I’m walking around Lenox Mall shopping for a new pair of kicks and it hits me… I need a smoothie! A “Rasmanian Devil” at Planet Smoothie …Oh yeah… As I chill with my smoothie I’m people watching. Lenox Mall is great place to just hang and watch the “show”. I ‘m amazed at how some people are awesome at dressing themselves and others just don’t have a clue.
Having been in the fashion world as a Photographer for many years I’ve gotten the opportunity to work with a lot of Fashion stylists”. These are the professionals who dress models and actors. There are a bunch of do’s and don’ts that are common to many of these fashion gurus. Let me mention 5 tips that in many ways apply to the dozens of High School Seniors that I photograph each year.
1. White clothing (blouses, dresses, tops, jeans, skirts, shoes belts, etc…) jump out at the camera and expand whatever they are covering. In other words, “white” things look bigger than they are. If you want to bring attention to a part of your body then cover it in something white. This principle applies to anything in a light color not just the color white. As an example, bright Yellow shoes will make your feet appear larger than they are, a white belt will make your waist look wider. Now if you are really thin you might want that appearance and if you are a bit “big boned” you would probably want to avoid those light colors in the wrong places.
2. Not a surprise but dark clothing does just the opposite of the light colors. The dark colors i.e. black, dark blue, grey, etc. will recede and shrink whatever they cover. If your hips are a bit thick or you want to look a bit less busty you’d cover those areas in darker clothing. These first 2 tips are so important that if you applied these concepts your portraits would be infinitely better.
3. In most portraits you want to avoid wearing patterned fabrics. Florals, polka dots, graphic patterns and horizontal stripes are going to make you look heavier by their very nature. Plus most patterns grab the viewer’s eye in a way that focuses their attention on the fabric and not on your face and eyes.
4. Just about everyone wants to have an “hour glass” shape to their bodies. Meaning that we want to have a waist that dips inward. With this in mind, you want your waist at your waist. For the past few years I’ve had a lot of teen girls bringing “tulip” dresses to their shoots. Tulip dresses are very high waist’d where the elastic band is up high on the rib cage just below the bustline. This style of dress is so popular and is kinda cute but I guarantee you will look 20 pounds thicker because you have completely removed the inward curve at your waist. I can’t even count all the times that my Senior girls have said “I look so fat” in that dress… Try to choose wardrobe that hugs your body comfortably. Not too tight and not too sloppy.
5. The word sloppy leads me into my final tip for this blog post. In most situations you want your wardrobe to be clean, pressed, and on hangers when you get to the Studio. Wrinkled clothes almost never look good. I’m not saying that you have to iron everything but if you fling your entire closet into a beachbag, those items are not going to photograph very well. Even placing outfits on hangers the night before your photo session will do wonders.
I highly recommend that you meet with me or one of my associates to plan the creative and the wardrobe for your portrait session. The more we plan the better your portraits. Plus all of our Planning Sessions at Sparks Photography are Free.
Live-Love-Laugh
D.
For more info and samples visit our website: www.studiosparks.com/seniors
