Style Guide

What to Wear to a Photoshoot: A Photographer's Guide

Most people change their outfit three times before a shoot and still feel wrong. They arrive holding a bag of backup options, unsure which one photographs well and which one they just like in the mirror.

Colour First

Solid colours photograph cleaner than patterns. Jewel tones like navy, burgundy, forest green, and deep rust hold their depth against neutral studio backgrounds. They hold their depth on camera instead of washing out.

Avoid pure white against fair skin unless your photographer knows how to expose for it. It draws the camera's attention away from your face. Black works well but can look flat in studio light without texture. A black knit reads differently from a black polyester shirt.

Fit Over Fashion

Clothes that fit properly do more work than expensive clothes that don't. Loose clothes look formless on camera. Tight ones show horizontal stress lines across the fabric. The test: if you'd wear it to an important meeting without adjusting it every ten minutes, it will probably photograph well.

Patterns and Prints

Small prints tend to disappear into visual noise. Large prints compete with your face for attention. Logos add a distraction that can date the photo quickly. If you love a pattern, one statement piece. Not the whole look.

Stripes and checks can cause a moiré effect on camera depending on the size. When in doubt, solid wins.

Layers Work

Layers give a photographer more to work with. A blazer, a jacket, a cardigan each produce a different photograph without needing a full outfit change. A plain white t-shirt under a blazer creates a different photograph from the blazer alone.

Bring Two or Three Outfits

Pack two to three complete looks including shoes and accessories. More than that and you spend half the session deciding. Less and you have no backup if something doesn't photograph the way you expected. The first outfit often looks different under studio lights than it did in your bedroom mirror.

• Outfit 1: Your main look. The one you wear when it matters.
• Outfit 2: A contrast in colour or formality
• Outfit 3: A wild card. One step outside your usual.

Grooming Details

Iron or steam everything. Creases that look minor in person become the main focus in a close-up shot. Hair and makeup: do what you would do for a significant event, not a Tuesday. Camera light flattens things, so a little more than usual reads as normal on screen.

Nails are in more shots than people expect. Chipped polish or bitten cuticles show up clearly on close-up hand shots.

What to Avoid

• Sheer or semi-transparent fabric (studio lights shine through it)
• Clothes with slogans or graphic text
• Brand-new shoes you haven't broken in (lifestyle shoots involve movement)
• Anything you have to keep adjusting. It shows in your face.
• Heavy perfume in a small studio space

One More Thing

Wear something you've worn before and felt right in. An outfit you keep adjusting shows in your face.