What do I wear for my Senior Session?

“What should I wear?” is one of the most common questions people ask when planning a photo session, and for good reason. Clothing can make a noticeable difference in how your finished photographs look and, just as importantly, in how you feel while you’re being photographed.

The good news is that there isn’t one perfect outfit for photographs. What you wear should make sense for you, the type of session you’re having, and what you’d like your finished photographs to look like.

Start with clothing that feels like you

A photo session probably isn’t the best time to reinvent your personal style. If you never wear dresses, you don’t need to wear one simply because you’re having professional photographs taken. If you love dressing up, on the other hand, your session can be a wonderful reason to do exactly that.

Choose clothing that fits well, feels comfortable, and makes you feel confident when you put it on. Pay particular attention to shape and fit. Very oversized, loose, or tent-like clothing can hide the shape of your body, and in a photograph, the shape of the clothing can visually become the shape of your body. Clothing doesn’t need to be tight, but pieces with some structure or definition are often more flattering than clothing that simply hangs away from the body.

Think about color as well as style

Color can affect more than the overall look of a photograph. Bright or highly saturated colors can reflect onto the skin, particularly when they’re worn close to the face. For example, a bright red top can create a reddish color cast on lighter skin tones and make the complexion appear more flushed. This doesn’t mean you can’t wear red or other strong colors, but it’s something worth considering when choosing what will be closest to your face.

The colors you choose should also work with your skin tone, the location or studio background, and the overall feeling you want for your portraits. This is another area where your photographer can help you evaluate your options.

For senior portraits

Senior portrait clothing can help show different parts of a student’s personality. A favorite casual outfit, something more polished, a sports uniform, dancewear, or clothing connected to an important activity can all help tell the story of who they are at this point in their life.

For a session with multiple outfits, variety is often more useful than bringing several versions of essentially the same look. Think about what each outfit says about the senior and whether, taken together, the choices show different sides of them.

Be thoughtful about patterns, logos, and trends

Patterns aren’t automatically bad for photographs. The question is whether the pattern adds to the photograph or becomes the first thing you notice. Very busy patterns, large logos, words across clothing, or extremely bold graphics can sometimes pull attention away from faces. When several people are being photographed together, competing patterns can also make the photograph feel visually busy.

Trendy clothing can be wonderful if it genuinely reflects who you are. Just remember that these photographs may be around much longer than the trend. The goal isn’t to make everything neutral or boring. It’s to make sure you remain more important than your clothing.

Don’t forget the details

Shoes, jewelry, watches, socks, undergarments, and accessories can all become surprisingly noticeable in a finished photograph. Try on the complete outfit before your session rather than considering each piece separately. Check how clothing fits when you’re sitting as well as standing. Make sure undergarments don’t show where you don’t want them to and that shoes work with the entire outfit.

It’s also worth checking clothing for wrinkles, lint, pet hair, missing buttons, or anything else that may become more obvious in a high-resolution photograph.

Bring options when you’re unsure

You don’t necessarily have to make every clothing decision before you arrive. If you’re deciding between two jackets, necklaces, shirts, or other pieces, bring them. It’s often much easier for your photographer to help you make that decision after seeing the clothing, the person, the background, and the lighting together.

For sessions that allow multiple outfits, changing clothing can also give you more variety in the finished collection.

Ask your photographer for help

This may be the most important advice of all. You shouldn’t have to figure everything out by yourself. Your photographer understands the location, backgrounds, lighting, photographic style, and what the camera will see. If you’re unsure about an outfit, ask. Sending photographs of clothing ahead of time or bringing several possibilities to a planning consultation can prevent a lot of unnecessary stress.

At Photo Jane Studios, clothing is one of the things we discuss while planning your session. I want to know what you’re comfortable wearing, what we’re creating the photographs for, where we may be photographing, and what you’d ultimately like to do with your portraits.

There isn’t a single set of clothing rules that works for everyone. The goal is to make thoughtful choices that help your photographs look cohesive while still looking and feeling like you. And when you’re standing in front of the camera, the last thing I want you worrying about is whether you chose the right shirt. That’s something we can figure out together before your session ever begins.