So you booked your photoshoot with a photographer who’s work you’ve been dreaming about. You are so excited to have the memories captured, the love frozen in time, and the emotions turned into something physical. Now you’ve been washed over with the sense of dread as you realize you don’t know what to wear for your photoshoot.

If you have chosen a good photographer, who cares about you having the best experience from booking all the way to delivery, they should have you covered with ideas. Here in this blog I’m going to share the outfit ideas and planning I provide my clients that best compliments the way I edit photos, that also keeps outfit planning from being overwhelming.

The Basics

The first thing I tell all of my clients is ultimately wear what you are most comfortable in, I can only offer recommendations. With that being said, I personally start out by saying avoid busy patterns. A subtle floral can be cute but anything too crazy can mess with the data of the image, and honestly be a bit distracting. Another big no-no is avoid clothing with graphics, or brand names on them. It just isn’t as flattering and keeps your photos from being timeless. As far as colors go, I say stick with neutrals, I’ll attach a wonderful color palette below. If you don’t see a color on the palette and you are wondering if it will work well, ask yourself, is this a brash distracting color, or is it within the realm of neutral?

Here I’ll also add some capsule wardrobe items that might help you visualize what you have in your closet, as an appropriate article for a photoshoot. If you’d like to see what some of my pervious clients have worn to shoots for inspiration, click here to get to my galleries!

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What to wear to a maternity session?

The recommendations for a maternity photoshoot is going to look a little different than the recommendations for a family or mommy and me shoot. With maternity you are best off wearing clothing the really shows off that big baby bump. Whether that be a dress that has cinching just below the bust, above the belly, or a more trendy bralette and unbuttoned jeans kind of look. I’ll attach photos below of both of these ideas I mention.

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What to wear if there are multiple people?

Okay now what about a family, or mommy and me session? For a photoshoot like this I’d recommend clothing that you feel most comfortable in. Whether that be jeans and a cute top, a dress, a skirt, anything that is more loose fitting since I hate to say it, you are your own biggest critic and you will notice if your top hugs you too tight or you see a roll outline popping through your dress. Although totally normal and nothing to be ashamed of, things like that may be a reason you get beautiful photos back, but don’t end up liking them.

You may also want to coordinate colors with your family members, so its important to not overdo it on one color but make sure there is a theme happening, for example if you really want your family to wear blue, the outfit layout might look like this

• Mom: Blue Dress
• Dad: White Shorts, Blue Top
• Daughter: White Dress
• Son: Blue Shorts, White Top
• Daughter 2: Blue dress of different length than moms

If you want less of one pop of color and more of a palette of colors that compliment each other it could look like this, ex. Earth Tones

• Mom: White/Beige Dress
• Dad: Blue Shirt, Khakis
• Son: White Shirt, Brown Shorts
• Son: White Shirt Green Shorts
• Son: Burgundy Shirt, Jeans
• Daughter: Brown Dress
• Daughter: Burgundy Dress

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Lets talk about shoes

You may be tempted to wear high heels to your photoshoot because thats what you think might go best with a dressed up kind of look. Try to remember most sessions are outdoors and you are going to be doing a bit of walking, likely through grass and potentially uneven ground. Ideally You should wear shoes that you feel confident in that are also comfortable, like a short heeled bootie, or a sandal. You should also put your kids in shoes they will be comfortable in.

Now that you know what to wear for a photoshoot

Don’t be afraid to send your photographer ideas of what you are thinking about wearing. Likely your photographer would be happy to tell you their opinion on what you have picked out. Overall, just try to stay simple, comfortable and neutral. What to wear for a photoshoot shouldn’t be complicated or stress you out. Hopefully these ideas gave you a little bit of insight so you can be prepared for your next session.