What style do you prefer? Is it bold or neutral? Maybe dressy or casual? What about classic or trendy? There are SO many styles to choose from! These choices represent the three main decisions you will have to make in regards to your outfit choices. There are no right or wrong answers! Maybe you want one outfit to be dressy and the other to be casual. Maybe you want one outfit to be very light and neutral but you want to wear more color in the next outfit. These categories will hopefully help you determine what you’re hoping for in your engagement session. If you’re feeling stuck and can’t seem to determine what you prefer, that’s very normal!
Here are some general “rules of thumb” when it comes to styling during an engagement session. Once you read through these, you may have a better understanding of what you prefer and you can start planning your outfits. These “rules of thumb” are based off of my experience and aren’t concrete rules that can’t be broken. However, if you have questions about one of them in regards to what you want to wear, just email us and we can talk about what would be best! Here are some things you can avoid!–
1 | Certain colors: bright reds, neons, bright oranges. They can reflect color onto your skin and that can be difficult to edit!
2| Patterns smaller than a quarter: Tiny patterns cause something called “Chromatic Aberration” in digital images. Men’s checkered shirts are fine if the “checks” are on the larger side.
3 | Alternate Heaviness: If one of you is wearing very dark jeans, the other may want to wear lighter pants. If one of you is wearing a navy top, the other shouldn’t wear a dark/heavy colored top. To a certain degree, alternating the “heaviness” of your outfits can make your images look more balanced.
4 |One of you being casual while the other is more dressy: This can feel a bit awkward in photos. If one of you is dressed up and the other is casual, it can look a little odd in your photos, too.
5 |Other things to avoid: Tennis shoes, graphic tees, bold logos on shirts, sunglasses and baseball hats.
If you’re hoping for a more romantic style of a shoot that includes “bold” and “moody” colors, you can actually make outfit choices that will lend your images to turn out bold, softer and extra photogenic! It’s important to note that you do not need to choose all of these ingredients in order to have a bold and vibrant style to your images but the more ingredients you include, the more romantic it will be. Here are some ingredients that go into creating a romantic styled shoot!–
1 | Neutral Colors: creams, tans, maroon, brown, navy blues and light taupe, gray, black, whites and olive/dark green will always result in more of a bold and moody look in your images. These colors photograph boldly and more romantically!
2 | Long, Flowy Skirts/Dresses: Dresses and skirts with feminine ruffles, multiple layers of fabric and the ability to blow and move in the wind will always photograph beautifully! You would be amazed at how impactful moving fabric softens an image.
3 | Khakis vs. Jeans: If you really want your images to be as moody as possible, consider having your groom wear darker pants instead of light khaki pants or whites.
Believe it or not, you have so much control over the outcome of your shoot and what it looks and feels like! What you choose to wear is a big decision that often causes a ton of stress for the bride to be. However, my hope is that you will be able to determine your style and the feel you desire for your shoot and then that will make your outfit selection so much easier and less complicated!
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