... But What Will I Wear?... - The Grinch

The Grinch had troubles finding something suitable to wear to the Whoville Feast and so it is fair that the rest of us have similar troubles too.

It may be one of the most taxing parts of the photo session for the client.  What do I wear?  How do we make it look coordinated and effortless? How can I be sure it'll all look good in front of the camera?

Aside from making sure you arrive to the session all in one piece and on time, or maybe you have more trouble getting everyone on board getting the photos to happen in the first place, it can be very stressful making sure your outfit is not only appealing to the eye but also flattering, coordinated, and comfortable.  

I get it, I go through the same exact thing for my very own sessions.  But I promise you, if you follow a few of these pointers you are going to be much more at ease.  

If you have your reservations, it's all good.  After all, I'm not a stylist. However, we all know a photographer wears several hats when running her own business.  

And to give myself a little bit of credit, I did get a family of not four, not five, not even 8 - but a family of THIRTEEN in front of the camera and they all looked coordinated and cute.  ( I will NOT talk about how the weather turned on us and made a fool out of our early-spring decisions though.)  It was about an hour meeting, we picked a color palette, walked into each persons closet, made small adjustments where needed, but in the end it happened seamlessly.

I've seen a thing or two when it comes to wardrobe choices - so I started whittling away at some things we don't want to do, and added in a few things we definitely want to see, so when it comes to your session - you know you'll look smashing.  

Before you even ask if this applies to ALL sessions, the answer is YES!  With one caveat, a very special, stylized, themed session has much more to think about and there is much more coordination.  But same basic foundation applies.  

Family, Individual portraits like headshots, beauty shots, or graduating senior sessions, children, school photos, generational, intimate and boudoir, couples, engagements, heck - even a wedding, elopements etc.  

One last thing before we begin, none of these rules are hard and fast and some will adamantly disagree with me on some of them, and I sometimes break the rules too.  I am visual so if I give you pointers on outfits, and then see it all together something may have to change.  

For instance if you've seen Hocus Pocus 2 and remember one of the supporting actresses wearing two very bold patterns together, you know it is done. I don't know how to do it, but you love it - we are making it happen.  It isn't something I would recommend unless for some odd reason I see it together and it is striking and daring and it just works in every way without hesitation: scene and personality.

The thing about it is, even within the rules they may contradict one another.  The colors may contradict the environment but the weather also needs to be taken into account, and we need to work with what you have in your closet.  

Choose three priority guidelines below and follow them.  From simple to complex depending on your threshold for styling.  If something needs to change, we will change it in the Styling Appointment.  

The most important part is to start the process by having outfits for everyone to look at, and we will make adjustments as necessary.

QUICK NOTES - TOO LONG DIDN'T READ

• None of the rules are hard and fast.  Break 'em if you wanna!
• If something feels off, it is - remove one thing/swap out some thing at a time until it feels right. 
• Try everything on a week before hand and stand next to one another in a mirror or a take a photo.  Everyone needs to feel 1.themselves 2. comfortable and 3. it needs to look right in a mirror.
• Patterns - pick one or be really careful how you combine them.  If you love them and how they look together - that's all we need.  
• Color and Color shades - find similar shades of the same color and a contrasting color or two for everyone to fit into.  
• Neutrals - fall back into neutrals to even out the colors you chose from above. 
• Love textures, they switch things up so subtly.  However, it can get busy quick.  Pick one or two and let it blend nicely.
• Accessories - hats, jewelry, shoes, scarves etc make personality and change things up if it something is too bland. 
• Yes, you will see your shoes - if you don't love so and sos shoes or they are a distraction, lets go barefoot or find something different.
• The season, the weather, the holiday - it matters.  If your clothes don't match the environment, something will feel off. 
• Coordinate, don't match.

1. Patterns

I love these photos above.  They are near and dear to my heart and I will always adore them. But I pulled the photo on the left looking only at mom's dress, when I then realized that everyone was in there very own pattern.  So it breaks my first rule.  This was also before I started styling my clients for their sessions, so I'm giving myself a little bit of grace.  

There is a reason why I have never noticed its rule breaking nonsense before in this photo, well maybe a couple of reasons, and one is because for some reason the photo just works.  The colors all coordinate and the background isn't too chaotic, so nothing really pulls away from anything else.  

