Couples
engagement, anniversary, etc.
1. HAIR & MAKEUP : If you were considering getting your hair and makeup done, this is the perfect opportunity to treat yourself! You will cherish these images forever and so investing in professional hair and makeup can be an extra fun way to celebrate the occasion and allow you to be extra confident during your shoot!
2. HAVE A PREVIEW PARTY : It can be incredibly helpful for couples to sit down and have a little preview party before their session. Take ten minutes and sit down together to scroll through 2-3 of your favorite couples sessions on my blog. Take a look at the poses, see what you might like, and get excited for your photos!
3. TAKE A DEEP BREATH! : You’re going to be amazing models! So be encouraged!
- Neutrals such as blush, tans, link pinks, faint blues and teals, creams, grays and whites will always result in more of a light and airy look to your images. These colors photograph softer and more romantically!
- If you’re really looking for a soft, feminine look, I recommend a flowing, maxi-length dress or skirt. The movement of this type of fabric photographs beautifully! If skirts aren't your preferred article of clothing, that's totally ok too...you want these photos to represent you two! Take a look on the blog and you'll see that some couples choose a more casual or dressed-up-casual look with both wearing pants.
- The goal is to COORDINATE instead of MATCHING! I also recommend avoiding both of you wearing white as a top. This won’t allow for any contrast in your images.
- Guys, I recommend that you avoid patterns that are smaller than a dime! These small patterns can create strange visual effects in a digital camera. Close-toed shoes photograph well and we recommend avoiding graphic tees and tennis shoes!
- Girls, I recommend that you wear something that flatters the parts of you that you love the most! Love your arms? Maybe a strapless dress. Are your eyes your favorite feature? Try a scarf that complements the color of your eyes.
first things to know:
Outfit inspiration:
Think about if you want formal, casual, or something in the middle, and start from there. Personally I think a semi-formal look is really nice for couples photos, but if that's just not your thing at all, it's ok to dress it down a bit. I'd suggest starting with the girl's outfit first, because that's going to be the harder one :) Guys can match pretty much anything. You'll probably want to think in layers, especially since it'll be deeper into winter when we do the shoot. A cardigan, scarf, or something like leggings is a good way to add some color and visual interest without making things complicated. I like to mention that subtle pops of color are often better than just one color for the whole outfit - for example, instead of a full purple dress, maybe a grey dress with a purple cardigan or scarf - neutral colors are really good. Once you have your outfit figured out, try to find a way for the guy to match without being too matchy if that makes sense...so if you're wearing a blue dress with brown boots, you probably don't want him in a blue shirt...but a brown shirt to sort of tie in with those brown boots might look nice. You'll want to match the type of style - for example, if she's is wearing a long elegant dress, he shouldn't show up in jeans and vice versa. Khakis or grey slacks are always a nice choice outside of blue jeans, and almost always look good with a button down shirt (you could even layer a sweater vest over it).
And as mentioned before, you'll also want to make sure you're comfortable in your outfit, and that you feel confident in it. If it's something that you're going to have to keep readjusting, it might not be the best fit for the photo session...your memories of the session also affect how you look at the photos, so if you're looking at a photo and remembering how you had to keep adjusting your shirt to fit the right way, you're not going to LOVE the images.
Last suggestion is to think about the environment you're in. Try to pick colors that might go well with the earth tones of winter (dead grass and maybe some leaves left on the trees for California at least). For example, my husband and I did our engagement photos in the summer with green grass - we chose a bright yellow dress and a bright blue polo shirt for him (our wedding colors were blue and yellow). It made sense for the season, but if we were to do it in the fall, I might have chosen a mustard yellow and a navy shirt for him.
Putting together your outfit:
Lifestyle
Family, graduation, etc.
first things to know:
Outfit inspiration:
Putting together your outfit:
1. HAIR & MAKEUP : If you were considering getting your hair and makeup done, this is the perfect opportunity to treat yourself! You will cherish these images forever and so investing in professional hair and makeup can be an extra fun way to celebrate the occasion and allow you to be extra confident during your shoot!
2. HAVE A PREVIEW PARTY : Plan your outfit! The guidelines below are a great place to start. It CAN be fun planning what you're going to wear! You can use favorite items that you already own, or have a shopping trip (online shopping counts as a trip too, right?!) to pick out something new.
3. TAKE A DEEP BREATH! : You’re going to be amazing models! So be encouraged!
- Neutrals such as blush, tans, creams, grays and whites will always result in more of a light and airy look to your images. I love starting with one base neutral and pairing some colors on top. Not everybody has to have the same color pops, but make sure they look good together. It helps to lay out all of your outfits on a neutral colored surface and make sure everything looks cohesive.
- I love dresses and skirts for family photos and graduation sessions. If skirts aren't your preferred article of clothing, that's totally ok too...you want these photos to represent you! Take a look on the blog and you'll see that some people choose a more casual or dressed-up-casual look with pants.
- The goal is to COORDINATE instead of MATCHING! Don't have everyone wear the same color, but pick a few that go well together. Make sure your styles match too! If someone is wearing fancy high heels, someone else probably shouldn't be wearing cowboy boots.
- I recommend that you avoid patterns that are smaller than a dime! These small patterns can create strange visual effects in a digital camera. Close-toed shoes photograph well and you'll probably want to avoid graphic tees and clunky tennis shoes!
- Wear something that flatters the parts of you that you love the most! Love your arms? Maybe a strapless dress. Are your eyes your favorite feature? Try a scarf that complements the color of your eyes.
Think about if you want formal, casual, or something in the middle, and start from there. Personally I think a semi-formal look is really nice since you're paying a lot for these photos, but if that's just not your thing at all, it's ok to dress it down a bit. I'd suggest starting with the girl's outfit first, because that's going to be the harder one :) Guys can match pretty much anything. For colder weather shoots, you'll probably want to think in layers, and accessories are always good. A cardigan, scarf, or something like leggings is a good way to add some color and visual interest without making things complicated. For summer shoots, sometimes simple is best! But remember that accessories are your friend!
I like to mention that subtle pops of color are often better than just one color for the whole outfit - for example, instead of a full purple dress, maybe a grey dress with a purple cardigan or scarf - neutral colors are really good.
And as mentioned before, you'll also want to make sure you're comfortable in your outfit, and that you feel confident in it. If it's something that you're going to have to keep readjusting, it might not be the best fit for the photo session...your memories of the session also affect how you look at the photos, so if you're looking at a photo and remembering how you had to keep adjusting your shirt to fit the right way, you're not going to LOVE the images.
Last suggestion is to think about the environment you're in. Try to pick colors that might go well with the earth tones of winter (dead grass and maybe some leaves left on the trees for California at least) or the bright sun of summer (probably lots of green if it's been a wet winter, lots of bright sunshiny colors!). For example, my husband and I did our engagement photos in the summer with green grass - we chose a bright yellow dress and a bright blue polo shirt for him (our wedding colors were blue and yellow). It made sense for the season, but if we were to do it in the fall, I might have chosen a mustard yellow and a navy shirt for him.
I hope this is helpful! Always feel free to reach out if you need some advice or just another pair of eyes!