Clothing Suggestions For Your Engagement or Couple’s Photography Session
What should I wear for my shoot?
It is so important that you wear something that makes you feel comfortable, beautiful and confident! If you feel uncomfortable, it will translate on your face and in your photos!
And, of course, we don’t want any clothes and accessories to distract from your beautiful faces.
Your clothes can be the difference between a very successful portrait and just another picture.
Follow these basic guidelines to help make sure your photos come out amazing:
Clothing
Go for…
- Solid colours
- Neutral colours (jeans, natural coloured leathers or suedes)
- Dark or light colours that are complementary to your skin tones
- When choosing lighter colours, stick to pastels and muted colours
- Long pants, and potentially long sleeves
- High necklines that come up to the base of the neck – a turtleneck or a v-neck top can be very flattering.
- Classic and timeless cuts
- Simple and minimal accessories
- Clothes you can move around freely in
- Steamed/ironed clothes, or fabrics that don’t wrinkle easily
- If you’re going wear a brighter colour. Keep it to one ‘statement’ piece between the two of you. E.g just your dress.
Stay away from…
- Bright and saturated colours
- Reflective materials
- Prints of any kind
- Loud and busy patterns
- Logos, writing or other distracting features
- Pieces with stains, unintentional rips/tears, and/or wrinkles
- Avoid short sleeve clothing and short pants. (even for casual portraits) Other exposed skin can distract from your face
- Overbearing or heavily noticeable accessories
- Fad-type clothing
- Clothes you have a hard time moving in, or are too tight
- Fabrics that irritate and feel uncomfortable to you
Men
Long pants, a plain shirt, and nice clean shoes and socks. No logos on clothes, hats, socks, or shoes.
Beach shoots & getting wet/dirty
If you are open to photos standing in water at a beach or pond, you may want to bring a second pair of shoes, pair of water shoes or flip flops you don’t mind if you ruin or lose in the water just to not hurt your feet on any rocks.
Depending on the shots you want, you can wear clothes that you don’t mind getting wet, dirty, and/or sandy (or an outfit change!).
Check out my Pinterest Boards for some outfit ideas:
https://www.pinterest.ca/CaroHicks/outfit-inspo-engagement-shoot/?invite_code=24e720c9738447d78098e5342f30f0d8&sender=776519298159186886 https://www.pinterest.ca/CaroHicks/outfit-inspo-couples-beach-shoot/?invite_code=53e94f10b2bd4a2ea4d95b67cf34dace&sender=776519298159186886Coordinating Outfits
Keep your clothing simple and choose colours that compliment each other.
Dissimilar colours in groups tend to be more distracting.
Decide whether the basic tone of the clothing will be warm-toned (browns, etc.) or cool-toned (blues/greys/blacks, etc.).
Decide what you want the general look of your photos to be (e.g. casual vs formal).
Casual Look:
Cozy sweaters, comfortable moveable pants/jeans that can be rolled up, t-shirts, jackets
Formal Look:
For women, a v-neck dress, a dress with a sheer layer that shows light through, skirts with lots of movement
For men, a button up shirt, trousers with a belt.
Accessories
Glasses
If you want to wear glasses, non-reflective lenses help reduce glare. Or if you have a matching set of frames without any lenses.
Shoes
Wear comfortable shoes that look nice with your outfit and are in good condition!
Nails
I’ll be getting some close ups of your hands to capture your engagement ring(s). So both partners make sure your nails are manicured. Polish should be a neutral colour and not chipping off.
Hair & Makeup
Keep your hair simple. Having it down with its natural style, or slightly curly to give some movement, is great!
For your makeup, go for light, natural colours. We want you looking like yourself!
(Note: It can be a great opportunity to schedule your hair and makeup trials for your wedding in the morning of the day of your engagement session. Just make sure you schedule enough time for everything!)
Accessories
Keep it to just a couple minimal and neutral pieces. If you want to wear a hat, a brimmed hat for one of you can look very chic.
Clean and shine up that engagement ring if it needs it!
Props
Props can add something extra to your photos and also gives you something to do with your hands!
If you have something in mind, let’s talk about it!
- Bouquet of flowers
- Blanket for the ground or to wrap yourselves in
- A couple of beers or drinks you like to drink together
- Bottle of champagne to pop & a couple glasses
- Candles
- Picnic setup
- Bicycle or motorcycle
Check out my Pinterest Board for Prop Inspiration!
https://www.pinterest.ca/CaroHicks/prop-inspo-engagement-shoot/?invite_code=be92b4109dec45018ce0992b81a7d849&sender=776519298159186886It may also be a good idea to bring…
- A little touch up bag with a hairbrush, powder, lipstick or anything else you may want to touch up with
- Gum or mint
- Bug Spray
Final thoughts
Make sure give yourselves lots of time to choose your outfits, and get ready before your session.
It may seem like a lot to take in, but you’ll feel rewarded after you get your photographs. All of your efforts will be well worthwhile.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to ask me before your portrait session.
See you at your shoot! I can’t wait!