Portrait Session Clothing Advice

Your clothing is very important to the finished result! We will discuss clothing at our pre-portrait meeting but as a reminder – with portrait photography the aim is to draw attention to the important part of the picture i.e. the face(s) of the subjects.

To this end it is important that the clothing is medium or slightly darker in tone. It is best also to steer clear of stripes, spots, large logos or patterns as these can be distracting in the finished print. Please wear long sleeves if possible as short sleeves draw attention away from the face.

The colours should of course coordinate to a degree but don’t obsess too much about this! Above all, wear comfortable clothes that you feel relaxed in and you feel reflect your personalities.If you opt for a casual, relaxed approach to the portrait, one idea is to start with jeans. Almost everyone owns a pair and they can be teamed with a (long sleeved) top that is blue or grey or any cool toned shade. Please avoid white if everyone else is dressed in mid-toned clothing. Obviously the exception to this is when the whole family is in white – say at the beach or other location that fits naturally with this look.

With the older generation, perhaps wearing jeans is not the ideal solution but in that case any grey clothing that coordinates with the colour of denim would be absolutely fine. 


In any case our pre-portrait consultation is an ideal time to run through the clothing issues and also to let you know of a few other tips and tricks that make your portrait session memorable and long lasting.

 

Some examples...

Brightly coloured and patterned clothing distracts attention from the most important part of the portraits - the faces.
Plainer, medium toned clothing works much better. The faces are much more noticeable and the clothing and furniture doesn't distract. 
Softer, plainer colour choices keep the focus on the important things in the composition, the faces of your loved ones.
Different coloured clothing can distract the eye when viewing the portrait
Here similar styles and tones pull the subjects together.
Not a deal breaker but a plain T shirt (without text) would have been better in this relaxed garden portrait.
The socks(!) and the striped shirt distract a little bit in this studio family portrait.
Much more harmonious colour to each of these portraits – this kind of approach means your precious photographs will look much better on the wall.

I hope the above information is helpful in making your family portrait the best ever! As always, do get in touch if you have any questions.