What (Not) to Wear. | Milwaukee Wedding Photographer.

One of the questions I hear most often (after "How much do you cost?" and "How did you get so fly?" ) is "What should I wear?"

I always kind of pause because honestly, I am the most fashion inept person on Earth. A foxy trendsetting stylish rockstar I am not. In fact, I am most happy in jeans and a sweatshirt, and I have a go-to arsenal of black suits and solid color outfits for wedding days.

So when people ask "What should I wear" I normally think they probably know better than I do. But, here are a few tips I've picked up along the way that may help for your next family sitting, engagement session, or kid pics.

#1

Avoid the "All White" trap
I know its tempting. White is clean...easy to match...easy to work with. Looks nice and crisp with a pair of Levis. But if you have a big enough group, you run the risk of looking like a bunch of Stormtroopers.

Wearing all white is a bit dating to your picture. It harkens back to the days of fake beach backdrops and perfectly posed groupings, which is not very modern.

Bob the Stormtrooper didn't WANT to go the "All White" route, but his family gave him no choice.

#2 And while we're at it, think about "All Black" a bit too

All black, like all white, has kind of a "not so modern" feel to it, but a little less so. I am a big fan of all black. It's slimming, cool, and makes me feel like Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face. But that's when I'm alone and not being photographed. Pull it off wrong and you can have a total Mime Effect. And Mimes are scary scary folks.

Picture courtesy of some mimes (Incredible Events for Kids)

#3 Themes are weird.
Even if you're the biggest "Insert sports Team Here" fan in the entire world, making your entire extended family dress up like members of that team is....weird. With the super-matching coordinated outfits you end up looking like a lineup for a company photo, not a family with individual tastes and styles. I mean, how many people in the picture below are TRULY happy with the selection of photo outfits? Dad...dad looks pretty pleased. Everyone else? Not so much.

Save it for "Sports Team Shirt Day" at the office

So, what SHOULD you wear?

Most often I tell people to remember comfort, dress as they normally dress....now is not the time to decide to try out the Goth look if you were J.Crew before. I love the addition of great shoes (I envy other people's shoe collections, next to my extensive collection of black flats). Great accessories....and individualism. A little quirkiness can go a long way....as long as mimes are not involved.

Color families are good to consider, and try to remember complimentary colors...not necessarily all the SAME colors. This color chart is one of my favorites, because it works well with outdoor settings. Woods = earthy tones. Beach = water tones. Forest fire? = fire tones.....you get the picture.

Here is a good example with a recent sitting. The outfits are not matchy-matchy but they're bright and compliment eachother well. A good decision!


And remember, the important thing is you come dressed. In anything. We're running a family business here.