Planning a photo session can be exciting, but it can also be stressful, especially when it comes to picking out outfits for the day. The most important thing is to choose outfits that fit your personality and showcase your style.

That being said, there are still some dos and don’ts to keep in mind when planning your wardrobe before your photo shoot.

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• DON’T dress everyone in a group photo identically. Those popular white-shirt-khaki-pants photos? They aren’t popular anymore, for a reason. This holds true for all identical outfits. The last thing you want is for your brand new pictures to look outdated, and matching is the quickest way to achieve that. Aim to showcase the individuals in the photo while still coordinating. It’s actually not too tough to do.
   

• DON’T wear uncomfortable clothes, or clothes that can’t get a little dirty. Your discomfort will show in the pictures, which we want to look as natural and relaxed as possible. Depending on the location, it may look best for you to sit or lean up against natural elements, so your most expensive formal wear is probably not the ideal outfit (however, if you’d like formal photos, that can be arranged).
   

• DON’T wear bright red or white shirts, as they often tend to wash out faces, or make it look like you are sunburned.
   

• DON’T wear clothes with writing, logos, or graphics. They are distracting and don’t show up on camera well. Plus, wearing a popular cartoon character or sports team today will only look outdated tomorrow (remember how popular Tweety Bird was about 20 years ago? An Angry Birds tee shirt is going to look just as bad a few years from now). We want your photos to be timeless, so simple patterns or clean solids are the way to go.
   

• DON’T wear athletic shoes. Make sure to find  comfortable but coordinating shoes, boots, or sandals. The best planned outfits fall apart when gym shoes show up.
   

• IF POSSIBLE consider wearing contacts, or glasses that do not automatically tint in sunlight. Glasses that turn into sunglasses when outside cover up your beautiful eyes and can be a little distracting. 
   

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So what should you wear?
 

• DO pick a color palette and coordinate from that. Usually 1 or 2 colors is best, and then you can add in grey, black, white, or brown (or blue jeans). One method is to find one central piece and then coordinate off of that –  if this is a family portrait, you might pick one family member to put in a pattern (smaller patterns are best, flowers or plaid work well), and then coordinate the rest of the family off of that in simpler solids. Make sure your accessories match the color scheme too – and don’t forget great shoes!
   

• DO consider layering. A little harder during the summer, but adding a light sweater, fashionable scarf, or hat makes a photo a lot more interesting, and you can add or remove pieces to quickly get a different look throughout the session.
   

• DO add texture pieces – lace, denim, wool…as long as it fits in your color palette, a piece of texture here or there helps the image have some pop.

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Here are some great examples!