You can feel this photo, which is more important than any other detail.  Big sister looking right at me with her icy blue eyes while kissing her darling little baby sister and parents just letting it happen.  It's striking.  

But for your session, lets play it safe(said no daring person ever) and...

Choose ONE pattern for ONE person.

One very small caveat to this is if you have a larger group, multiple people wearing patterns can work.  I normally stick to one pattern per every 5+ people.  But the patterns can't pull attention one way or another, away from one another, or overshadow any one else, you can't place them next to one another generally, and all of the color still have to coordinate. And no matchy matchy.

Now that you have your one person wearing the one pattern, finish the outfit from the hat to the shoes, complete this outfit (knowing you can always adjust later if need be).  Make sure the person wearing the outfit is comfortable, weather appropriate, and agrees to all pieces of the outfit.  

You can now pull all of your color palette, and even the style of the entire session, from that pattern.  See momma's dress here in the photo?  She has a lovely array of pastel colors that everyone can choose to coordinate with.  The neutral colors here would have been white, cream, grey, and jean blue (yeah - that is a neutral in my book.)

 In hindsight, if I were to change anything about this photo: 

I'd put mom in a jacket, maybe with a belt.  Dad would have stayed in his blue shirt, no pattern, and same color pants but light grey or cream would have been better.  Older sister would have been in a darker outfit of blue, purple, orange, no pattern, no red (she would have stood out because putting her in a darker, contrasted color breaks up the pastel).  And baby would have been in a pastel purple, pink, or even tangerine color. 

Newborns have their own set of rules, and they make them.  Newborn skin absorbs color, reflects red/yellow most of the time, and really depends on how old they are and how translucent their skin is.  We go with the flow, but if baby were on her own, it would have been a free for all trying to get her outfit to match her skin rather than her family.

The photo above on the right is classic example of one person styled head to toe and the only in a patterned piece.  The rest of the family pulling colors off that one outfit and coordinating it all from there - though I think dad's shirt should have been a cream in hindsight.

2. Colors, Color Shades, + Textures

Now that we have our pattern picked out from step one we an talk about the colors you can use to help coordinate everyone's outfits.  Though we mentioned it in step one there are just a few more things to think about. 

The patterned piece worn is going to create your entire pallete of colors, and really you won't stray from that too much.  

Two things:

1. Stray from the colors to avoid "matchy matchy" feels and 

2. What if you choose no pattern to pull from?

(leave a comment or use the Contact Page to let me know if anything else comes to mind when thinking about colors).

 Both very good thoughts!  Lets explore.  

Depending on the colors in your pattern, and the number of people, you may want to stray from the colors seen in the patterned outfit.  That's all good.  Lets keep it in the same color shade family, however.  

Lets take a look at a color wheel.  We have warm colors, the yellows and oranges, and cool colors, the blues and purples, and all the colors in between that are created with a little of each, and then we have shades of all of them that are just too many to ever show here easily.  

So we have a lot to work with.  From the example in step one we had a beautiful dress of pastels with quite a few colors to go with.  But we also want to break it up and make it look balanced with complimentary and contrasted colors.  If we have a base color palette of oranges and creams we can look to the left and right of those colors to compliment and across the color wheel to contrast.  This is why I suggested the older daughter above from tip 1, to be in a darker color.

The general rule would be to choose two or three neutral colors and two or three colors to work with. 

If you don't like the direct colors you're working with shift one color space to the right or left (cooler or warmer) or up or down (darker or lighter).  Don't forget to look on the opposite side of the wheel for the complimentary colors to create balance. 

One thing to definitely avoid is matchy matchy outfits.  This doesn't show personality, it doesn't allow anyone to stand out from anyone else, and it creates a bizarre, unnatural feeling in the brain that it can't quite figure out and an idea that something is off.     

The photo above is a good example of "What if I don't have, and don't want, a pattern to pull the colors from?"

Remember, the rule still applies: pick two or three colors and two or three neutrals to bring it all together.  

We will talk about neutrals in the next section.  

