WHY YOU SHOULDN’T MATCH FOR YOUR PHOTO SESSION
What is UP party people????
Do you have a photo shoot coming up?! Let me help you plan your outfits! Whether it’s an engagement shoot, family photos, or an at-home lifestyle sesh.. I got you bbg.
First, let’s discuss how to even decide what your outfit vibes are going to be! We need to think big picture here. These photos are going to be blown up all over your home, so we need to make sure your shrine is looking fierce AF and goes with your overall look. For example! In my apartment, I know that I needed some more dark green, terracotta, and blues in my house. I have lots of plants around and wanted our next batch of photos to have a minimalist aesthetic with no distracting backgrounds. (Our last shoots were at Emerald Lake, in front of a waterfall, and at Horsehoe Bend with really dramatic backgrounds so we needed some chill vibes). So for our session we decided on sand dunes for a calm background, so I reached out to my photographer to see if he had any locations in mind for sandy photos and he sent me the link to the most perfect place. It was pretty far away, but totally worth the drive. And now that I had a location in mind I could start to plan our outfits.
Obv sand dunes are messy and more for an adventurous shoot, so wearing heels and a fancy outfit wasn’t going to happen. I love the look of a dress in the wind, Jensen in a jean jacket, and dark green compliments Pico’s red hair v well. So I looked at Pinterest and made an inspo board of my favourite looks and colour palettes! Once my vision was created and it was time to pick out outfits, my number one priority was allll about feeling confident in the dress I chose. When you look good, you feel good. Then you exude confidence in front of the camera and you’re not constantly worried about adjusting your outfit!
(Photo of us by Jeff Spencer: Photographer)
I am often sending clients different Pinterest boards of outfit inspiration, so instead of that— feast your eyes on my own outfit guide! These are all photos from my past sessions where my clients SLAYED it with their outfit choices. I also put colour bubbles on each photo as a palette guide if you jive well with the inspo you’re seeing and want to emulate it! (If you don’t have time to read this excessively long guide rn, there is a TL;DR at the bottom).
The next thing we need to discuss is why the heck I would say not to match each other! Think about a beautifully styled couch. Are all the pillows on the couch the exact same fabric and colour as the couch? Heeeeck no. There are accenting colours, different textures, and some pattern play going on! Let’s leave the blue jeans and white blouses for the whole fam in the 90’s
Listen, I love a plaid! Plaid is great. But what I’m saying here is that we don’t need to put every person and doge in the family in a plaid shirt. Unless this a Christmas card photo and we are talking about matching jammies. In which case, count me in and pls order me a set too. A good rule of thumb is max one person in a plaid shirt!
I am not saying you can’t mix and match patterns though!!!!!! If you have a lot of people in your family, not every person should be wearing solid colours. One person could be wearing a thin stripe, another wearing a little polka dot number, and a third with a knitted pattern. Textures are my jam!!!!!!!
A really easy and foolproof way to pick which colours accent each other well together is to pick a cute floral pattern, and pull the colours from that piece to plan out the outfits for the others that will be joining you for your sesh!
(In this example photo, he isn’t wearing pink, but he’s wearing a colour that accents the floral pattern well).
Denim is a really great neutral! Not just as pants, but if you’re looking to break up a patterned shirt or want to have some variety in what your photos look like, bring along a denim jacket! They can make a dress more casual or make an outfit look more complete.
Also feel free to bring along options of cardigans/sweaters/scarves to your session and I can help you decide which ones we should use!
All of my engagement sessions come with the option for an outfit change. If you’d like to transition from a casual look to a more dressy ensemble, why the frick not?!?! Let’s do it.
Most of my sessions take place in the mountains, so you really can’t go wrong with either casual or dressy photos!! Plus I feel like the mountains are the perfect place to rock a vest if you’d like!!!!! Layers take it to the next level.
Okay that was a sufficient amount of casual clothing examples, yes? If you’d like to snazz it UP here are some stellar inspo pics. If your vision is groomed landscaping and cute inner city neighbourhoods, why not throw on a pair of heels and a classy dress?! Whatever your preferences are I will SUPPORT. Just as I say at every wedding I shoot: Your day, your way.
Just a note: I would recommend bringing a backup pair of shoes if we will be doing any hiking or long walking for your shoot! I don’t want you getting blisters!!
Going to the mountains isn’t the only option we have either!!!!!
Let’s do a fun activity together! What is something you two do on dates? Go for ice cream? Ice skate? Go to the stampede? Hit up a cute café? Or simply lounge at home in your jammies? (Again let me know in advance so I can be prepared in matching pjs haha).
