WHAT TO WEAR

If you’re not comfortable in your clothes,
then you are going to look uncomfortable in all of the photos.

05 / patterns

I prefer to have only one piece of what you are wearing to have a loud pattern, because if you have too many patterns they start competing and the image can feel a little busy — distracting from your faces and emotions. So, only one wearing a pattern and your partner can wear a more solid/neutral outfit.

Big, distracting chunky patterns are a no-no for me. I do love patterns, but typically only shoot them if they’re subtle and not distracting.

Good example : Flannels, as this isn’t too much of a pattern that it distracts from faces or emotion.

Bad example : Chevron or thick striped sweaters, as these make ya look like a human barcode, lol.

06 / accessories + PROPS

Meaningful props like having a picnic, an old truck, or including your darling puppers — anything that helps represent the phase of life you’re in.

I love when couples bring hats, sunglasses, scarves, jewelry, etc. because it adds more interest to the outfits rather than being overly too plain. And it brings character!

The only accessory I have couples take off are watches (especially apple watches), cuz when couples hold each other’s faces it’s a huge watchface/circle that ends up being the focus and extremely distracting for the eye.

07 / PERSONAL CARE

Grooming is important, for finger nails especially. Take your boo to have a manicure, make it a date thing! Then when shooting close up images of your faces and hands, the focus will be on your love and not scraggly fingernails.

If you want to have hair and makeup done for your session, keep it true to you and make sure it’s not something you will obsess about.

Hair blows, and that is a key part of movement and with shooting outdoors in the PNW. You don’t want to be overly obsessed with your hair and have that take away from your playtime during our session. If the wind blows, embrace it.

:SPECIFICS:

My aim is to have a feeling of togetherness, so what my couples are wearing doesn’t distract from the beauty of the location or the emotions.

In a really busy location (textured walls, dense forests, etc), I’ll choose a simplified outfit for my couples to wear… to help the focus go straight to the emotion and connection. When a location is full of textures, shapes, and contrasting tones, a simpler outfit allows you to stand out rather than get lost in all of the shapes and textures.

If the location is really simple as far as colors and tones go (big open fields, sand dunes, or studio space), I’ll choose something that stands out a little more to add interest to the images and pull the viewer into the subjects.

THIS IS WHY…

I ask clients to bring 3-4 outfits, so we can mix and match

to best fit the location and emotions trying to portray.