what to wear for your professional portrait session

 Below are guidelines to follow that will bring out the best look for your session, but most importantly, you should wear clothes that fit your brand and personality that YOU FEEL GREAT IN!

There are 3 major sartorial things to consider for your portrait session.

1.Color and Patterns

Women: It is tempting to stick with black and white, but a splash of color can really make your image pop.  Try hues that bring out your eye color and enhance your skin tone.  Rich colors and jewel tones are great choices for almost all women. Solids and textures are wonderful and usually are the best choice. Prints work as long as they aren’t distracting. Stay away from micro prints and patterns in clothing (the camera doesn’t read tiny prints and patterns like our eye does. Your print will have an irregular wavy finish on the fabric). Please, no neon colors.

Men:  Avoid a plain white shirt.  If white shirts are your signature look, accentuate it with an interesting tie or jacket.  Charcoal grey is a great choice or anything with color or texture.

2.Style and Fit

Women:  Boat or narrow v-necks are always flattering and will always lay nicely.  We want to be sure we can see your top after the image is cropped.  Stand up collars don’t always “behave”, so I suggest women avoid them.  Make sure your clothes fit well.  Generally, a little snug is way better than baggy and loose.  Clothes should fit and lay smoothly on your body (Spanx is always a great option to wear under clothing if they aren’t laying smoothly). Avoid short sleeves or sleeveless styles (unless you’ve got buff arms and want to show them off as part of your brand).  Also avoid low necklines and busy or trendy patterns or plaids.  Your clothes should be cleaned, pressed, and fit well.

Men:  If you’re going business casual (specifically no tie) a sport coat looks better than a suit coat without a tie. Tie = suit coat or sport coat.  NO tie = sport coat but NOT A SUIT COAT. Button down collars rarely lay nicely in a photo.  Make sure your clothes fit well and that your collar isn’t too tight causing skin to bulge over.  Your clothes should be clean, pressed, and fit well.

3.  Accessories

If you have jewelry that has special meaning to you, by all means bring wear it.  But in the end, we want all of the attention on your face and not your clothes and jewelry.  Also, necklaces can shift during our shoot and appear off-centered in photos.  If your signature brand is big jewelry, bring it along and we’ll choose the best options for your headshot.  But if not, less is more for a professional headshot.

Remember, these are guidelines to help you plan your wardrobe. Most importantly, your personality and brand should shine through.

EYEGLASSES

Eyeglasses and lens glare can be tricky.  If you normally wear glasses, plan to wear them for your picture.  It is ideal if you are able to pop the lenses out or if you already have a pair of glasses without lenses, please bring those.  If not, make sure your glasses have a non-glare coating—otherwise you may have glass glare.  Be patient during the shoot while we try to angle the light to avoid lens glare.  It will take extra time to ensure little to no glare.