I get asked this question all the time, usually its the next question after someone books…What do you suggest that we wear? I do think that what you choose for your portrait session does impact the overall feel and look for your session, but I also want you to know that for me, you could show up in paper bags and I would make the images beautiful because it would be about YOU and your FAMILY! But I understand, you’ve invested a lot, you want to make this special and you want to showcase your beautiful family and what you wear will help do that.
So here are a few tips that I have when choosing your outfits for your beach session.
Keep it pretty casual: By that I mean, you want something that you are comfortable in, where you can easily get down on the ground, where it looks like it fits the beach. I would stay away from satin dresses (for little girls) or fancy Easter type dresses.
Think color: While white is pretty and it’s classic, I would encourage you to look through my gallery of images and see how pretty the colors look on the beach. Soft colors are beautiful, but also reds and navys and if you want to go white, I would encourage textures and maybe even creams.
Women: My advice is to wear sundresses, maxi dresses, or palazzo pants. Anything flowy. Remember you are on the beach. Shorts just don’t photograph well on women. Keep in mind textures and patterns.
Men: Button downs are perfect, linen shorts or madras shorts…I recommend button downs because they don’t cling.
Things to NOT do:
- Don’t get burnt 🙂 I know you are at the beach, but you don’t want to be too red for the pictures….and try really hard not to have raccoon eyes with your sunglasses
- No shoes or socks…they just look funny on the beach
- don’t stress about your outfits…if you need to, you can always send me your thoughts, my clients do it all the time, but realize that your images will be beautiful because they will showcase YOU.
Things to do:
- Bring chapstick
- Bring something to pull long hair back as it gets really windy sometimes
- If you have transition sunglasses, please let me or your photographer know ahead of time
- don’t forget about accessories! Pretty necklaces or cute hats for little ones…
I’ve put together a few ideas for family outfits …they might help get your juices flowing for your session!
