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Monthly Archives: February 2019

What To Wear For Your Engagement Session: Engagement Photo Outfits

Almost all of my couples ask me for advice in choosing outfits for their engagement session, so I figured I’d write a little blog post about choosing engagement photo outfits! Let’s get started:

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ENGAGEMENT PHOTO OUTFITS:

My Top 5 Tips for Choosing Outfits for Your Engagement Session

1. Choose two outfits.

I know, I know. Sometimes finding one good outfit is hard enough! But changing your outfit means that I shoot you differently, you interact differently, and you just feel differently… and that comes across in your photos. It gives you variety in more ways than one, and that’s never a bad thing! Most couples opt for a nicer, more formal outfit, followed by a more casual outfit.

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Bonus tip: If you’ve already picked out your wedding colors and you plan to use your engagement images in your save-the-date or as part of your wedding decor, see if you can choose outfits that look GREAT with those colors! You don’t have to pick those exact colors, but consider choosing a piece from your closet that is in the same color family, or has one of your wedding colors as an “accent” color!

 

2. Make sure your outfits fit well, and are properly tailored.

This is one of the most important tips I can give you… It’s SO worth a trip to the tailor to make sure your dress/suit/pants fit properly before your engagement session. I can’t tell you the difference this makes in the overall polish and look of your engagement photos – I genuinely think it makes the biggest difference in your confidence levels,  and just in how your photos look overall!

(And for a few more tips on tailoring, check out this post on how your suit should fit!)

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3. Be mindful of the colors in your environment, and when in doubt, choose neutrals!

This one is pretty straightforward, but worth saying: If you’re scheduling a fall engagement session for when the leaves are lovely shades of red and orange and yellow, maybe don’t pick a pink dress. As a general rule, stick with neutrals as much as possible, with a few pops of color here and there! And try to stay away from tight patterns – instead, opt for pieces with texture and movement.

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4. If you don’t like how you look in it now, you won’t like how it looks on camera.

When Tyler and I did our engagement session, I started the session in a white lace dress that I loved on the rack. It was a shift dress, and with my body shape, I wasn’t totally thrilled with how “boxy” it made me look. But I loved that dress, so I threw a belt on and went with it.

The whole time I had that outfit on, I thought about how my waist looked in those photos. In the end, everything we shot that day turned out perfectly, but when I looked at the photos where I had that white dress on, I was looking for those imperfections. Our photographer did an amazing job shooting our session, but I went out of my way to find those shots where I thought I looked “boxy.”

Of course, no one else thought that was true, and we actually ended up picking one of those images for our save-the-date. But do yourself a favor, and don’t pick an outfit you have to think about every time you put it on.

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5. Don’t feel like you have to go out and buy something new.

Yup, I mean this one.

Logistically, you don’t want to find out in the middle of your engagement session that your new shirt doesn’t fit quite right, or that your brand new shoes are super uncomfortable.

But on a more emotional level… You want your friends, your family and your new fiancé to look at your images and to see you. To be reminded of a time you went on a date in that outfit. To think about how much that color compliments your skin and your eyes. To think “wow, look how grown up my daughter looks” or “wow, I love how handsome my fiancé looks in that outfit, it’s my favorite thing he wears.”

An old standby that makes you feel like yourself is so much better than buying something new that represents how you want to look in your pictures. Being comfortable in front of a camera is all about accepting yourself. So wear an outfit that lets you do that.

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Need more wedding advice? Check out the rest of the “for brides” series here!

 

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Lindsay Campbell is a wedding photographer specializing in natural, romantic wedding photography. She photographs weddings in Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, Nashville, and the surrounding areas, and travels across the country to photograph weddings! If you’re looking for a Chattanooga wedding photographer, Nashville wedding photographer, or Murfreesboro wedding photographer, please click the contact link above and get in touch!