Clothes are hard | Greenville, SC Photographer

Sooo people ask me for advice on planning outfits for their photos sessions all the time. I recently did a “just because” session with my husband (with the amazing Kendra Martin Photography) and definitely panicked while I was trying to figure out our clothes. Is it reassuring that a photographer also has no idea? I took some notes while I was figuring it out, maybe they’ll be helpful?

Feel free to ignore everything I’m about to say. You will look best in the clothes you feel most confident in! And photos are all about capturing a moment in time, wear something that feels true to YOU!
Remember the weather. This might be obvious, but in South Carolina it can be HOT well into October! It isn’t easy to hide or edit out large sweat marks in clothing. Certain colors and materials are better at disguising wet spots than others.
Avoid those really thin stripes. This is the closest thing to a “rule.” You know when you’re browsing for clothes online and you see a super distorted stripey shirt? Cameras just don’t know how to handle those super thin stripes, so they will go a little wonky.
Aim for coordinated but not matching.
Choose one “feature” piece, then build the rest of the outfits around it. When I found a blue, flowy, botanical maxi dress, I just knew it was perfect for our session. I looked at the colors within the dress to choose Steve’s outfit.
Blues tend to look good on pretty much everyone.
For groups, choose one to two colors and have everyone dress in one of them. For example, navy and burgundy go really well together in the fall.
If you have a fair complexion, oranges, reds, and yellows can impact your photos. Light bounces and those colors can reflect back onto your face, which can make it more challenging to achieve a natural skin tone in editing.
I’ll just say it again because it truly is the most important part – choose something that makes you feel confident! Clothes can really make a difference in your mood and demeanor. At the end of the day, that’s by the far the most important thing.