A lot of people don’t know where to begin when it comes to picking outfits for their engagement session and that is COMPLETELY normal! When brides book with me, they get a custom guide that outlines what they should wear for their session in order to have those magazine worthy shots! Here are some of my FAVORITE tips that I always recommend when picking out outfits.
- Bring two outfits. One dressier and one more casual. Wear one when you show up so when you get out of the car you don’t have to change, and then you can change into the second one later. This is a HUGE time saver. I don’t recommend bringing more than two outfits because more time changing means less portrait time.
- Be Comfortable: Wear something you’re comfortable in! If you’re clearly uncomfortable in your outfit, it will show in your photos. If you don’t wear stripes on an everyday basis… don’t wear them to your engagement session. Wear something that is YOU and represents your personality. Being confident and comfortable in your outfits are the best thing you can do when prepping for your session!
- Things to avoid: Please please please no graphic t-shirts, sunglasses, leggings, flip flops, baseball hats, tennis shoes, logos, etc.
- Colors & Patterns: Some patterns are normally okay, but make sure they are not too distracting and blend nicely. Stick to patterns that are on the medium to smaller side and try to pick patterns that are neutral or lighter colors. Also, if one person is wearing a pattern, the other one shouldn’t! For colors, pick colors that are neutral. Blushes, creams, white, light blue, greys, tans photograph perfectly and will give your photos that light and airy look! Please don’t wear any crazy bright, neon looking colors… Trust me when I say this is a recipe for disaster!
- Coordinate: Try to coordinate outfits instead of match! Matching can look very cliche and unorganized.
- Alternate the Heaviness: If you decide to wear something like dark pants with a darker colored shirt, it’s going to seem very off balanced and thrown together. I recommend going with white jeans or a khaki color and then adding a semi-darker top. For example, wearing the same color but a different shade is always so pretty! Like if the bride wore a light blue and the groom wore a dark blue! Or mixing colors like having the bride wear a light pink and the groom a dark navy jacket. (The brighter and cleaner… the better!)
- Formality: Make sure you both are on the same page of formality. If the bride is wearing a dress, the groom probably shouldn’t be wearing a t-shirt and flip flops. Pro Tip: You want to dress up a little more than you think you would for your engagement session!
- Dresses: If you want very romantic portraits, wear something like a flowy long dress! When it catches the wind, it makes for the BEST portraits. Like the ones you see in movies! Lighter fabric works the best!
I know this can seem overwhelming, but keep it simple and don’t overthink it! If you follow these tips, I can guarantee you guys will look stunning!
