One important question we get asked a lot about Senior Portraits is clothing. Specifically, what should I wear for my senior portraits?
Almost every school in our area that we know of requires specific attire for the yearbook photo. Usually a black drape for girls and tuxedo jacket for boys.
Your photographer should provide these for you and should have them in a variety of sizes. The black drape thing that girls wear can be like a wrap, or it may have sleeves and open in the back. In either case it’s a good idea to bring either a strapless bra, or an off the shoulder top (like a tube top or bandanna top) to wear underneath. If you wear a regular bra, you’ll need to pull your straps down on your shoulders a bit so they don’t show. Avoid something like a sports bra or anything with crisscrossing straps.
Guys will want to wear a white tee shirt or something similar. Your photographer will provide a tuxedo shirt for you. We have ours laundered regularly, but especially at high volume studios like the school picture company, dozens of kids may have worn that shirt before you, so having something underneath is kinda important.
How about for other styles of portraits? Well, naturally if you are doing something related to sports, cheer, dance, etc., you should wear your uniform or other appropriate attire.
For general casual portraits, you get more choices. While you should certainly wear clothes that you like and look good on you, here’s some general guidelines that we have found that work well:
At Dennis Kelly Photography, we always schedule a pre-portrait consultation with all our clients to discuss all the details of their session (including clothing) before the shoot! We find that this is the single most important thing we do that makes seniors requesting a re-shoot at Dennis Kelly almost unheard of! In fact, we do it for FREE, and we simply will not book a session without one. That’s how strongly we feel about it.
If you are considering a studio that doesn’t offer this service, ask yourself why not? I mean, would you buy a sofa without giving some thought to what style, color, and upholstery will best fit your needs? Why should you give any less thought to your senior portraits?
As always, if you have more questions, please feel free to call me (856-228-4399) or even shoot me a text at (609-878-0067). I’m happy to help!
Dennis Kelly
Almost every school in our area that we know of requires specific attire for the yearbook photo. Usually a black drape for girls and tuxedo jacket for boys.
Your photographer should provide these for you and should have them in a variety of sizes. The black drape thing that girls wear can be like a wrap, or it may have sleeves and open in the back. In either case it’s a good idea to bring either a strapless bra, or an off the shoulder top (like a tube top or bandanna top) to wear underneath. If you wear a regular bra, you’ll need to pull your straps down on your shoulders a bit so they don’t show. Avoid something like a sports bra or anything with crisscrossing straps.
Guys will want to wear a white tee shirt or something similar. Your photographer will provide a tuxedo shirt for you. We have ours laundered regularly, but especially at high volume studios like the school picture company, dozens of kids may have worn that shirt before you, so having something underneath is kinda important.
How about for other styles of portraits? Well, naturally if you are doing something related to sports, cheer, dance, etc., you should wear your uniform or other appropriate attire.
For general casual portraits, you get more choices. While you should certainly wear clothes that you like and look good on you, here’s some general guidelines that we have found that work well:
- Solid colors! Solid colors look much better in photographs than patterns, stripes, prints, or anything “busy”. Why? You want the attention in the portrait to be on your face and expression, and busy distracting clothing pulls your attention. If you’re not sure about color, consider a color that matches your eyes. That’s always a good choice.
- Don’t over expose the picture! Short skirts and plunging necklines may look cute in person, but they are going to severely limit the photographers ability to pose you without showing more than is appropriate! Especially for outdoor pictures, where you may need to sit on the ground or lean against things, consider outfits that will stay modest no matter how you are posed.
- Ditch the sleeveless tops! Especially if you want to appear a little slimmer in your pictures (who doesn’t, right?) sleeveless tops and dresses call attention to your arms and shoulders (and away from your face). Long or mid sleeve tops are usually a better choice!
- Fashions change, but timeless is well, timeless… Really think about that super trendy look. These pictures are going to be around forever. Don’t pick an outfit that is going to be so out of style in 2 years that you are going to be embarrassed by it. Classic looks, solid colors, simple necklines, never go out of style and will look as good in 10 years as they do today.
At Dennis Kelly Photography, we always schedule a pre-portrait consultation with all our clients to discuss all the details of their session (including clothing) before the shoot! We find that this is the single most important thing we do that makes seniors requesting a re-shoot at Dennis Kelly almost unheard of! In fact, we do it for FREE, and we simply will not book a session without one. That’s how strongly we feel about it.
If you are considering a studio that doesn’t offer this service, ask yourself why not? I mean, would you buy a sofa without giving some thought to what style, color, and upholstery will best fit your needs? Why should you give any less thought to your senior portraits?
As always, if you have more questions, please feel free to call me (856-228-4399) or even shoot me a text at (609-878-0067). I’m happy to help!
Dennis Kelly
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