Whatever it is you want to do, I’m so game. It gives you something to do with your hands, creates lots of natural poses, and will ensure that your photos are unique as frick.
Not that you should let the seasons tell you how to live your life, but it’s great to be inspired by them if you’d like! An autumn shoot? Perf! Navy, burgundy, burnt orange, deep green, grey, beige, and browns would be cute.
Getting your photos done in the spring? Feel free to use pops of blush pink, light blue, grey, dusty rose, lavender, etc.
Want to do your own thing and don’t care what szn it is???? Yassss don’t let anybody boss you around!!!!! You’re fierce. I like it.
If you’ve nailed down your colour palette of say 4-5 colours, you can look through your closets and pull out anything of that colour! It doesn’t all need to be the same tone of a specific colour. If multiple people have grey pieces, they can be anywhere on the spectrum from dark grey to light grey.
I also recommend planning in advance, so everyone can try on their clothes together a week or so before your shoot— Just in case things fit differently than you remember, you have time to find a replacement!
Personally before any shoot that Jens and I have planned together, my sisters and sister-in-laws have group chats where I send them options of outfits and they let me know what works best.
If you’re worried that something might not fit well with your vision, shoot me an email with photos attached of what you need advice on! I am happy to help.
If there will be kids at your session— please bring a backup for each child. I can’t tell you how many times a kid has accidentally peed their pants or spilled something on themselves at a shoot or in the car ride on the way there. I also recommend arriving early to get them dressed in the car so they don’t get any snacks on their clothes on the way over. If you have a child wearing a dress, don’t forget shorts underneath or a cute cover for their diapers! There may be some cute photos of them twirling or being tossed in the air!
And I know this seems like a lot of work, but I have seen babies spit up on mom or dad during the shoot but they don’t have a backup either! It’s great to have in the car just in case! I always bring a backup outfit to any shoot I am in and even though I have never had to use them it gives me such peace of mind in case I accidentally spill something on myself.
I can not stress this enough: PLZZZ wear what you feel confident and comfortable in.
Being in front of the camera is weird at first. My goal at every shoot is to make beautiful photos of your beautiful face, so when you walk away from your session you feel like a million bucks.
To make sure that can happen, you need to feel confident in your outfit choice so if I give you a direction, you can do it without worrying about standing in a specific way. If you notice that you only feel great in those clothes when you stand in one pose in front of your mirror, it’s probably not the right choice for our shoot. I don’t want you in your head the whole time! I want you to let loose, relax, and have fun!
TO SUMMARIZE:
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What is your vibe??? What type of photos do you want adorning your walls (or to post on the ‘gram)? Mountain? Urban? Rivers?
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Does that mean dressy or casual clothing?
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What colour palette will accent the location well? (Check back to this blog for the palette circles and check out Pinterest).
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Go through your closets and throw all the clothes you have of those colours on your bed.
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Narrow down your selection and ask friends and family for opinions on what goes well together. If you need to shop for something new, bring photos of the other clothes with you to the store to make sure it will go together well.
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A week before your shoot, get everyone to try on their clothes and stand in front of a mirror together to make sure everything fits. Make sure everyone feels confident and comfortable in their outfits!!!!!!!
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Keep those items of clothing tucked away until the shoot so they don’t get any new stains/damages.
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Bring backup selections with you to the shoot JUST in case!
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Celebrate + relax at your shoot because you look + feel amaaaazing!
If you need any help at all with planning your outfits please let me know. And if you all wore plaid in a past photo shoot, don’t worry. I forgive you. It was a great trend at the time, and we have grown since then. May matching outfits rest in sweet sweet peace. We’re accenting each other from now on, guys!
CATEGORY
4/23/2020
This is so amazing and helpful and I dont even have any events to photograph but it makes me want to have a photoshoot with you sooooo bad haha
Oh my goodness you are too sweet!!!!!!! I want you to have an event so I can photograph it toooooo! Hahaha
Thank you for blessing the people of the internet with this gem of an article. I cannot wait until it’s my time to apply it to our shoot!!
Thank you so much for this comment you blessed ANGEL. I can’t wait for this whole pandemic sitch to be over so I can get to you without needing to charter a private plane!!!!!!!! I will take such an excessive amount of photos of your face (and booty) I am so stoked
Already planning our outfits for future shoots with you using this wealth of great advice! Giiiiirl, you good!
The things I’d do to photograph your beautiful family again!!!!!!!!! It’d be a freakin honour
This is friggen genius and a piece of advice and suggestions that I’ve never read before. It makes so much sense and would make homes look so pristine. Just like Jayden PRISTINE ALL DAY ERRY DAY
WHAT this is too nice!!!!!!! I don’t deserve you kate! ❤️
This is greaat