One of the most common questions that I get when people book their engagement session is:

“this is our very first time doing any kind of photo shoot together —

What should we wear to our engagement session?”

I understand where this question comes from, because many photographers don’t really offer a lot of guidance on the best clothing selections that will offer a successful shoot, and thus, there is quite a bit of mystery around which clothing decisions will be best for their engagement shoot.

My goal with this article is to put an end to some of the confusion out there about what you can and can't wear for an engagement session. Additionally, I’m sharing some visual examples straight from my archives, to show how beautifully a great variety of clothing pieces can wear quite well for your engagement session.

I'll also give some general guidelines around things that may not work so well for engagement shoot attire.

You might be surprised to find, however, that more options than you’d previously have thought actually work really well.

So, I’ll give you a few things you might want to avoid.

This post is meant to be neither an exhaustive list of what you should wear, nor a laundry list of what you shouldn't wear, or, god forbid, “can't” wear.

You can wear whatever you’d please, honestly — a lot of things can photograph well.

This is meant to inspire you, and assure that throughout your engagement and wedding process, you have the right to make any decisions you want. Here are the implications and connotations that your shoot will have, however, based on your location and selected attire.

Comfort is Key.

My main goal, as I've written about extensively on this blog, is to make sure that my clients have a great deal of comfort with their attire, selected photographer, shoot locations, and how they ultimately want their photos to look. Many photographers try to run over their clients, imposing their will on others, and making them do what they want, but not me.

What I’m essentially saying is this: if you're happy, I'm happy. That’s what's important to me. Now, in a minute, we’ll get to the clothing ideas that work really well for engagement shoot attire, but first, a word on styling, applicable to both the ladies, as well as the men. Fashion is about hard-and-fast rules, whereas style considers the rules of fashion, which is bound by season, to put a personal spin on what you wear. This post isn’t meant to tell you what’s in-fashion, or what you must wear; rather, it shares some stylish items that you can throw on to achieve a cool and polished vibe for your engagement.

Consider the location, time of year and the vibe you want.

It probably bears without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: consider very carefully where your shoot will take place, the calendar month you’ll doing your engagement shoot in, and dress for a blend between of the following three things: a) the location your shoot will take place, b) when in the year your shoot is, calendar-wise, and b) what the temperature and weather conditions are scheduled to be like the day of your shoot.

If your engagement shoot will take place on a hot, sticky August day, for instance, it probably doesn’t make much sense to wear heavy, 21-ounce raw denim jeans and a thick chunky-knit sweater, not matter how great you think it looks in your bedroom mirror. On a day with unbearable heat, you could pass out pretty quickly as you’re dressed inappropriately for the weather conditions. What’s more, that combo will likely look loads better on a chilly November afternoon, when there’s a nip in the air. In other words, this sample outfit selection might look good in your closet, but it’s more seasonally appropriate for colder weather, and thus doesn’t look as great as you’d think.

If you’re going for an engagement session in the heat, in that case you might consider lightweight, breathable clothing that keep you from overheating, in light, cool colors. As a woman, you’ll probably trend toward open-toed shoes, looser blouses, and skirts. Gentlemen, though it’s hot, will still want to avoid sandals, instead opting for more stylish options like some listed below.

For the ladies:

Tops that Can Work

A simple, solid feminine dress
A short sleeve blouse
And an eye-catching jacket that doesn't take too much attention from your face

Bottoms that Can Work

Well-fitting jeans
A nice skirt it's not too overly revealing or Too Short

Shoes that Can Work

A nice pair of heels that still allows for some movement
Knee-length boots especially when the temperature drops
In the summer, sandals
Depending on location (and if you have nice, well-manicured feet), barefoot could work very well

Accessories that Can Work

Simple jewelry that doesn't detract

Also Important

Fit, color and textures
Color - Pastel colors work well in the spring. Duskier, deeper, more autumnal colors work better in the Fall
A hairstyle that accentuates your main features

For the gentlemen:

Tops That Can Work

A nice collared shirt
A long sleeve Henley shirt
A nice sports jacket or navy gray Blazer
A thick chunky knit sweater
A leather jacket
A nice bomber jacket

Bottoms That Can Work

Well-fitting dress slacks
Wool trousers
A very nice fitting pair of jeans

Shoes that Can Work

Hard bottom dress shoes
Simple, black or white minimalist sneakers
A pair of loafers

Also Important

Fit, color and textures

These are Just Ideas – Not Mandates…
As you can see, there's plenty of great items that could do very well, from a wide range across the dressy casual Spectrum. It's not as black-and-white as you might think, and there's a lot of “gray area” here. If you need help with deciding on the best clothes to wear for your engagement shoot, know that all couples who book with me get complimentary consulting on their session. This post should help you in making decisions that personalize the engagement shoot to your identity as an a couple.

Things to Avoid

Lot of people are afraid they can't be “themselves,” but that's simply not the case. There’s plenty of room you to express yourself and your style through your wardrobe, but you do want to express the very best version of yourself, and for that, you might want to consider the following guidelines very carefully.

Keep these 6 QUICK TIPS in mind:

AVOID Clothing that simply doesn’t fit.
Ill-fitting clothing, while totally your prerogative to wear, can come off as a little sloppy, or like you don’t care so much.
AVOID Bright colors.
These can be distracting, and take the main focus away from you and your love story.
One, maybe two, bright colors is okay, but too many and you’ll look like a crayon box.
AVOID wearing the wrong textures for the season.
Wearing clothing in fabrics that aren’t appropriate for the season are likely to be physically uncomfortable (example: wearing thin linens meant for the Summer during the Winter), and give you the impression you don’t know when to wear what.
AVOID one person vastly out-dressing the other.
If one person looks more dressy, and the other person looks overly casual, it looks like the couple isn't on the same page and it doesn't work as well. In other words: both parties need to be at an equal level on the dressy casual spectrum. If one person is dressed casually, both people should be. Same with dressy clothes.
TRY TO stay in the same color palette.
Again, it’s worth repeating that with engagement shoots, both colors should coordinate on some level. It is worth it to pay attention to the colors and style that the other person is wearing. Avoid match-iness, but definitely coordinate.
REMEMBER, Grooming matters.
Lastly, remember that it’s not just the clothes you wear. This is a professional photo shoot, and it’s your freaking engagement shoot. You definitely want to put in some effort for this day, if not for your professional photographer, for your partner, the one you’re about to marry. Wash your hair, style it, clean under your nails, maybe add a dash of cologne or perfume. You’ll definitely want to pay attention to grooming, hair and makeup. The camera sees all.