CHOOSING YOUR ENGAGEMENT OUTFITS


Choosing your Engagement Outfits – Pro-Tips


This post is all about giving our SPV BRIDES some great tips and inspiration as they begin choosing their engagement session outfits.

1. I recommend choosing two outfits for your engagement session. One dressy outfit and one more relaxed and casual. I don’t recommend more than two outfits because the more outfits you have to change into, the fewer portraits you’ll receive.

2. Coordinating doesn’t mean “matching”. Wearing the same color in a different shade is actually more ideal than trying to find the exact shade of purple! I would avoid both wearing navy tops and khaki bottoms because it could potentially look like a uniform.

3.  If one of you is wearing something with a lot of color and pattern it’s better to have the other person wear a neutral tone to balance it out.

4. Some couples plan their attire to coordinate with their wedding day colors so their Save The Date cards match their theme!

5. Don’t over think it! Some of my favorite outfits have been when the guy is just wearing a simple colored polo or button down shirt!

6. Make sure you are equal when it comes to how formal your attire is. If the bride-to-be is wearing a stylish dress, the groom-to-be probably shouldn’t be in shorts and tennis shoes.

7. When choosing your engagement outfits, avoid really bold and bright colors that could cast that color onto your skin. Bright reds, oranges, and greens have a tendency to reflect back onto your skin, which is an editing nightmare. Richer tones are best.

8. If you are opting to wear plaid or other patterns be sure that the pattern is BIG! Larger plaid photographs better than tiny little-checkered patterns. It would be better to have a solid dress shirt than a shirt with teeny tiny patterns. The camera can’t pick those tiny patterns up from far away and that can sometimes result in chromatic aberration.

9. Feel free to add accessories! Scarves, a statement necklace, or a chunky belt are great ways to add texture and dimension to your images. They not only add to your outfit and it gives you something to hold onto for different posing options.

10. Choose engagement outfits that are flattering to your figure and your skin tone. It seems like common sense but I’m guilty of this all of the time. We all have certain things that look GREAT on us, and certain things that aren’t really made for our body type or skin tone. For example, I have olive tone skin. Greens, yellows, and pastels give me a sickly skin tone. I might find an outfit I feel really good in, but the color is all wrong. I also know I don’t like the way my arms look in sleeveless shirts. The appear to be so much bigger than they are. If I were to have a portrait session with Todd, I probably wouldn’t wear a sleeveless shirt.

You may be saying, “But you will make it look amazing no matter what!”, and though that’s a compliment, the truth is, if you don’t like the way you look in a certain color or pattern on a normal, day-to-day basis, you’re not going to love the way you look in your images that I take. If you’re self conscious about your legs, don’t wear a mini-skirt. If you’re self-conscious about your arms, it’s probably not smart to wear a top that exposes them.

Bottom line, make sure you wear something that you’re comfortable in. Of course I’m going to teach you how to pose in super flattering ways, but you’ll love your images so much more if you wear an outfit that you’re comfortable and CONFIDENT in!! Confidence photographs well!!

One final thought…when choosing your engagement outfits, if you want extra ROMANTIC images, I highly recommend wearing something long and FLOWY! I absolutely love photographing fabric that flows in the wind!

This information comes straight from my Bridal Guide! Every bride that books me receives 10+ pages of tips and information to ensure they have an AMAZING experience with us!!

choosing engagement outfits for couple kissing
Example of the “Flow” effect!! I just loved this dress!!
See this full session here.
choosing engagement outfits for couple snuggling
See this full session here.
choosing engagement outfits for couple sitting on log
See this full session here.
See this full session here.
choosing engagement outfits for couple standing by artistic wall
choosing engagement outfits for outdoor session
See this full session here.

You can find a large variety of long flowy dresses here.

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