How To Dress For A Photoshoot

What to wear for a photoshoot is one of the questions we get asked the most often and rightly so, because how you dress for a photoshoot can have a big impact on the images we create for you. We give you the best possible chance of looking amazing for your portrait with our photoshoot ideas, experience and state of the art studio but obviously the subject (you) also plays a big part in the final product. A professional photographer is able to direct you to get the best outcome, but so you have a good idea beforehand, we have gone over our top tips for what to wear during your family photoshoot or executive portrait session.

What to wear to a photoshoot with your family:

1. Clothing and make-up should complement skin tone, hair and eye colour. Contrast is key and we are trying to make the faces of each family member express emotion through the photos. We don't want what you are wearing to drown out the love we are trying to capture in your family portraits.

2. Stick to clothing in solid colours. Blue, green and red tends to convert best to black & white. Be careful with white though as it tends to be very distracting especially if you have a darker skin tone. As a general rule, darker colours will blend into the background more while lighter colours will give that fresh, vibrant look. Which is why you often hear people say that darker colours are slimming.

3. Coordinate colours with the family. By this we mean, make sure colours don’t clash! When it comes to families we are dealing with multiple sets of clothes (we hope) and probably different colours. The more we can have these colours complement each other the better.

4. Dress for the same season. If someone in your family is wearing a warm jacket, it’s not a good idea for someone else to be wearing a summer outfit. Similarly to the point above if the more we can keep styles similar the better. Otherwise, unwillingly, you might have one person standing out in your portrait.

5. We recommend you wear long sleeves and long pants/dresses/skirts. By covering up the skin on your body, it allows for your face to be the focus of the image.

6. It's best to avoid logos where possible. Not only can they be very distracting they also date very quickly. The brands that were popular in years past tend to fall out of favour very quickly.

7. Avoid busy patterns including skinny stripes. These create too much visual noise and in the case of digital files can cause artifacting which can result in things like colours not blending correctly. It doesn't mean that all patterns and stripes are completely out of the question, it just means you need to be mindful not to go over the top. If in doubt, please ask us.

8. Layered clothing works really well – it’s the easiest way to get a number of looks from your photo shoot without having to get changed multiple times. We can get many different shots from different layers of clothing. It gives us a number of options to play with and it can be surprising how the same set of clothes can give such a variety of shots.

9. Wear minimal makeup – it’s timeless. It's easy to get carried away with makeup and it's really easy to overdo it. Keep it minimal for the best results as we are crafting a stage for you and your family with light, which will look much better if we aren't combating the fake tones that makeup applies.

10. Wear something that you feel comfortable in, something that makes you feel gorgeous and confident. We'll be asking you to move around and be natural. Don't wear something you are uncomfortable in that makes your movements restricted and unnatural. When you feel great, that confidence will shine through in your portraits!

11. Wear something that is true to your personality - This is our number one recommendation. If you are not used to wearing a dress and high heels, then don’t. You'll feel out of place and that will definitely come out in the photos. We aim to capture you in a relaxed state that lets the real you shine through. While you do need to be mindful of what you wear, you don't need to dress up like someone you're not. Family portraits are commonly displayed in high viewing areas to be seen by friends, family and visitors, they already know how you look normally. We want to see the best version of the real you.

What to wear for corporate photography headshots and executive portraits:

1. If your executive portrait image is going to be used for business purposes, we suggest that you wear what you would normally wear in a business environment. You would have already decided what is appropriate for your day to day business dealings, so keeping with that trend makes sense for your corporate headshot. For example, shirt, jacket and tie, dress or a smart polo shirt.

2. Makeup changes the way light interacts with your face and can give vastly different results in our studio, compared to your mirror. It's easy to go over the top with lots of makeup, so the same rules to any portrait style photography; keep it simple, so you look like the real you.

3. If you don't wear reading glasses normally, its best to avoid wearing sunglasses prior to the shoot to ensure your glasses don’t leave a mark on your skin. It can take a surprisingly long time for those pesky nose pad marks to go away.

4. If your executive portrait will be used for social media or other platforms, you may be able to be a little more relaxed with your outfit. It’s all about dressing for the audience that you want to portray yourself to. Much like the first point, you have probably already made a decision to dress a certain way in your day to day life and that's the 'you' we want to capture in our images.

5. We are available to go on location for group executive portraits where needed. This type of portrait is generally used on websites or print media. Having a unified look among staff really does help to cement corporate branding in the minds of viewers. The best way to go about this is to communicate this point to everyone prior to the day so that everyone has a good chance to arrange outfit ideas beforehand. If in doubt, provide clear guidelines for staff so the guesswork is taken away.

6. Remember, images captured by digital cameras have the tendency to record very fine detail that our eyes do not see when we are face-to-face with a person. Simple things can help like having a good nights sleep, drinking water and being relaxed during the photoshoot all play a part in getting that perfect shot.

7. We do high quality image retouching (where needed) to reduce the visual impact of such details without reducing the quality of the final image. Poor quality retouching often results in the subject looking 'plastic' or 'like Barbie'. We want your executive portrait to portray the real you.

More info: fine-photography.com.au