Figuring out what to wear for your photoshoot can be tricky; whether you’re coordinating for a couple, motherhood or family session, it’s not always the easiest thing to do. I’ve created this Photo Shoot Outfit Guide to give you some ideas so you can look your best in your photos!
Coordinating your outfits is so important because of how much it affects the final photos! For example: if each person in a photo is wearing a different neon colour, the bright colours are what your eyes will be drawn to, rather than the people and the interactions.
Not only that but a bright, neon coloured clothing item will also reflect those hues onto your skin, muddying your clean skin tones. Think bright coloured hues reflecting onto your skin… yuck!
So what do you wear to your photoshoot? Here’s some alternatives to help your photos look as stunning as you and your loved one(s)!
Hang in there to the end of this guide for some links to some beautiful clothing options!
Here are 5 outfit tips to ensure that YOU and your loved one(s) are the focus of your photos for years to come!
Photo Shoot Outfit Tips #1: Choose a colour palette
Choose a colour palette and plan your outfits accordingly. Pick a main colour and use complimentary colours to complete the look, rather than all wearing the same thing.
Don’t match, rather coordinate. Matching would be wearing the exact same colour or item of clothing while coordinating is building off a colour palette.
Having trouble finding a good colour palette to work around? Check out this free colour palette tool by Canva. A good place to start for finding a beautiful, neutral palette, is to search for “vintage pastels”. If you want bright and glowy photos, lighter coloured outfits are the way to go!
Along with this comes a little bonus tip:
Wear lighter colours rather than darker ones. It’s crazy how big of a difference the colour of your clothing can make on the final photos!
I would describe my photography style as glowy and airing on the brighter side. If you booked me because you love my style, keep in mind that your clothing can easily play into the glowy, brighter look or fight against it.
That being said, “light” doesn’t only mean white. In fact, a combination of different shades of cream, tan, grey or soft pastel colours often looks more cohesive and beautiful than if everyone wears white.
Tip #2: Neutral Colours
If you don’t have clothing options that work well with a colour palette, I suggest you simply wear neutral colours. Any combination of cream, tan, white, black or grey looks good in almost every situation. Soft neutrals always bring the focus back to the people in the photos.
Mikala & Kaden had the perfect combination of texture, soft and neutral colours, a bit of delicate fabric design, and light colours in their family photo outfits. Look how beautiful!
Tip #3: Muted colours and patterns
Subdued colours and solids work well for drawing the eye to the people in your photos. Skip the logos and words as they are a very distracting.
When picking patterns, try to choose smaller ones that won’t pull away from the subjects. Having only one person in patterns and the rest in solid colours is a great idea, although if you’re doing a family session and have more than 3 people, it’s usually fine to have 2 people in a pattern. Again, the smaller the pattern the better.
For example, this beautiful couple wore navy and cream while their baby wore a cute white dress with dainty blue flowers. A perfect combination.
View Vanessa & Valerio’s full blog HERE!
Photo Shoot Outfit Tip #4: Dress up
Don’t be afraid to dress up in formal clothes, especially for an engagement session. It’s fun and adds something different than the everyday look. An additional tip for the ladies, anything flowy always looks amazing! It’s a great idea to make sure your dress ties or comes in at the waist or below the bust as really baggy clothes (while they can be beautiful in person), can tend to swallow the people in photos and not be the most flattering.
If you booked a full length session, feel free to bring along 2 outfits – one casual outfit and one dressy outfit (although this usually works better for couples than for families). This can add variety to your photos and give you some very different looks.
Tip #5: Dress like yourself
My goal as a photographer is to take photos that reflect who you are. So choose something that you feel comfortable and confident in. Ultimately if you wear what you love, that’s going to be all you need.
Ladies, if you’re wondering what is the most flattering in photos… light-coloured, flowy dresses are where it’s at! They are stunning every time!
If you’re still looking for somewhere to buy outfits for your photoshoot, check out some of the following suggestions:
Skirtz & Co
Let’s start off with a local shop. Try on a handful of outfits and pick your favourite!
Olive Grace Co
Another local shop to start us off with some stunning, luxury options!
Mad About Style
This boutique has some STUNNING dresses and shoes that would be perfect for a photoshoot! They are also located in Winnipeg.
Valencia Boutique
This boutique is also located in Winnipeg and has more beautiful clothing options!
The Bay
Some of my clients have found cute tops or dresses for their photoshoot at The Bay
Nothing Fits But
Some gorgeous dresses that work for maternity or as a normal dress
Nothing Fits But
They also have some adorable matching mommy & me sets
Morning Lavender
Anything from maxi dresses to cute feminine tops & skirts
Amazon
Of course I couldn’t have a list of places to shop from and not include Amazon
Baltic Born
Some more stunning feminine options
If you have specific outfits you’re wondering about, send me a picture on instagram or over email and I can help you out!
– Anna
