and feet as we sometimes shoot barefoot portraits
- Make sure all wardrobe is wrinkle free
- Lay out all the clothing for the family together to make sure the colors don’t clash