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Advice for portraits

These guidelines are just that - a guide - they're what we find works for great images and we hope they help you with picking out outfits for your shoot. But ultimately we want you to look the way you'd like, so if what you want doesn't fit with below, don't worry, we will work together to get what you're after.

 

Wear solid coloured clothing so that we see all of your faces and no one person stands out.  Wearing stripes or flowered clothing will make you stand out from the rest of your group

 

Choosing muted tones that are a bit subdued makes you and not the clothes the subject of the shot. Bright colours, (especially reds, oranges, and yellows) don't help with this and can also make the sitter look larger

 

Choose similar tones for your top and bottom (both dark or both light) so that one doesn’t look bigger than the other.  White top and dark bottoms can make your top look bigger and the other way round can make your bottom look bigger!

 

Choose clothes that aren't wrinkly - they're really distracting in a group setting and take away from the look of a nice group portrait

 

Choose 1-3 colours, ones with similar tones that go nicely together and have everyone work within that colour palette

Eg.: navy, dark green and burgundy or tan, a lighter olive green, and denims

 

Choose a top with sleeves at least to the elbow  as arms take up more skin area and can detract from your face

 

Choose long trousers or skirts/dresses below the knee - again to minimise detraction from the face.

 

Choose dark socks and footwear - can stick out like a sore thumb if not!

 

Keep jewellery simple and minimalistic so as not to draw attention away from the important bit - your face

 

Have your hair the way you would normally for the clothes you've chosen - a super-do for jeans and t-shirt will look out of place.  It also makes the shot more timeless and represents you better

 

Let the children bring their favourite cuddly toy and any toys you like to see them play with - it helps them settle and will add an extra special touch to the memory we are capturing