Frequently Asked Questions About Portrait Photography

The best time of day will depend on your location. Studio work can be shot at any time during the day, however outdoor location work is best shot in the last hour before sunset for perfect results. It is possible to shoot at other times during the day, but a location with even light is the key to a great result.

Given that portrait photography is something special for you, careful attention needs to be given to your selection of clothing during the portrait session. The purpose of a portrait is to highlight your faces and capture emotions - not what you are wearing.

Here are some important clothing guidelines that will enhance the outcome of your portraits.

General Rules For Everyone:

• White or pastel colors are perfect for lighter backgrounds.

• Casual outfits in darker earth tones work best for outdoor photographs with darker or mid-tone backgrounds.

• Middle tones or deeper solid colors are ideal for formal portraits.

• Simplicity is the key. Solid colours are best.

• Avoid large prints or patterns. They detract from your face.

• Long sleeves are best for everyone (no matter what the temperature is outside), except for small children. Bare arms can draw attention away from your faces and sleeveless tops can make your arms appear larger than they really are.

• Darker tones will help slim.

• Broad stripes, like the “rugby” style do not photograph well, as they tend to broaden your physique. Try to avoid lettering and extreme patterns on shirts. These attract attention away from the people in the photograph and can date the portrait.

• Necklines are important. A scoop or v-neck is best if your neck is on the shorter side. Longer necks look great with higher necked garments.

• Dress everyone in the same style of clothing. Don’t mix casual and formal attire.

For Larger Groups:

• Families and larger groups should pick a color theme. A good color theme would be “cool earth tones” which consists of shades of blue, gray & green. Another option would be “warm earth tones” which could be various shades brown, beige & cream.

• Please avoid RED in your colour selection at all costs.

• Feel free to mix the colors of the theme to create a pleasing and cohesive look.

• A good way to see if the clothes go together well is to lay them out on your couch for a day and see if anything jumps out as being out of place with the rest of the clothes. If a piece of clothing draws attention then it will do the same in the the photography.

• Also, dress the larger people in the group in darker tones as those will be more sliming and the smaller or slightly built people in the lighter tones to even out their size with the rest of the family.

Other Questions

More answers to more questions will be added, however if you want to know more or have other question not answered here please feel free to contact us.