What to Wear to Your Engagement Shoot

So you’re wondering what to wear to your engagement photos!? Well, I’m here to help you choose the perfect outfit for your engagement shoot! Hi, my name is Heidi Straus and I’m a professional wedding photographer based in the US, but originally from South Africa. Many couples don’t realize how important a good outfit is for photos! Seriously, it really makes a HUGE difference! It can totally make or break your photo. So let’s jump in! Here’s what you should wear to your engagement shoot.

Tip #1: Neutrals, Neutrals Neutrals!

I know you might think it looks boring, but I PROMISE you now, neutrals work THE best for photos! Notice how the neutral colors in the photos above work really well together. It’s because neutrals don’t clash with each other. Often times couples wear outfits that clash with each other or they wear bright tones that give off funny hues on their skin tone. Neutrals ensure that your outfits won’t clash with each other and you won’t have any funny hues reflecting on your skin, causing your photos to look unnatural. Two of my FAVORITE places to shop for neutral clothing are: BANANA REPUBLIC which is a more expensive brand & QUINCE which is a super high quality brand with out-of-this-world low prices! I seriously LOVE them!

Tip #2: Choose Flowy, Flattering Clothing

Consider wearing flowy dresses or loose, flattering fitting clothing that you feel comfortable in. During engagement sessions, you will often move around a lot and do fun prompts and poses like running away together or spinning around, dancing, twirling etc. With a flowy dress or a flattering loose top, you will feel more comfortable when doing these! Also, movement is KEY when taking photos and these outfits are great for showing movement. Your photos will be to die for my friend! One of my favorite places to get the cutest flowy dresses, shirts, skirts and pants is Altr’d State.

Tip #3 Play Around With Textures

Different materials have different textures! Linens, silk, cashmere, wool, corduroy and denim all have different textures and they work SO well together! For example, you could wear a light wash denim jean with a neutral silk top, and your partner could wear a nice corduroy pants with a linen shirt. That’s four textures together! Stunning!

Tip #4 Don’t Clash With Patterns, Compliment Each Other

Maybe you feel like wearing a fun, floral pattern, which is great! Especially for spring shoots or a nice beach shoot. Make sure that your partner doesn’t wear a pattern as well. If you’re wearing a floral pattern or maybe a polka dot pattern, then he/she shouldn’t for example, wear stripes or even the same pattern! He/she should wear a complimentary solid color to ensure you don’t clash. Like in the photo above, the lady is wearing a nice floral pattern dress. Some of the colors in her dress include terracotta and burnt orange, so her partner would look well with one of these colors in his outfit as well. So if you want to wear a floral dress with hues of blues, your partner could wear a solid matching blue color shirt with beige/tan pants to compliment your dress.

Tip #5 Add fun accessories and props to elevate your photos!

Accessories and props can really elevate your outfit and it just adds something a little extra! Think hats, scarves, jewelry, handbags, fun shoes, sunglasses etc! Sometimes a cute prop like a basket with flowers in them can look SO nice in photos! Champagne sprays are also super fun and really makes for great photos!

Tip #6: Bring an outfit change!

Bringing an outfit change is such a great idea! It adds some variety. You can possibly start off with a formal outfit and then change into something more casual afterwards! You can never go wrong with a white dress for your engagement photos! Your partner can do tan/beige pants with a dress shirt. For casual outfits you can change into a jean and a tee! Lighter jeans are better than darker jeans in my opinion!

If all else fails and you’re still not sure what to wear to your engagement shoot, you really can never go wrong with the following:

• White dress
• Light jeans and a nice neutral shirt
• Beige/tan pants for your guy, linen or button up shirt

Here are different examples of combos that work really well together for different seasons:

Summer: Brighter colors are great in Summer! A flowy dress with a floral pattern. Complimentary button up shirt with tan/beige/chino pants. (The pink in his shirt, match with the pink in her dress).

Winter: All the browns, creams and beiges! Think scarfs, coats, beautiful sweaters like cashmere or wool!

Spring: I love pastels so much for spring! Again, you can’t go wrong with a fun flowy, floral dress for spring! Make sure to add a complimentary shirt for your partner that matches the color somewhere in your dress.

Fall: Pumpkin spices, oranges, whites, blacks and greens are the best colors for fall.

Lastly, what absolutely NOT to wear:

• Avoid graphics on your shirt! We don’t want any distracting graphics or super bold, huge patters. (Subtle patterns are okay).
• Super bright, neon colors are an absolute NO. They give off funny hues on your face and are extremely distracting. We want the attention on you two and your love.

I hope this guide on What to Wear to Your Engagement Shoot helps you feel super confident in choosing the perfect outfit! If you’re still looking for an engagement and/or wedding photographer – Please feel free to reach out HERE! I cannot wait to hear from you!