What to wear to a portrait session

Nearly every portrait enquiry ends with the same sentence: "and what should we wear?" Here is the whole answer, which is shorter than you'd think.

Wear what you already like

The clothes you reach for on a good day photograph better than the ones you bought for the shoot. You stand differently in something familiar, and that shows up in every frame.

Colour

Muted, mid-tone colours sit beautifully against most backgrounds — olive, rust, denim, cream, charcoal. If you're photographing a group, agree on a palette rather than a uniform. Two or three shared tones, worn differently, look considered. Matching white shirts look like a school photograph.

The two things that never work

• Tight patterns. Fine stripes and small checks fight the sensor and produce a shimmering effect that can't be edited out.
• Brand-new shoes. You will be standing for ninety minutes. Every picture of someone in painful shoes looks like a picture of someone in painful shoes.

Bring a second option

One change of clothes doubles the range of a session without adding time. Something structured, something soft, and you've covered most of what you'll want.

The best-dressed people in my galleries are almost never the most dressed-up.

Last thing

Eat beforehand and don't schedule anything stressful for the hour before. Comfort photographs; hurry doesn't.