What to Wear For Your Portraits

Suggestions on how to achieve a timeless professional portrait


What you wear for your pictures will make the difference between the image looking like a memorable professional portrait and a "snapshot."

The eye of the viewer automatically goes to the lightest color in the portrait. If the subject is wearing white pants and a darker shirt, the eye of the viewer will first be drawn to the hips. This is not what we want. We want the viewer to first see the face of the subject.

To accomplish this it is important to wear jeans, or darker pants/skirt, and a long sleeved shirt. (Avoid short pants)

Please, no stripes, logos, prints, or patterns of any sort on the shirt. These are very distracting. Always wear plain, solid colors. This gives a more timeless look to the images. Simplicity is the key!

When there is more than one person in the picture, dress to appear as though you belonged together. It is not necessary to be clones, but you don't want to look like strangers who gathered together in the park. 

This can be accomplished by deciding first what type of clothes you want to wear. If you agree on jeans, everyone should wear jeans, or similarly colored pants/skirt. Pick the color of the shirts/sweaters. Again, for the best pictures, these should be long-sleeved, matching or complimentary solid colors. Please keep in mind that if one person is wearing lighter shades of a color, they will immediately stand out in the pictures.

Jeans and white shirts look good in photos. Rich solid colors are always a good choice. This includes black, earth tones, dark blues and greens, etc. (Remember to have your socks match your clothing)

Ladies who are wearing skirts should also wear darker colored nylons.

Consider bringing a change of clothes. This will give variety in your images. You will have two looks. If you are having both studio and outdoor photos, you may wish to have a dressier look for the studio and a more casual one for the location images. 

Also, feel free to bring along something that might make for a few unique shots, such as a hat you are fond of wearing, sunglasses, sports equipment, etc. We want the images to say something about you.

To review, it is desirable to have the face be the predominate part of the portrait. Please avoid distracting patterns and logos on your clothes. Stay away from sleeveless clothing, as arms appear larger than they really are. Avoid wearing short pants

What is most important is to have your portrait reflect who you are. We want the session to be fun, and the results to be fantastic.

If we are taking baby or young children's portraits, please know that we have an ever-growing collection of clothing/costumes that can be used both with our studio sets, or outside.

Feel free to phone or email if you have any questions. 
(403) 246-0216 or (403) 512-7104