Planning what to wear for your senior portraits can make you a little stressed . Pinterest is filled with ideas and your mom will most likely have her own ideas. When choosing our larger packages, we can assist with styling and preparing, but that is not always the case. However, we still want to help you look at your best. Below are a few tips to help you prepare your wardrobe and makeup.
Wardrobe
Avoid the color red and any color that is bright like a highlighter. Highlighter colors are hard to blend and match with anything around them. Natural solid colors will photograph best (blues, greens, grays, whites).
Wear your glasses. If you normally wear glasses every day, wear them to the shoot. If you can remove the lenses or have a spare that lenses can be removed, bring them. You will look the same and will help with glare. Please avoid transition glasses as they are horrible to photograph under different lighting conditions.
Stick with the clothes you already own and love. Seems like a fun opportunity to go shopping, but you run the risk of wearing something you will not love after a few times you wear it. Even worse, we all have those outfits we’ve only worn once or twice. Your perfect outfit, looks like you on your best day!
Avoid graphic Tees. Sure we might love em now, but might not be relevant in a few years.
Show off your culture and traditions. You may not wear a traditional outfit representing your culture to school, but they make beautiful elements in you senior portraits to tell the story of who you are. Show your stile and heritage in a beautiful way.
Get your underwear under control. From bras to boxers, what you wear underneath is as important as what you wear for your senior portraits. Make sure that your bra has your boobs in the right place and straps are not visible, paying attention to the color and ensure it’s not visible or showing through. Guys, ensure your boxers are not visible and not bunching up in the wrong places when sitting or leaning.
Bring the gear out. If you are going to wear a sports uniform, bring the whole thing, including the equipment. Don’t forget your favorite ball or lucky socks!
Stay away from spaghetti straps and strapless. Sleeveless is the way to go! No doubt you look amazing in all of those strapless… in person. In photographs those outfits make your arms and shoulders look bigger than what they actually are and it’s not flattering. You may not be too happy with the results.
Mix it up. Make sure to bring outfits with a variety of styles, from dressy to casual. If you only love a certain type, that’s great, but ensure you mix up the colors and maybe lengths or textures. You don’t want all your pictures with the same outfit.
Makeup
Apply eye and lip makeup slightly darker than normal. Cameras don’t pick up the contrast & definition our eyes see in person.
Stay away from makeup with SPF & mineral makeup. While great for everyday use, they create an unflattering shine.
Don’t go overboard with layers of heavy makeup. It’s hard to photograph cakey makeup.
Set foundation with translucent powder that reduces shine. Shine is hard to Photoshop.
Lipstick. You might not normally wear lipstick, but I recommend it for your session, even if it’s a shade close to your natural lip color.
Mascara is a must. Clean not clumpy. At least 1 coat, 2 if you normally wear mascara.
About those eye shadows. Pastel eye shadows will look washed out – go for a medium or dark, rich tone. Browns and golds are pretty safe!
Avoid heavy black eyeliner, which makes your eyes look smaller. Go with gray or brown and blend well if you’re wearing eyeliner.
Avoid any sparkles and shimmers. Matte makeup will photograph better!
Still not sure? Think about what you would wear and look the first day of school, this is a great place to start. It will most likely match your personality, style and would be a good option for your senior portraits.