Style Guide ... Sort of
This isn't meant to be a "style guide" in the true sense of the words, but rather some advice on how to get the most out of a photography session. As someone who mainly shoots natural light photography, golden hour and cloudy days are my best friends. Cloudy days create a natural softening effect on harsh lights. Golden hour is that hour or so before sunrise that creates for lovely warm lighting. That being said, I have shot photo shoots in all hours of the day and am willing to give most situations a fair shot.
On the topic of what makes for a flattering portrait, I'd ask you to stop and think of what clothing you feel that you look your best in. What outfits make you feel confident? Having a camera lens pointed at you can feel awkward for most people, at least at first. If you are wearing something that makes you feel good about your appearance, that awkwardness won't linger for long. There's an old question batted about, "Are you wearing that dress or is that dress wearing you?" Flowing skirts and sun dresses make for lovely photos, unless you're someone who never wears either of those. If you're a fan of blue jeans and cute tops, opt for those over the dresses. The same is true for men. While I would beg the fellas not to show up completely casual, if it makes you happy, then by all means go for it! There are many photographers that would argue that jeans are the absolute worst for portrait sessions. There is definitely a case to be made that the styles of jeans come and go - skinny jeans are in one week while bell bottoms are back the next. If you want a timeless look, you should definitely stick to cotton materials. To go back to my initial statement though, if you live in jeans then by all means my friend, come to me in jeans. After all, these are your pictures.
I would also be so bold as to say a photo shoot is not the time to drastically change your appearance. Radically altering the color and cut of your hair the week of a portrait shoot may not be the best idea for most people. The same goes for makeup. The day you are going to have your pictures made isn't the best time to decide to learn how to do a winged eyeliner for the first time.
What about colors? There's a whole art form of finding your best colors. People pay money for color analysis, and you can even find some decent free ones online where you can take a quiz to find out your color "season." That's a bit beyond the scope of this blog post, and probably overkill to be honest. If you want to play it safely, soft natural colors tend to photograph best. Some of my favorite portraits were of people wearing earth tones, neutrals, and pastels. Softer color palettes photograph well and are flattering to all skin tones, while brighter bold colors can wash out otherwise glowing skin.
My next piece of advice, dress to flatter your features. Again, this is an entire art form. If it's something you are interested in, try looking up quizzes for your Kibbe body type. It's a test that will take your measurements and tell you exactly what sort of clothing will be most flattering for your shape. I've never met a woman that didn't have some sort of disdain towards at least one area of her body, unfortunately. This goes back to me saying, wear something you feel confident in. If you don't like your arms, steer clear of strapless shirts or tank tops. Men and women both tend to look good in layers. While your personal style is just that, personal to you, I would urge you to also keep it tasteful and save the clubbing clothes for the club. Less is DEFINITELY more. Big patterns and loud colors can overwhelm a picture and make for difficult editing in post processing.
Spray tans may make you feel pretty, but I would urge you not to get one before a shoot. Even the most natural, well applied spray tan will look orange to the camera. Tan lines from natural tans can be a pain to remove, and there are some that simply can't be removed at all.
At the end of the day, you have pictures made so you can look back and smile at that time in your life. You want to look nice and not be embarrassed to show them to your friends. That's why my number one repeated piece of advice in this post is: wear something that makes you feel good! If you're confident, the rest will come. I promise!
