Oooh one of my FAVORITE topics! Anything to do with fashion/clothing really!  Other than the most asked question, “what do I do with my hands?”, the other most asked question I get is “what should I wear to my session?” Good question!  I’m glad you asked :) I have input…so lets talk about it!

Let’s start with WHAT NOT TO WEAR! -Imagine Stacy and Clinton popping out of your computer screen…- One of my biggest pet peeves — and I’m not afraid to say it — is the black top + denim or the white tee + khaki look. We have just entered 2014, and fashion has changed drastically since 1998, so lets keep the black top + denim pants or the white tee’s + khaki’s in the 90’s… where they belong.

Another pet peeve — when everyone MATCHES! Whyyyyy I ask!! Why does everyone have to match? There’s no reason for this. We’re all unique individuals and making everyone wear the same thing not only gives each person a missed chance to express their uniqueness, but it also makes your photo’s bland and boring. Let’s not make everybody match for your next portrait session!

What I DO love…like, REALLY really love, is BRIGHT COLORS! These are your photo’s. The photo’s you’ll put in pretty picture frames and hang on the walls of your home. They’ll probably stay in that spot for a very long time, so why not make it even happier to look at it? Bright colors make me happy. They make photo’s pop and brighten up a room when you hang them on the wall. Allow yourself to feel comfortable enough to play around with fun colors, patterns, textures, etc. I promise you will love your images even more when you see pops of color in them.  I always tell my clients to think about how they want their final images to look. Imagine it hanging on your wall, then go from there!

I also love ACCESSORIES! Don’t be afraid to throw in a scarf as an accessory that also acts as a pop of color. Maybe you want to ‘arm party’ it up and add a few different types of bracelets to one of your wrists. A chunky necklace is another favorite. I loooove chunky necklaces! Sometimes even the right headband can look really good with certain outfits. It’s all about accessorizing to make yourself look unique and to make yourself POP in photo’s ;-)

I always allow my clients to do 2 outfit changes at sessions. Typically, a couple will do a dressy look first then half way through the session, change into a more casual outfit. This provides two ‘sets’ of photo’s with totally different looks to them. When you’re planning out your second outfit, make sure you think about things like color and accessories.

Other than what to wear to your session, I usually always tell my clients to bring a pretty blanket or quilt for their photo’s. I like to do shots of my clients sitting down and if we’re shooting in a field, I don’t want to risk anybody’s outfits getting dirty or wet from a wet muddy ground.

So, COLOR… pretty pops of color here and there! ACCESSORIZE… chunky necklaces, pretty bracelets, earrings, a headband maybe! NO MATCHING… please :) NO WHITE TEE’S AND KHAKI’S… pretty please!! And most of all, HAVE FUN with your photo’s! I guarantee you’ll have fun when you’re shooting with me anyway!! :)

If you have tips or good advice on what to wear for a portrait session, leave it in the comments below! I can’t wait to read what some of you think! :) Happy Thursday, xo!

A perfect example of a pop of color:

Not only does her scarf act as a pop of color (which I looove), but the gloves also add a little something extra special!

Blue shirt, teal chunky necklace, mustard yellow cardigan and a gold glitter belt. Perrrfect pop of color outfit, LOVE IT!

I loooove that everyone is so colorful in this family session that I did near the beach! I also love that they’re not matching, haha!

A beautiful coral and tan dress with a pretty pattern, and a chunky necklace!

Blue shirt, orange cardigan, gold glitter belt & chunky necklace with corresponding earrings!!

Colorful patterned dress!

And a beautiful ring shot to end this sweet little blog post! I took Jamie’s scarf (from the first photo on this post) and placed her ring on it. Thank goodness she had that pretty pop of color for us to use for this photo — which turned out to be one of my FAVORITE rings shots I’ve ever captured!