What to Wear to Your Photo Shoot: Colors — StephanieH Photography (2024)

Yay! You’ve decided to get your pictures done in Hawaii and now the big question: What to wear?! Believe me, I understand the challenge of picking out the perfect outfit for my family, too, when it’s time for our own photo shoot. The struggle is real! I will be available to help figure out the perfect outfit for our session, but here are a few tips to help take away some of the stress of finding what to wear.

1) Less is More:

You’re in Hawaii. You’re on the beach. You want to break out those super fun Aloha shirts to wear for your photos… and that’s okay - in doses. I like to think of choosing outfits like decorating your living room. You wouldn’t put busy patterns on all of your curtains, couch, rug, and pillows, right? The same goes with people in a photo. If one person is wearing a bold pattern, consider having others wear solids or a less busy, neutral pattern.

Solids are always a good choice and also help keep your images looking timeless. Shirts with large logos, graphics, words, etc. not only bring attention away from YOU and onto your clothes, but can also date your images quite quickly. So, stick to solids or neutral prints and you’ll be good to go.

2) The colors you choose matter:

I often tell clients, “Light, bright clothing helps make light, bright images” and that’s because it’s SO true. The colors we wear make a huge impact on what the final images look like. For this reason, I ask clients to please avoid black and cherry red as they tend to overwhelm our images. (Side note: You really want to wear black?? Sure - Let’s do our photo session at a super light, bright beach so they compliment each other). Which brings me to the next point…

Opposites attract - in your pictures, too! Do you love the wide open light beaches and bright blue water? Here, both bold and light colors work well. Pastels and light neutrals (white, pale pink, pale purple, peach, tan, etc) will give a soft, monotone look whereas bold colors (think: navy, bright purple, pink, bold blue, etc) will provide more contrast and help you stand out from the background. Both look great! It’s up to you and what you want on your walls. For sessions in super rocky locations, please consider wearing lighter colors to stand out against the dark rock scenery.

Remember: We’d love to get these pictures - this art! - on your walls. Think about what colors you have in your house and what would coordinate with what you like to see in your home.

3) Get the picky/difficult person figured out first:

In my experience, this isn’t necessarily the female in the group…😉 Is hubs a little grumpy about getting pictures done? Make sure he’s comfortable first. Figure out what he’s interested in wearing and then build from there (tho sorry, dude - no athletic shorts for this one, okay? 😉 ). Does mom have a specific dress she LOVES and wants to show off? Great! Start there. Building off of the most difficult or most set-in-stone person/outfit/whatnot first will make it easier to fit other people in from there.