What the basic idea of pulling your colors from the pattern does is that it ties everyone together in a subtle way.  Everyone is connected by color choice, which means the eye is able to go from one person to another by finding similarities in their outfits, and then can tell them apart with the differences in their color.

Without a pattern is no different.  

Choose one color, find a color that is either complimentary or contrasted.  Then another.  Connect everyone by either color or neutrals to allow the colors to stand out and the connections to continue.  If you need more colors because you have more people then add in SHADES of any of those colors.  Everyone should have at least one color and two neutrals. 

Again, if you have more than five people add in an additional color to the palette.

The mom in the photo above shows a great example of no pattern to pull from.  Everyone is in two neutrals (jean blue and white) and we have a complimentary color palette of blue grey (boys vest) and pink (girls shirt).  

In hindsight, if this were an outfit I was styling I would not have created the mom's white shirt to be her main event.  I would have loved her in a cardigan or jacket, or even a different shade of pink shirt.  She could have tied them both in with a patterned shirt that had blue and pink in it too.  I would have also avoided all three of them in jeans, or the same shade of jeans.  

Otherwise, I love that everyone in this photo stands out in their own way and they are all connected with the neutral white. My eye goes from one to another, doesn't leave anyone out, and all the colors compliment.

Rule Breaker: All that blah-blahing above but let me tell you - I am a sucker for all white or all black clothing photos though.  Different materials, styles, but still stylish, sleek, clean, and clearly posed/styled with intention (I think that last point is the real caveat here). 

2.a Texture

Very quickly, a word about texture.  This photo above also shows us the difference between texture and pattern.  Mom's shirt is super cute with a very  noticible texture.  It makes her stand out from just a plain white shirt in a very subtle way.  We want to avoid too much texture (ie everyone wearing one) but it can also be considered an accessory as shown here.  

However, a texture, depending, can act like a pattern if it gets too busy.  

If it draws your eye and creates a feeling of "something is off" it could very well be too busy.  

3. Neutrals

Neutrals. You need them.  Have to have them. Can't over do them.  Don't emphasize them too much.  they can't be the main event in someone's outfit but they have to be visible and a solid supporting character in the outfit story.  

Just like your colors, you can pull your neutrals from the patterned or main outfit of the group. Neutrals are a great way to tie everyone together, when in general most people will have their own color, neutrals can be the subtle connection between everyone's outfit.  

How many neutrals?  Depending on the group size we really need 2 or 3 neutrals.  You want options to avoid matchy-matchy, which is why I say at least two, and you want everyone to be correlated that is why I say three.  

Neutrals are neutrals for a reason, they can go with just about everything which means you don't want too many of them to choose from.  

To put it quite simply: Everyone can wear a shirt or a dress or a coat in their color and then the other two or three pieces in the outfit can be a neutral color, thus the reason for at least two neutrals. 

Does everyone have to wear every neutral or even the number of colors? Absolutely not.  Keeping it simple yet allowing outfits to tie together will create cohesive, seamless, synergy.  Let the personalities shine way above and beyond the outfits. (you guys, sometimes that means letting the toddlers wear their favorite character costume, it's okay, don't worry, it'll be fine and perfect and a memory to cherish forever.)

When I say it can't be the main event, its true, it really can't be.  Again rules are meant to be broken and if you're all white dress (sans a wedding) is going to stand out in the environment - absolutely lets do it.  But settings, environments, cities, nature, the weather - they are made up of neutral colors.  So if we are going to be in a sea of grey city or a field of tan you don't necessarily want to blend in to it. 

The mom in the photo LOVES neutrals.  So we went with clean and simple. She also wanted her daughter to stand out a bit - so she added her in a pop of color.  Other than that we have neutrals for all. We had dad in a lighter shirt, which is visually what we originally wanted, but he liked this shirt more an was more comfortable in in - so this is what we ended up with and look at this moment.  gah! My heart. 

TIP: Did you hear me in the colors section when I said jean blue can be used as a neutral in my book?

4. accessories, shoes, and props OH MY.

The hat.  The jewelry.  The glasses. The scarves.  The jackets.  The headbands. The belts.  The shoes.  a c c e s s o r i e s.

