Senior portraits are so important. It’s what you will have immortalized in your yearbook forever and often your families last professional portrait of you before your wedding. It’s very important to make sure you wear something that will show who you are while still leaving you as the focus of the photo. Your photographer will tell you to bring lots more clothing than you’ll need but when you look at you closet – no matter what rules the photographer gives you for clothes it can be overwhelming.

I’ve put together 5 different outfits for girls to wear to their senior portrait session. All the outfits are trendy enough without being over the top and can probably be replicated by pairing together items you own. This isn’t a shopping list it’s an idea list!

Outfit 1 – Classic look to cover flaws

This is a really soft feminine look. The v neck in the top isn’t so low that it’s revealing too much but it draws the attention right up to your face. The empire waist and the loose shirt will also help hide any flaws you may percieve in your weight by not hiding your body but not launting it at the same time.
The solid colors and contrast between the top and pants will stand out in any natural setting or location. A nice accent of a simple necklace or headband would complete this look. I am a fan of the blue pants look rather than jeans – this look feels more polished with pants which adds a hint of sophistication to the portrait.

Pink Top from Target | Blue Pants from Aeropostale | Sparkle Headband Set from Forever 21

Outfit 2 – For Leggings Lovers

For those of you ladies who like leggings this is a nice look. The yellow shirt has a lot of detail but not a lot of high contrast color. That means those closeup /head shots will be more interesting than with a solid tee shirt but will still allow all the attention to be on your face and eyes – were you want it!

The light denim skirt creates a nice transition between the yellow top and the dark leggings.

Yellow top from Macy’s | Light Denim cutoff Skirt from Forever 21| Black Cropped Leggings from Old Navy

Outfit 3 – Lacy Neckline Layers with Shorts

You don’t want to wear shorty-shorts for you senior portraits – even though you are getting them taken in the spring/summer/fall. Bermuda shorts are a perfect length for portraits. The cover enough up to make you look classy and sophisticated but give your look a fresh summer time feeling. Perfect with flip flops or low sneakers – but best barefoot!
Layering a cute lace cami a different color – but close in color range adds some nice detail to a simple outfit without pulling attention away from your face. This classic layered look can easily be tailored to any skin tone, hair color or eye color based on the shirt colors.

Old Navy Lace Cami| Solid Henley from Aeropostal| White Bermuda Shorts from Aeropostal

Outfit 4 – Urban Scarf Accents

Scaves have grown more an more popular in recent years – for your head, nect and belts. Incorporate a bold printed scarf with a very plain outfit to make a really great outfit for your portrait. A scarf around the next needs to be a good color that will compliment your skin tone and hair.

So just jazz up your every day simple look with a scarf.

Plain Grey Tee Shirt from Forever 21| Coordinating (but not oo bright) Scarf from Forever 21| American Rag Jeans from Macy’s

Outfit 5 – Plus Size Look

For plus size girls – or even just girls who are uncomfortable with how their arms look in pictures – it’s important to wear long sleeves. The skin on your arms draws attention away from your face – which isn’t what you want. Long or 3/4 sleeves fix that problem. Your photographer will know how to pose you to de emphasize everything but your face to make you look the way you feel in your pictures – happy and full of life.

Blue Cowl Neck Top| Cropped Skinny Jeans| Silver Bangle from Forever 21

It’s funny how as I work with more models – some with no experience and some with more experience I’m noticing that some of my models just stand there and look pretty.

Don’t get me wrong 99% of the time that works and makes some great shots. But when a model performs and gets way into the mood of the shoot or concept you don’t end up with great shots, you end up with amazing shots!

For instance here’s the Flickr Superstar Briana shooing with Don Giannatti. They put together this video including all photos, not just the good ones so that we can see the whole process and how much versatility she got with just one single look.

No, really – watch the whole thing. Briana glides almost seamlessly between poses. Why? Because she has lots of practice.

Thought us girls know that she’s merely just doing what we all do in front of the mirror in a dressing room – let that silly side of you come out with your photographer.

You have to slow down the dance into separate poses but it’s about creating seamless transitions. Take a starting pose and change one thing, arms, expression, shoulders, hips etc. Then change one other thing for the next shot and so on.

Your photographer will be thankful they have such a creative model to work with and will probably want to work with you again or refer you to their other photographer contacts. As a rule – all the photos never look perfect so just roll with the punches and give it your all!

If it’s a lazy Saturday morning, you’re on your couch eating some cereal watching some Saturday morning cartoons and your favorite photographer calls – you know, the one you’ve been dying to work with for months, and they tell you they have a sudden opening this afternoon and would love to shoot you. No set Concept, just bring your favorite pieces and let’s make some magic.

