There is no question I’ve been asked more than “What should we wear for our engagement photos?), and that’s for good reason. Choosing outfits for photos can be one of the most frustrating things of the photography process. Even as a photographer, dressing for photoshoots can be stressful. And all of this frustration is because we want to look good -> and to look good we need to feel good, which starts with what we’re wearing. I am 100% confident couples love their photos even more when they loved how they FELT when they were being taken, and so much of this has to do with the clothes they’re wearing.

When you show up for your engagement session I want you to be comfortable so you can enjoy yourself (without constantly adjusting things), and confident that you look amazing. When you don’t have to worry about your outfit while we’re shooting you get to focus on each other, and that’s when the magic happens!

I wanted to take some time and share some tips for dressing for your engagement session, so you can roll into your session feeling like $1,000,000.

Color:

When choosing colors try leaning towards lighter colors (Pastels alllllllll day!). Avoid too much black or dark blue which can make your photos look darker than you may want. Try pairing a dark top with light pants, or wear a white shirt with a blue or black suit. One of my favorite looks of all time is a navy top paired with a light colored flowy skirt. Give me all that tulle! For an engagement session, white and navy blue are always a classic!

Patterns:

Perhaps one of the trickiest parts of outfit planning for photos is dealing with patterns. Although solids are my go-to choices for photos, not all patterns need to be avoided. A larger floral print can be gorgeous, and your favorite polka dot pants can be super cute if paired with the right top! If you are wearing any patterns I would recommend pairing one patterned piece of clothing with a solid piece, like a patterned skirt and solid top. Also, pay attention to who’s wearing what. Make sure that you aren’t both wearing intense patterns in the same outfit set.

Hair and Makeup:

Brides, a super important part of your wedding planning is doing a test run of your hair and makeup before your wedding. Did I say this is SUPER IMPORTANT!? If not, it’s SUPER IMPORTANT! What’s great is that your engagement session is the perfect opportunity to do your trial run of your hair and makeup look, and actually get to see how it looks in photographs. Not to mention, professional hair and makeup always make me feel so much more confident in front of the camera, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. Treat yo self! It’s the perfect way to look great and feel great!

I promise this won’t be the last time you see Katie and Justin, because their blog post is coming SOON! But in the meantime I wanted to show you their amazing outfit choices that they used to get three, totally different moods during their session.

With this outfit I LOVE the simplicity that really lets the two of them shine. Again, dresses are a great way to get movement into your images, as you can see below, and Justin’s suit was the perfect, sleek option for a sophisticated guy.

Kim and Kyle killed it with their pastel outfit choices! I LOVED how Kim’s dress coordinated so well with Kyle’s light blue shirt and was just the right mix of patterns and solids.

Also, you can never go wrong with a flowy dress!

Amy and Kate’s session is on the blog here, and you need to check it out to see this outfit set and the other great outfits they brought along! I love how for this first set they went with simple, neutral colors that went so perfectly together (like them!), and really put the visual emphasis on their faces and interactions with each other.

Laura and Kuchanda’s choice of outfits for their Knoebel’s anniversary session let them relax and enjoy the fun afternoon we had. Laura chose the cutest cotton candy pin to add some fun to her dress (that had pockets!!!!!), so there, now you know that solids CAN be fun!

Nicole and Johnny knocked it out of the park with this sophisticated and classic look. Like Kim and Kyle, they paired a gorgeous patterned dress with a light top that just went beautifully together. Also, the pattern on Nicole’s dress was just the right size! Very small patterns (like pinstripes) can do weird things in photos, so this pattern choice is the perfect example of an A+ pattern option.

Katie’s outfit change into this floral romper added the perfect POP of color to bring a super fun vibe into this set of images. I LOVE how the red goes so well with the blue of Justin’s suit (Again, navy blue FTW!). Again, my couples know how to kill it with their pattern choices!

I hope you found this helpful! These tips are just a sample of what’s in my Engagement Session Prep Guide that all of my couples receive, along with a host of other goodies! If you want an experience with your wedding photographer that is fun and makes you feel CONFIDENT and EMPOWERED to rock your photos, we need to talk! Shoot me an email through my contact page.