Guides
What to wear
Wardrobe is the single biggest predictor of how a portrait sitting turns out. Here's how to think about it.
Color first. Solids photograph better than patterns. Within solids, earth tones (cream, oat, olive, rust, navy, slate) photograph better than saturated colors (cobalt blue, royal purple, fire engine red) because they sit closer to skin tones and don't compete with your face for the viewer's eye. Black and white both work but each carries baggage — black flattens shadows on dark hair and beards; white blows out under most lighting. If you wear either, be intentional about it.
Fabric matters more than people realize. Linen, wool, raw silk, soft denim, cashmere, and washed cotton all photograph well because they have visible texture — the camera reads texture as detail, and detail keeps the image from looking flat. Synthetic fabrics, polyester blends, and most athletic-wear materials photograph as plastic, even if they look fine in person.
Fit is the third lever. Clothes should be slightly more fitted than your everyday wear — not tight, but tailored enough that the silhouette reads. Oversized clothing photographs as oversized in a way that hides your frame and makes the image feel less specific to you. The same applies in reverse: nothing should look strained at the seams.
Bring more than you think. The standard ask is two looks; bringing four or five gives the session room to course-correct. Sometimes the look you imagined turns out to be wrong for the light that day; having alternatives means we don't have to make do.
Accessories: simple is better. One thoughtful piece (a watch, a necklace, a single ring) reads better than a stack. Earrings should match the formality of the rest of the wardrobe — small studs work for almost anything; statement earrings can fight a soft outfit.
Hair the day of: clean is good but not freshly-cut. A haircut three to seven days before the shoot is ideal — long enough to relax into its shape, short enough that you still recognize yourself. The day-of trim almost always reads on camera, in a way you'll notice when you see the images months later.
What to avoid: anything you bought specifically for the shoot, anything you've never worn, anything with logos, anything sheer enough to read as underwear-on-display, and anything you're going to spend the session worrying about. If you're going to be tugging at a hem the whole time, the photos will show that energy. Pick something you forget about while you're wearing it.