You've booked your session,

Now the question is... "what do we wear for our session?"

Luckily, there are NO RULES when it comes to styling yours and your love's outfits for your session! Just because so-in-so from high school wore a long flowy dress for her engagement photos, does not mean that you have to.

In this post, I am sharing 6 tips that I like to share with my clients when we plan their session. By no means do you have to follow these guidelines for your session, but I've found that these simple approaches to styling your session provides a couple's session that best represent who you are and the love you share.

#1 Choose her outfit first

I'm assuming the gal is the one reading this post, as our dudes usually don't care a whole too lot about styling. (If you're a guy reading this- perks to you!) And if you're engaged, sorry guys, but the gal is going to be the center of attention through this whole engagement and wedding process...the ring is on her finger and she is gonna be the one in the white dress, just how it tends to go.

So ladies, choose your outfit(s) first and go from there. Most engagement sessions allow for 2 outfits. Many couples go with a more casual outfit and a dressier outfit.

#2 Wear what you are comfortable in

This is the MOST important thing when it comes to styling your session if you ask me!

Why?

  • If you are uncomfortable in what you are wearing, it will show in the photos.
  • You'll be free to move, be silly, and have fun
  • Your outfit will be true to who you are

Comfortable in boots in jeans? Wear em!

Comfortable in a chunky sweater and bell bottoms? Wear em!

Comfortable in a velvet dress? Wear the dang thing!

Choose your outfit(s) based on who you and your love are and what you feel comfortable in!

#3 Neutral + Earthy Colors

Bright colors tend to be distracting, while neutral or earthy colors create a beautiful pallet that compliments nature and keeps the focus where it needs to be: on you two. Most any color can be earthy, see if you can find the color you want in more of a more muted shade.

Blacks, whites + creams, greys, and browns are great neutral colors that work great in any season.

They are also a great choice if you are planning to incorporate something in your shoot that has color, like a classic vehicle or a sunflower field. You won't want colors that clash or distract from the color those additions bring.

Consider choosing your colors based off of the season and/or your wedding colors, especially if you want to display any of your engagement photos on your big day.

(Above) you see an example of a neutral styling for the couple's outfits, they pop against the pretty yellow of the sunflower field of don't distract from the shiny blue of truck.

#4 Patterns vs Solids

Above you see a couple who has chosen a color pallet based on the color blue.

Kendra chose a patterned top while Oliver wore solids that coordinated with the colors in her shirt.

When incorporating a pattern, be cautious not to do more than one pattern, as it will look busy and distracting. If Oliver had worn a plaid shirt, there would have had too much going on.


And while you're styling your outfit, consider choosing something with some texture! Corduroy, leather, suede, and knit, for instance, have great texture that add a really pretty element to the photographs!

#5 Accessorize Creatively

When accessorizing, I recommend simply don't accessorize for the sake of accessorizing. Again, we don't want anything too distracting.

My all time favorite accessories are ones that can be added, taken out, and manipulated.

Take for instance: a hat.

Oliver wears a cowboy hat daily so he is comfortable in it, it expresses who he is, and it is a great accessory for some fun shots. Similar to a hat . . . jackets, shawls, scarves, etc., can be used in similar ways.

#6 Speak up for what you want

Trust me when I say that every photographer wants to be creative and try something new. If you have a vision for your session or would like to try something, even if you feel like it's a little "out there," tell your photographer about it! Share inspiration photos with him/her and explain the "feel" you want your photos to have. These are your photos after all!


With my sessions I include a planning consultation that will give you the opportunity to share your ideas and vision with me. Think about the types of images you'd like to have hanging on your walls for years to come, and let's make it happen!