Clothing, Makeup and Hair
Clothing, Make up and Hair are extremely important details in creating a beautiful portrait. Included here are some suggestions on how to prepare for your photo session.
Clothes
Things to think about before choosing your clothes:
Think Classic. Portraits are an investment. These portraits will be displayed in your home and will be treasured for a long time. Choosing simple, classic clothes, will give your portraits a timeless feel.
What colors make up the room in which your portraits will be displayed? The colors in the portrait should compliment your home decor.
If taking pictures in a studio, what color of background do you want to use? Your clothing should work well with that type of background.
If taking outdoor pictures, what color of clothing will work well at that location?
You want the subjects not the clothing to be noticed.
You want the clothing to flatter the subject. Make sure that no particular body parts are exaggerated or look bad due to a poor clothing choice.
We want the clothing to be comfortable. Women’s dresses can be difficult to work with when they are too short. A photographer and client have to both be careful not to reveal things better left not revealed.
Do’s for dressing for a portrait session. These are your portraits. Dress to make you look your best. Remember, these will be displayed for a long time.
- Choose clothing that doesn’t accentuate a body feature that you don’t want accentuated. This means to cover it up, or put it in a darker more muted color. Tops should coordinate with bottoms in order to most flatter your body type. Remember… lighter colors make things look larger and darker colors make things look smaller. Same with bright and muted colors. Bright colors draw attention to an area. Skin also draws attention, so consider whether or not you want a bare midriff, legs or arms in the portrait. Body skin can draw attention away from the face.
- Choose clothing that does show off a body feature that you want to show off. Girls like to show their pretty legs and trim midriffs. Boys like to show their muscles. Dress to accentuate your most beautiful or handsome assets.
- For groups, select coordinating colors that will look nice with your background. Choose a base color and a couple of accent colors for everyone to wear. It often looks nice for the men in the picture to stick with variations of the base color and let the women and young children wear the accent colors.
- Stay away from characters and logos on clothing.
- Choose shoes that work well with the clothing. Athletic shoes are a questionable choice. Be careful.
- Accessories are fun. Choose them wisely. Men’s ties and women’s jewelry can be props that the wife, husband or children can play with. Hats are cute and can be used to hide behind, hold or cover a portion of the face. If you like more whimsical images, opt for some of these items.
- In group photos, limit patterns. Instead, layer colors and textures using sweaters, jackets, ties, scarves etc.
- Plan ahead. Make sure all of your clothes are chosen, clean and pressed. Wrinkles and stains DO show up in portraits. Don’t be scrambling the day of your photo session because things aren’t ready.
Makeup Do’s
- Match your makeup to the style of the portrait you are striving to create. If your clothing is casual, your makeup should be casual. If you are wearing formal attire, go for a more glamorous look.
- Make sure your makeup is flawless. Splotchy, uneven makeup will show up in finished portraits. Be careful. You don’t want makeup lines.
- Nails should be well manicured and should not have chipped polish.
Hair Do’s
- Match your hair to the style of the portrait you wish to create. Don’t have a stylist create a new style that day. You may not like it.
- If you get a haircut before the portrait session, get it a week or two before the session, especially men and boys. That will allow it to grow a bit and it will lay the way you want it to lay.