Clothing Tips For Portraits

Keep it simple.

Dark or black clothing is slimming.  Avoid crazy patterns or bright colors.  You don't want the clothing to draw attention to itself.  Portraits are about you.  Its the face, the body language, and the expression that is important.

Be comfortable.

Choose clothing that's comfortable and that you like.  Clothing can make you confident as well.  All this will show up in the picture, so choose comfort.

Short sleeves & shorts.

Avoid shorts especially.  Long sleeves are the superior choice, even with casual portraits.  Too much exposed skin can be distracting, especially when the skin tones vary too much.  Remember, this is a general rule and doesn't necessarily apply to all situations.  Women can get a pass on this much more than men.

Classic & timeless.

Remember, these pictures are going to be around forever.  Try to stay away from trendy clothing that will be out of style next year.   

On January 1, I started a 365 project. Its a photo project in which you take a photo everyday. Its a personal project but sometimes the paying gigs will spill over and make it into the project. I'll be posting the photos over at http://www.jonphillips.net/category/project-365/.  Please check it out. I'll post updates here about the project but not everyday. So far, there's not going to be a particular theme to the photos. More than likely, many of the photos will be self portraits simply because I'm not going to be able to find a different subject to photograph everyday. Sometimes it will be still-life, such as Day 1 was.  I have a feeling you'll be seeing a lot of my kids, as well.

Its an exercise in creativity, lighting, composition, technique, and trying not to repeat myself too much. Part of the challenge is simply keeping to it day in and day out. It will get old. I may miss a day here and there. But the goal is simply to finish. And I would hope that I'll grow as a photographer in the process.