This is where your personality gets to flourish a little in the still photo.  We see your coordinating outfits, we see your lovely smiles, we see the nice backdrop.  But who are you!  Do you love a hat, a scarf, do you have a new pair of four inch heels you cannot wait to wear a second time?

I love it all.  Bring options and we will wear one or two at a time and switch it up with sharing.  Varying the options of the images you get to choose from!

Accessories have the opportunity to make your images pop with personality and break up a bit of outfit monotony if you want or see it that way.  The more you you are during your photos, the more you will feel comfortable, sassy, and oh so clever.  AND the more you'll love the images in the end.

It can be anything - do you smoke a pipe? do you read books, do you ride horses or love muscle cars, do you have an inside joke that you just want to share with the camera?  Very few things are out of the question when it comes to accessories. 

One caveat... don't drown yourself in them.  I can think of exactly 1 reason why you would want to be wearing, holding, standing on, etc  all of the things and it would be a theme and for dramatization and hitting the point home.  If you want to use many props or accessories, we can make plenty of time to switch things up so every piece gets a chance to shine.

Second, please don't wear your shoes that do not match, are old and run into the ground, are not appealing to the eye or the camera just because you they are your favorite comfies and you think "you won't notice them or see them in these photos" because yes, you will I promise and they will stick out like a sore thumb.  If you have to wear just normal shoes, make sure they don't attract any attention.  Look in a full mirror - and if your eye draws to them at any point, I'm sorry my friend, but you have to switch it up.

5. Weather, Seasons, Holidays, and Settings

Listen, I don't think I need to say that if it is winter, we don't need to be wearing shorts and your cutest tank.  Or if it is summer, please don't come looking for a cozy and comfy, favorite sweater look.  But, just for those just-in-case situations - I'm going to say it.  

Odds are, you're not a model shooting a swimwear ad in the middle of winter for the upcoming volume of ____ insert magazine here.  I mean, it wouldn't be a bad gig for me, but those clients just don't find me too often (or ever), so I can't speak to them here.  Also, if you are a model and we are working together, please ignore this because your session probably falls in line with 100% styled and breaks every single one of these rules.  

The viewer, mostly you, is going to notice that something is off about the photo if the weather is cold and grey, your skin has some shiver bumps going on, and your smile is gritted while you're wearing the cutest summer day outfit ever.  

The weather has to match, coordinate with, your outfit.

Lets all take a moment of silence for the days that were supposed to be 90* and gorgeous and a cold front or torrential down pores come ripping through.  

Your outfits have to match the styles and colors of the season.  This can be broken, quickly, no worries, but if you're wearing bright oranges and blues and your background is lacking even a little bit of green - you're going to stand out, not in the best of ways. 

Don't get me wrong, you don't need to go out and buy an all new wardrobe, you don't have to have the hippest fashion sense.  But if it is chilly wear a scarf or heavy cardigan in a neutral color with some pops of spring or fall colors.  If it is hot outside, please don't suggest your tannest or greyest outfit.  

Holidays are a little bit tricky for me, because I don't REALLY do holiday-specific sessions.  Your photos are here to commemorate this time in your life, yes.  But that doesn't necessarily mean throw a Santa or a minora in the mix, right?  I mean if we can see the weather, the outfits, and the setting all kind of boast holiday feelings and decor then we can kind of surmise in 30 years that this was taken around the holiday time frame and everyone looked that way thirty years ago.  

You want your photos to be timeless.  You want them to age well.  You want them to be appreciated well into the future - after all, fashion is circular.  

I promise, you can use those holiday-time-frame photos in your chosen holiday card successfully. 

Whether we are doing your session in the middle of a field, on the beach, the fanciest restaurant, in a cafe, a green house, or in your home - lets let the outfits reflect, correlate, coordinate, jive with the setting around you.  If you want to wear the most beautiful gown in the middle of a field while your babies run around you and your partner looks at you adoringly - lets DO IT!  That is what you are wanting, the feeling you are going for... awesome.  However, most of the time the elegant dress is going to be paired with the amazing leather black couch and vintage living room and we'll find a staircase and big floor to ceiling window along the way.  aaaaannnd the field of flowers will be matched with jeans and sandals and cute sun dresses etc. 

