It’s so hard to know what best to wear for a shoot and this is something I am asked very frequently.
Before a shoot, we’ll discuss things like this in our consultation. You may have ideas already, and if you have tell me all about it. Or if you’re not sure, just ask! But here are some tips to get you started.
Wear something simple. Nothing too crazy or ‘out’ there, or likely to go out of fashion quickly as your pictures will date very quickly (obvious exceptions are things like Fancy dress, or uniforms). Try to avoid anything too seasonal too - wearing a flimsy summer dress looks great in pictures when it's the summer, but might look a bit odd in social media posts at Christmas time.
Aim for simple muted colours. Natural tones. Nice and light. Wearing clothes that sort of fade into the background so you become the focus, not your clothes. Obviously if your business is called ‘lady in red’ and you want to wear a red dress in your pictures then that’s bang on brand. But otherwise, a red dress would be super distracting from the real focus of the image - you!
On the subject of colour, be aware that bright greens, pinks, reds and blues will bounce colour back into our face and give your skin a ‘tinge’ if that colour (ever taken a pic of someone in green grass and found they look a bit green in the results?). Another great reason to aim for neutrals unless your brand requires something more punchy.
Including your brand colours in accessories, backdrops and clothing is a great idea. Keeping in mind the colours on your website and Instagram feed is important too. For example if you use a lot of lovely baby pink tones everywhere, with a bit of gold writing, try and include that colour in your shoot somehow... like a pink cardigan with gold buttons (just to pick an example out of thin air). Even if you wear white and have a pink notebook and a gold pen as props, It’ll all come together beautifully when the pictures are used.
While we're talking about colours, consider what colours NOT to include. You don’t want to wear something that will clash. Do you use a lot of red on your website for example? Then don’t wear green. Those colours together just scream Christmas (unless you have a Christmas business, obvs.)
Choose a style of clothing that reflects the personality or attribute you are trying to get across. If you want to be seen as corporate, wear a suit. If you run a fitness or yoga company, you’ll want fitness wear or relaxed comfortable clothing. Glamorous Beauty business? Make sure those eyebrows are perfect, the make up glam and the clothes to match.
But above all, be happy with your outfit! If you hate what you are wearing, you will not like the pictures. All of this can be discussed in your initial consultation. Before a shoot, I take time to review the person, the brand, an what they’re looking to achieve and can advise on all of this.
If you’d like to book an initial consultation to discuss what we could do for your personal brand shoot, including what to wear, drop me a message by email, social media, or give
me a call and we can get started!