Engagement sessions are fun and romantic and the attire you wear during your engagement pictures should reflect your personalities! This guide should help you navigate choosing your outfits and help you know what to avoid. Here are my recommendations to help you make the best of your engagement photos!

Number of outfits to choose

Engagement pictures with me will generally last about 1.5-2 hours so I suggest couples bring 2-3 outfits with a least one dressy outfit and one casual outfit. The order of the outfits worn will be determined by the locations (which I can help you with). When choosing multiple outfits, I think it’s best to create a cohesive look so that your entire engagement session gallery will look like it belongs together! I want to tell a story with your pictures and when clothing blends from one photo to the next, that’s more easily done.

Choose outfits that feel like YOU

You absolutely must choose outfits that you would typically wear. You’ll want to look back on your engagement pictures and feel like yourself. If that means cowgirl boots like below, go for it! If that means an elegant, long, flowing dress, wear that! However, I recommend wearing clothing that is a bit more elevated than your everyday attire (even your casual outfit).

Coordinate without being too matchy

Usually, you won’t want to wear the exact same color as your fiancé, but instead you’ll want to coordinate. For example, if you’re wearing a patterned dress, your counterpart will want to wear a solid color in one of the colors on the dress.

Best colors for pictures

While this is certainly up for debate and dependent on your photographer, the best colors for pictures are blue, green, pink, rust, brown, off-white or white, and black. Neutrals are always a great idea! This may sound odd, but I believe the best colors are those which you can really name. For example, Kalyn’s dress color below isn’t white but it isn’t really your typical blue either. I guess it’s more of a periwinkle. Whatever you call it, it’s dreamy in photos.

Colors and patterns to avoid

Again, it’s certainly a matter of opinion but I would avoid colors like bright red (maroon is okay), hot pink, fluorescent orange, and any colors that are too saturated. Fluorescent colors also have a tendency of reflecting onto the face and creating odd skin tones. I would also avoid teeny tiny patterns like pinstripes and checkers. This can create something called moiré in pictures. I think bigger patterns are great if they are in a more neutral tone (like below).

Be comfortable!

You need to feel confident and you need to feel like yourself when you’re getting your engagement pictures taken! I would avoid tight, restrictive clothing if that’s uncomfortable to you. Engagement pictures are all about movement and being together in the moment so if you constantly have to readjust your clothes or worry about things falling out of place, you aren’t going to be able to relax and have fun.

Kayla Smith Photography's Engagement Session Style Guide