What should I/we wear?

Every time I plan a session I get asked what people should wear for the shoot. Over time, I’ve gathered these tips for what looks the best - and what doesn't work - in photographs. Keep in mind that these are some guidelines, not hard and fast rules. The most important thing is showcasing YOU. If you have a hard time narrowing down your options and/or want advice, bring a few different outfits with you and I can help you pick something out or we can do a wardrobe change part way through.

If you really don't feel inspired and can't think of what to wear, look at a few photographs in a magazine or online and you'll be drawn to some outfits right away. Then you can get an idea of what style you're going for and get inspiration from that.

• If there is more than one person in the photo I suggest that you wear complimentary colors, although they do not need to match perfectly. I do recommend that your colors harmonize well together, and are similar in “tone” - both light, both dark, but not one wearing dark rich burgundy and the other wearing a bright turquoise. 

• Patterns should be kept to a minimum, and only one of you should wear them. This is the general rule, but exceptions can me made. Sometimes it's great to have two little girls in matching patterned dresses, or in a larger family group a couple of guys can have striped or patterned shirts.

• Match your season - both to each other as well as the atmosphere. One person wearing a light summer dress and another in a knit winter sweater in the same photograph just doesn't look right. Everyone wearing flip flops while the leaves are falling off the trees isn't cohesive either. You want people to notice you and not feel confused because of what you are wearing. The easiest way is to determine first what season you want the pictures to look like (Spring, Summer, Winter of Fall) and then pick a wardrobe that complements that season both in colour and clothing style.
  

• Solid colors tend to work best, though I do not recommend to wear white anywhere: shirts, pants, and especially shoes. This is a general guideline but is not a hard rule - sometimes white looks nice, but it has a lot to do with the weather/lighting, person's skin tone, etc, so if you're not sure, bring a few "back ups" tops and we'll decide together.

• Plaids and highly contrasted skinny stripes can create odd patterns when photographed.
  

• If there is more than one person in the photo, you don’t need to wear identical clothing unless that is the look you really want. It doesn't end up looking natural, and I think that it takes away some of your personality. If shooting a large group family photo I recommend a theme rather than a exact outfit. Pants and a sweater, for example. So people may wear jeans, cords or cotton pants, with a variety of colored/styled sweaters. It looks much more natural than everyone in jeans and the same coloured t-shirt. (Please see the following image for an example of a larger family group in a cohesive colour palette/theme without "matching". I think they look superb! :D)

• Dresses and skirts are so fun to shoot. The possibilities are endless! I think women look wonderful in fun, sassy, colorful dresses. If you pair the dress with some cute heels that's the only accessory we'll need!

• Bring layers! If you're really not certain what to wear, bring a few possibilities and we can add and subtract as we like throughout the shoot.

• If you know that you face tends to photograph quite red, I'd recommend wearing cooler tones. This way it's easy to pull out some of the red tones in your skin post-production without effecting the shade of the warm-toned shirt you wore.

• Accessorize! Accessorize! Accessorize! Bring bags, scarves, vests, necklaces, earrings.