How to dress for photoshoot

How to dress for a photoshoot may be an issue that’s overlooked by the photographer and the people getting their picture taken. But it’s too important to overlook. Picture this scenario.

You are a photographer and have scheduled a family photoshoot. You pick the perfect location. The lighting is great. You shoot the photos and something just looks off. Could it be that the clothing worn by the subjects in the photo detract from the photo itself? If you have people in the picture wearing bright colors, bold prints, stripes and a variety of colors, it is natural to be a distracting scene. The viewer of the photo is looking at all the different visual stimulants rather than the people themselves.

It is important for the photographer to inform the people in the picture how to dress for the photoshoot. Giving those instructions could be an uncomfortable thing to do. It can be hard telling people how to dress. Sometimes people have in mind exactly what they want to wear and they don’t want to be told otherwise.

To get the best pictures, however, there are a few basic rules. Here are some:

1. Don’t wear loud patterns. Solid colors are best. Wild patterns are too distracting. Darker colors are better as they can slenderize people and help them blend in better with the background.
2. Don’t wear t-shirts that have words written on them. The eye is going to go to the words to read the shirt rather than look at the person’s face.
3. Wear sleeves — the longer the better. People too often don’t like the way their arms look in photos. Also, showing a lot of arm will detract attention from the face. The same goes for the legs. Long pants are better than shorts.
4. Groups should coordinate their clothing. In other words, wear clothes that blend well together without clashing.
5. Soft, more neutral muted colors tend to work better than bright colors. Bright colors can tend to make someone look larger.
6. Necklines should come close to the neck. A neckline that is low or wide open can make the neck look thicker in photos.

The basic thought with these rules is that you want all the people in a group to blend together. You don’t want someone standing out and drawing attention away from the photo as a whole or the other people. The goal is you want the group to blend well together. You definitely don’t want extreme opposite ends of the color spectrum in the same photo.

If you are getting your photo taken, carefully select your clothing and lay it all out on a bed. Look at it carefully and make sure it works well together and is not distracting. Don’t forget adding accessories, but again nothing too large and bold. That’s the way to dress for a photoshoot.