Skip to main content

What to Wear and What Not to Wear in Your Portraits

For years I've been meaning to create some sort of material that can explain to my clients what they should consider when planning their attire for their portrait session.  I always very strongly encourage my clients to follow my recommendations regarding clothing however my advice is often disregarded.  So I thought if I showed some specific portrait examples it may become more obvious just how important it is to consider your clothing choices wisely. 

When choosing clothes for a portrait session it is almost always advisable to wear plain simple clothing and for all members of the group to co-ordinate with each other.  By this I mean, solid colour tops. So nothing with bold, noticable patterns such as stripes, polka dots or flowers.  And no large logos.  Also try, as much as possible, to wear the same colour or very similar colours (ie shades of pale blue).  Patterns are distracting and unmatching colours will stand out and both will detract from the faces in a portrait.  Large logos can also date the portrait making it less appealing over time.  Of course there may be a time when such clothing is acceptable, perhaps in a teenagers fashion type shoot. But they are rarely appropriate for a special family photo you want on display for many years. And the last thing we want to produce is something you will look back at in years saying, 'what was I thinking'.  So here are some examples to illustrate what I mean. 

For the image below I used a group of friends and instructed them all to wear white tops and jeans.  This is a look that I find very attractive and works incredibly well with a white or light background.  Having everyone co-ordinated in such a way really makes the portrait look planned and well thought out and not just something thrown together. 

 
 
For the image above I asked the girls to change their tops to include a variety of tones and patterns.  Notice how the patterns become distracting and can often take your attention away from the girl's faces.  The portrait no longer looks intentional and my eyes continually travel around the image rather than resting on the main point of the image, which in a portrait should usually be their faces.

This issue becomes even stronger with a dark background as the large patches of brightness among all the darkness stand out like a sore thumb.  Its impossible not to see these highlights as anything other than distractions.  Even the bare arms of the girls are too pale in comparison to the rest of the image which again takes away from the effectiveness of the portrait.  The image directly below is far more appealling than the one that follows. 

 

I've included a second example with the dark background to emphasise the importance of clothing appropriate to the type of portrait we wish to create.  The patterned top and bare arm are much too distracting.  The same image made with black tops that have long sleeves is much more attractive and creates a portrait that shows it was intentional and not merely a snap taken without planning or effort.

 
 
Now the following image includes tops of all sorts of colours however it was still clearly well thought out and again makes the portrait appear intentional.  Incidentally, this was the idea of the birthday girl which I was thrilled to see.  This is a very effective use of clothing which made for a pleasing and interesting group portrait. Whereas the image that follows does not look well planned.  Those in white look washed out and the patterns throughout are distracting.



Finally I've included a couple of portraits which show good clothing choices.  You can imagine how ineffective the dark image would be had bare arms or patterned clothing been included.  And same goes for the light image with respect to patterns. 

 

I hope this has illustrated just how important appropriate clothing choices are.  If you are going to the expense of investing in portraits please choose your clothes wisely to ensure you have the best possible, timeless portraits you'll be proud to display for many years to come.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Its a Dog's Life

When life gets tough I always look at dogs or my cats and think how lucky they are. I know not all are treated well but those lucky enough to be in a good home, like the ones who come into my studio, have a really great life. They look so happy and its a wonderful thing to see.  I honestly love photographing dogs. They are a joy to work with and its almost impossible to produce a bad portrait of a dog which does of course make my life a little easier. I am someone who really needs to love the work I create. I can't help but love the portraits I've created of all the dogs I've photographed over the years. And this shoot was certainly no exception. I found it a real pleasure using a lighter background this time too. I do often gravitate towards darker looks but seeing as this dog had a light coloured coat I thought I'd produce lighter images. This gave me the chance to use a canvas I painted a couple of years ago but never really used and I absolutely love it

Fine Art Portraits of a Beautiful Young Girl

So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com

Never Work With Children or Animals

Or so the saying goes. But I have to say that working with dogs has been so lovely. They have been almost entirely a dream to work with. I say almost entirely because we have had a few moments where a dog has needed to settle. And one moment where the dog had settled but one of my cats decided to have a look through the glass door which, as you can imagine, rather quickly unsettled the dog. Still, that didn't stop us from creating incredible work. In fact it was during that shoot with the cat instance when I created two of my favourite pieces, shown below. (It was while sitting on the couch here when he noticed the cat peering through the curtain) I don't know if I've just been lucky or all dogs are just easy to work with. I photographed a french bull dog puppy and I thought that would be tough as he hadn't had time to be properly trained yet. But he did everything we wanted in no time at all. And this included the props we used here (below), which to me

Teen Portraits - Prom Season is Just Around the Corner

If your child is heading to prom in the next couple of months I'd say there is probably no better time than now to have portraits created of your growing teen. With the purchase of a new (and probably expensive) outfit wouldn't it be nice to capture this milestone with a portrait created by a professional. Across the pond this is a hugely popular time to create portraits, and although I am not American (I'm Canadian) I wholeheartedly agree that this is a special moment to record. My prom was a key memory in my teen years and in fact I myself had professional portraits created also. I think I'll go dig them up if I can, though admittedly I think my mother has them back in Canada. I wonder if I can get her to scan one for me. My daughter is currently making plans for college and in the running is one that will move her away from home, as many others are probably experiencing for themselves, particularly those who are 18. This makes it all the more important to

Headshots and Portfolio Shoots: Here's What we Offer

Headshot requests are becoming more frequent so I thought I'd put together a post to share some recent work and explain the packages I offer in greater detail. Headshots are typically a simpler and quicker session so my packages are also a little simpler than what I offer in my full studio sessions. If headshots are what you or your child need its really important that you get good quality headshots that can stand out amongst the crowd. A headshot is a representation of you and often the first impression you are giving out to your audience, whether its casting directors, agents or college officials considering your application. A good headshot is more likely to get you noticed and ultimately get you further along your path. Making your headshots the best they can be should go a long way in helping you progress in your chosen path. I offer 2 different levels of service in order to make it as affordable and appropriate as possible. The first is a simple straightforwa