General

• Textures & layers always look nice.  Knits, scarves, and sweaters for the fall & winter portraits look great on camera!

• Solid colors are best.  Busy, loud patterns draw too much attention in your photos, so solids are always a safe bet!

• Avoid clothing with fine & repetitive patterns.  These do not always register correctly on camera. 

• Avoid wearing loud or fluorescent colors.  These colors draw a lot of attention, so avoiding them is best.

• Iron your clothes.  The camera picks up a lot of detail, so please make sure your clothes are ironed before your shoot.

• Don’t over-do accessories.  Watches and jewelry are okay but don’t over-do it.

 

Ladies

• Undergarments.  Hide those bra straps!  Wear a bra and underwear that hides well under your outfit.

• Makeup.  Any shiny lip gloss in a color like berries or browns are great.   Avoid frosts or glitters that will reflect light.  Avoid dark colors.  Bring your lip gloss along for refreshing!  For your face, a light application of non-SPF foundation helps smooth out the skin and cover any blemishes.  The goal is for a matte finish, not a glow.  For your cheeks, apply a light blush to add some color.  Avoid bronzers or glittery blushes.  Lastly, for your eyes, brown eyeliner and a little waterproof mascara to bring out the lashes is fine.  A soft brown always looks nice and compliments most eye colors.  Avoid eyeshadows with shimmer or glitter.

• Eyebrows.  Be sure to trim & pluck if needed.  The camera and lenses are very powerful, so even a rogue hair will show!  If waxing, be sure to do it a week prior to avoid having redness.

• Hair and nails.  Spritzing your hair with some hairspray, especially long hair, helps keep everything in place and gives your hair a nice shine!  Nails should be neat and trimmed.

 

Men

• Facial Hair.  Be clean-shaven or beards and mustaches trimmed.   For clean-shaven guys, you may think a little stubble won’t be seen on camera, but it shows in close-ups, so spend the extra time to give yourself a clean shave.  

• Socks and Shoes.  Please make sure your shoes are and socks are clean.  The color of your shoes should match—or compliment—the color of your belt.  Socks should compliment your pants.  For example, do not wear brown socks with black pants. 

• Try and avoid white sneakers. They can be very distracting in a photograph.

 

Kids

• Wipe away crusty noses and eyes.

• Kids lips get chapped! Bring Chapstick to give a softer look.

• If your child is still in diapers or pull-ups, hide them well under bloomers, shorts or pants.

• If your child is still of napping age, make sure they nap before the shoot.

• Be sure to give a potty-break prior to the session.

• It is perfectly okay to bring bribes to a photo. Some cereal or a snack that won’t stain teeth can help a short photo shoot go smoothly.

• Avoid colorful drinks or lollypops within hours of your shoot, don’t let them eat or drink anything that will stain their face, teeth or mouths.

 

 Groups

• Everyone in your photos should be dressed in a similar manner.  You should all be either casually dressed or formally dressed, not a mix of both. 

• For footwear, also try and be similar.  For example, if one person is wearing dress shoes, the others should not be wearing sneakers or flip-flops

• Shirts would be within the same color palette.  Wearing the exact same color top is too “matchy” so instead focus on wearing colors that are work well together, such as red, with oranges and yellows.  

• Pants can be more similar.  For instance, if everyone is wearing jeans, try and have everyone in either dark or light jeans.  

• When picking your clothing, an easy trick is to start with the girls’ outfits first, then choose matching, but more neutral colors, for the men & boys.