Do you know what you would wear?
You should.

Base List of Items for Models to Pack for a Photo Shoot

1. Little Black Dress (LBD)
   It doesn’t have to be black necessarily but you need a good simple ’staple’ dress. Be it dark blue, or pink, maybe green to match your eyes – make sure you have a killer simple dress that fits you perfectly. Some great low budget solutions for this dress can be found at forever21 or American Apparel. Consider going with a knit dress – especially a jersey knit since they don’t wrinkle very much which makes them a perfect duffel bag item!
2. Just Right Jeans
   You know your favorite jeans? The ones that you would wear out to a party with friends or with a nice sweater to a Christmas dinner with the family? You need those with you too. A pair of jeans that fit you perfectly and can easily go from conservative casual to sexy by just changing the top and shoes should be a staple in your wardrobe already, make sure to bring em!
3. Tops
   Usually you’ll want to keep your tops simple but layers are almost always key especially when you are going to be outdoors shooting. Start with basic tank tops in white or black and bring along some brighter colors. Stripes and prints are often fine but most of the time you’ll be better off with simple tops. Grab a shirt or three you can layer over you basic tank, maybe a light hoodie or sweater. Bring along a t-shirt or two as well.
4. Shoes
   This is a variable item depending on your style and personality. Boots – Uggs or leather heals. Bring flip flops if it’s warm and always have a great pair of pumps that can go with 90% of your wardrobe. A great pair of flats are great for many shoots as well and you can often find them in some flashy colors to contrast a simple dress or outfit. Sneakers are only appropriate sometimes and usually only if they’re sparkling clean.
5. Accessories
   Here’s where you can go wild. Bring scarves, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, headbands or even props like an iPod with headphones or books if you think you might be able to incorporate them into a shot or two. If you keep your base clothes simple you can use extra fabulous accessories to jazz up an outfit just enough.

This is by no means the end all ultimate list but it’s a good start for a new model.
If you have other cute items bring ‘em – always bring more than you’ll need because it’s better than wishing you had brought specific items. It’s good to find out from your photographer if it’ll be an outdoor or studio shoot – what the weather is like and what the location looks like so that you can modify your base kit of clothes off of that and add/remove items as needed.

How do I get all this stuff to a shoot?
Toss all your clothes, shoes and accessories in a duffel bag. Duffel bags are much more manageable than shopping bags and are the kind of thing you will probably use off set when traveling as well.
I have an LL Bean duffel bag that’s perfect for things like this. And be sure to put all your earrings and jewelery and small accessories into a smaller bag so you don’t have to dump out your whole bag on the floor to find anything.

Present yourself an a professional an energetic and organized person when working with a photographer – yes they’ll expect more out of you if you come off that way; but it will show in the pictures if there’s a mutual professional respect.

I often work with new models, usually women whom are testing the water to see if modeling is something they’d like to pursue or something they can have fun doing and eventually earning some extra income from.

It’s hard for a photographer to work with new models because of the extra amount of direction they typically require so I’ve put together this list to give out to a few of my new models to help them prepare for their upcoming shoot.

Facial Expressions Exercise

It’s important for a mode to know how to use their face. try this exercise to feel more comfortable using your face to express different emotions or lack thereof.

In front of a mirror, for at least 20 – 30 minutes just use your face to convey emotions.

Emotions or Ideas to Convey

• Generally happy / content
• Fun, laughing and playful
• Scared, trapped or lost
• Sad or broken hearted
• Serious model face
• Empty, lonely or bored
• Fantasizing or day dreaming (happy)
• Fantasizing or day dreaming (sad)
• Scheming and flirting

Try and focus on different options for each emotion for each area of your face, you eyes, mouth and angles you can tilt your face to try and more strongly emphasize the emotion.

After you’ve done that, spend another 20 minutes using your hands in close proximity to your face.

Sample Hand Positions

• Under your chin
• On you cheek
• Covering you mouth
• Behind your head
• In your hair
• Moving and shaping your hair

Also try with an open hand, closed hand, fingers together, fingers apart. Then combine using your hands with your face to convey the emotions listed above.

See where this is going? You’re practicing like the mirror is your photographer.

It may seem like a silly exercise and it may take some time to get it right but it is time well spent.
When you know how to make an expression you can contribute by going to an emotion without the photographer prompting you which makes for excellent collaboration. The better a model can work with their photographer the more it will show in the end photos.