6. Comfort and Your Style

It's important that it all looks good, that it fits, that it feels great.  It needs to feel like you.  Not who you were, not who you want to be, it needs to FEEL like YOU.  Even if you don't dress that way every day - you still need to make sure when you put it on, you are not wearing the clothes to blend in or stay out of the way - you wan to make sure that camera notices and highlights you in your own way.  

You will not recognize yourself in the images if you don't follow this rule.  

For instance, my partner wanted our photos done with hoodies.  I garbled and rolled my eyes.  We got the nice sweater ones that I wanted.  But in the end - we had the 20x30 of us in hoodies framed and planted in our entryway in our home.  I see it every day - and it looks just like us.  

It may not be the first choice go around decision making you want it to be. It may not be quick and easy " you wear this, you wear this, you here".

Try it on, look in the mirror, take a photo, trial and error the stink out of this process.  Until everyone in the photo looks 1. like themselves, 2. feels comfortable, 3. Coordinated, and 4. says "okay, I can do this".  

Commiserate with me: QUICK! Raise your hand if you have a VIVID memory of a school photo of yourself in the dress you still despise today and you remember the argument that goes along with the morning of school photos every single time you think about it!

You don't have to have it all brand new either.  Work with what you have in the closet.  Borrow something you admire from someone, supplement where you can, and go buy the minimum amount of pieces.  And when you do buy something make sure you will use it again. 

7. Our Style and Design Appointment

So, you've searched and searched, you've tried it all on, made the kids change shirts a million times, and the partner has rolled their eyes right out of their head.  You've texted me for advice and second opinions, the test selfie looks great and everyone looks sleek and coordinated. You're convinced it's all coming together.  

Now, lets have our meeting.  This usually lasts about an hour and it usually happens a week to two weeks prior to the session.  Just enough time for last minute changes but not enough time for anything major with the weather or personnel to happen. 

I come to your home, we lay out the outfits, we talk about details, accessories, last minute changes.  We go over location and timing of the session.  Where exactly are we meeting, how long will we be there, what do you want the session to feel like, are there any amazing photos you want to try to capture (this session is about your creativity too, don't be shy, if you have an idea, I want to hear it).  We also go over all those bare walls and what type of wall art you want there, what images you want to look at every day, and the sizing of the wall art pieces (so all of this is hammered out BEFORE the session).    

We also talk about what you want to avoid seeing in your photos, or experiencing.  This could be anything from "my child loves water and will run straight into any pond we are near" to "my upper arms bother me can you remind me to keep the arm away from my body?"  (BTW, three quarter sleeves are magic when it comes to arm size de-emphasis).

Whatever you want to hash out during this session is what it contains. 

Listen, its a lot to take in - and if you've only managed to read the bolded text I wouldn't blamed you.  It has taken me YEARS to get even fractions of this right and honestly, I get it wrong for myself every time.  I panic and I STILL go outside of my home and ask my friends "what do you think?" when it comes to outfits for important events or photos. 

But the down and dirty of it is - that is why you have me, I'm not just your photographer on your session day.  I am not going to meet with you for the first time, having thrown some styling guidelines at you and a dropped pin and tell you to meet me here on this date at this time and then expect you to love the experience and in the end your photos.  I'm here to make it easier for you in every step of the process.

I am your assistant stylist, I am your partner in this process, I will help you navigate it all because in the end - you're going to get photos of you and/or your family to hold and keep and cherish for forever.  I want you to feel bolder, brighter, braver, and more beautiful because you went through this process and enjoyed the experience and also adore what you see in your prints.  I want you to love the process from beginning to end and then I want to do it for you over and over again because the more photo albums on our coffee table and blank spaces on our walls the better.  

My goal is to help every person create images that they love and want their children, friends, and family to see all of the time.  Not just stuck on a harddrive somewhere in the office because you felt "meh" about them enough not to print them and display them and go back to them at least once a year. 

I want you to feel your best on our session day - And it all starts with this styling guide, some really great coffee that morning, a nice pair of shoes, and an outfit you are comfortable in, that screams it belongs to you, and that PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE coordinates with the weather.   

Got anything to add?  Love or despise one, or more, or all of these tips?  Leave it in the comments below.