What to Wear for Your Studio Portrait Session: Tips from a Saratoga Springs Photographer

When preparing for studio portraits, choosing the right outfit is important - not only for the visual impact of your portraits, but because you deserve to look and feel your best at your session! Whether you’re visiting our Saratoga Springs studio for newborn portraits or your new family session, choosing what to wear shouldn’t be stressful. That’s why I’m sharing my top tips about what to wear for your studio portrait session in our light & airy studio!

Choose light colored or neutral outfits. 

Timeless neutral outfits keep the focus on your faces & emotions rather than having the eye drawn directly to a dark or bright color before we see your faces. The lighter colors also illuminate your skin and look amazing against our all-white studio and neutral furniture. Dark colors will be the least flattering option when working with my light and airy style of photography. Don’t forget - you can always borrow outfits from both our Mama & Baby wardrobes, if you need a little help deciding what to wear. 

Delicate details and texture add interest. 

Lace, pleats, swiss dots, sweaters, woven shirts, curls in your hair, details on the sleeves, and jewelry can add even more interest and depth to your portraits. When deciding on accessories, think about how it will photograph AND if it is meaningful to you. Have a favorite necklace or a ring with sentimental value?  Wear those to your session, and you’ll tell your child the story behind the jewelry for many years as they look back at their portraits. Those are the best accessories to add interest to your portraits! 

In the winter months, avoid putting anyone in big chunky textured sweaters, as they add bulk to everyone’s frames and it’s a less flattering look! 

Put the guys in light colors too. 

I see a lot of blue or white button down shirts with the sleeves rolled for a more casual look for the dads in my studio. I’m a big fan of long sleeved henleys in a white, cream, oatmeal, or light gray. Lightweight sweaters in softer colors also look amazing and generally coordinate perfectly with other light or neutral colored outfits. If your husband prefers a button down shirt, consider rolling up the sleeves for a more casual look!

Studio Portrait Outfits for Kids

I love helping with outfits for the big brothers and sisters!  I always recommend sticking with neutrals like white, cream, gray, blue, beige, blush pink.  Clothing can have patterns on it, but nothing too loud and crazy, and definitely no words or characters/cartoon pictures.  The most classic portraits are ones where the outfits don’t compete for your attention. As for shoes, barefoot is always my favorite for the kids! We get to see their cute little toes, and not the soles of their shoes. It’s much sweeter than the dirty shoes in the picture, I promise! 

One more tip for the kids’ outfits: try their outfits on ahead of time, and make sure that they can sit comfortably and move around without getting caught up in the hem or having their pants legs ride up too high.

Whatever you wind up wearing, ultimately you want your family’s portraits to feel classic, timeless, and easy.

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