What to Wear for Portraits

Elegant portraits are some of my favorite types of sessions to capture next to weddings.  This elegant Mt. Laurel session was one such session for a local photographer who is brilliant at capturing musicians.

When it comes to portraits like this, I love the ability to give people a moment to see themselves as they truly are, beautiful and in love.  One of the biggest concerns for couples is what to wear for these sessions.  The easiest suggestion is to pick something you love and feel great in but,  that suggestion sometimes falls a bit short of the mark.

Where to Shop for Clothes

Personally I love to shop from places that I know provide great customer service and will have something beautiful and classic with a slight modern twist.  One of my favorite new places to shop is Wren and Ivory for their wide range of dresses with pockets and feminine patterns.  Here are a few more that I love:

• Trunk Club:  Provides a high end customer experience and items that are beautiful and uniquely tailored to you.
• Stitch Fix:  Similar to the concept of Trunk Club but less hands on customer experience
• Versona:  Reasonably priced clothing with a good mix of classic, romantic, and modern
• Rent the Runway:  One of the best places to get a elegant and romantic dress without the heavy price tag.

First and foremost find something that you love and then shop for your fiancé or husband second.  Find an outfit that compliments yours but that doesn’t match exactly in color or pattern.  To much matching draws the attention away from who you both are.

Accessories

Keep in mind that most photographers will not only capture close up images of you but also full length images.  Accessories and shoes act as the icing on the cake when it comes to picking out what to wear.  Watches, earrings, belts, scarves, and hats are all great items to consider.

Still Not Sure What to Wear

I didn’t ever realize how stress picking an outfit was until we had our own anniversary session about 5 years ago.  I waited till the week of the session which added to my stress level.  Here are my best tips for avoiding that stress:

• Plan ahead of time, usually 2 – 3 weeks will allow you to make sure everything fits and looks great together
• Lay it out on a couch or bed and snap a photo of it.  Often looking at a photo of it will help you decide
• Lastly, just ask.  We love helping our couples through this and not only provide printed examples of this but also encourage our couples to send images of what their wearing.  This way, you can walk into your session with confidence.

Happy Session Planning.