Clothing Guide

When more than one person is to appear in the portrait, or when a special stylistic effect is desired, clothing and prop choices can make or break a portrait.

Memorable portraits take careful planning, and the clothing you choose is very important to your portrait's success. These guidelines will help you to make important decisions about the clothing and style of your portrait.

Skin Tone Considerations | Small Groups | Families | Individuals | Preparation Tips

Skin Tone Considerations

Whether working with light or dark complexions, the objective always is for the face to dominate the portrait. Accordingly, skin highlights must be the lightest, brightest, or most intense areas of the portrait. So when a medium to dark background is used, all subjects photograph best in medium to dark tones, whatever the skin tone.

Clothing for Small Groups

Couples or small groups should choose simple garments within the same tonal ranges. When subjects appear in a mixture of light and dark tones together, there is a visual separation - as the light color comes forward, and the dark color recedes. When this happens, one person becomes dominant and appears heavier than in reality.

Clothing for Families

In a family group, proper clothing coordination is critical. When decorating a home, a major concern is to coordinate the colors and tones of the walls, carpets, draperies and furniture. This kind of coordination also is necessary when selecting clothing for a group portrait. Choose clothing in the same tonal ranges so that no single member of the family stands out because the clothing is too light or bright as compared to the rest of the group.

Proper clothing selection makes the difference between a portrait that appears to be a group of seemingly unrelated individuals and one which every member of the family "belongs" to the group.

Clothing for Individuals

The goal of any fine portrait is to direct the viewer's eye to the face(s) in the portrait. All other elements should be secondary. For individuals, simple long-sleeved garments in medium to dark tones of brown, gray, burgundy, green or blue are pleasing choices when photographed against a medium or dark background. Because darker clothing is slimming, it often is a good choice for portraits in which a medium to dark background is used.

• Bold stripes, plaids, checks, and prints are visually confusing and do not photograph well.
• Bright colors, such as pink, red and orange, will overwhelm the face and ruin a classic portrait.
• Colors that approximate flesh tones will overpower the face.

Tips on Preparing for Your Portraits

• Turtle necks or V-necks are flattering provided that neither is exaggerated in style. Avoid very wide or deep V-neck garments or bulky cowlneck sweaters that completely hide the neck.

• Long sleeves are essential for teens and adults. Bare arms call attention to themselves by appearing larger, and will draw attention away from the face.

• Women being photographed in full length should wear long skirts, pants or dark stockings in order to keep the eye from being directed toward the legs and away from the face... unless, of course this is your objective.

• If feet show in the portrait, assure that shoes and stockings are in keeping with the visual intent of the portrait. Finger nails should be groomed, as hands may appear in your portrait.

• Men should be clean shaven or facial hair should be carefully groomed, with their hair cut about one week before the portrait session. Women should be photographed whenever they are happiest with their hair in relation to the time it is styled.