Being able to dress stylishly chic every day is a skill that can be difficult to master. Dress for a photoshoot is even more challenging. Luckily for you, I’ve rounded up the top 15 style tips to help you in your next photo session. While they may seem small and simple, these handy tips will revolutionize how you build your outfits. So whether you book a small or even a big photoshoot, these advice gems are sure to see you looking fashionable and fabulous.
1- Create Looks From Pinterest
Pinterest is an excellent tool to find ideas and create new ones. Build a mood board with your looks by theme. You’ll find plenty of inspiration.
2- Organize and Edit Each Look
When it comes to dressing stylishly for photos, organizing and editing your looks is essential. Start by defining each look’s theme. Then, organize the items neatly per look. Finally, hang each outfit so you can easily visualize them and start adding the accessories. Creating different options for formal, business, and casual looks is also a helpful idea.
3- Find a Good Tailor
The work of a good tailor can make even a bargain piece look designer. While you may not initially want to spend the extra money to get items altered, you’ll quickly learn that the extra wear you get out of them far outweighs the cost. Whether it’s a pair of pants that have been hemmed or a dress that’s been taken in, nothing beats a garment that’s precisely fitted to you. Another great tip is to get your tailor to change cheap buttons to fancier styles. Doing so will make a jacket or a coat look infinitely more luxurious.
4- Balance Your Top and Bottom
While those catwalk models might make pulling off an entirely loose or tight outfit appear simple, it’s not. For most of us, an elegantly sexy look comes from striking the right balance. As such, it’s essential to plan outfits where the top and bottom complement each other. For example, if you’re wearing a loose shirt, try pairing it with tight pants, and if you’re wearing wide-leg pants or a full skirt, consider partnering it with a fitted or cropped top.
5- Invest in Styles that Work for Your Shape
Having an endless supply of outfits that look great on you requires strategic shopping. In particular, investing in designs that work for your body shape is essential. If you’re not sure what clothes work best for you, have a look at the most flattering items you already own. If those high-rise fitted pants and that empire waist dress work for you, you should shop for other pieces with the same silhouette for your photoshoot. Then, have fun experimenting with different fabrics, colors, and embellishments while maintaining the confidence of knowing that you already look fantastic.
6- Prepare for the Fitting Room
Don’t ever go shopping for your photoshoot when you’re unprepared to face the fitting room. If you’re in too much of a rush or are too tired to try things on, you should wait and go shopping another time. As fits and sizes vary between stores and designs, trying on items is essential, especially if you don’t want to return them later. Also, remember to dress for the clothing for which you’re shopping to get the best perspective. For example, trying on an evening gown with high heels and the appropriate lingerie will always look better than with sneakers and a sports bra.
7- Don’t Be Afraid to Mix Patterns
Patterns are an excellent way to add some life, vibrance, and fun to your photos, and mixing patterns is even better. So, if you’ve been sticking to basic block colors for the past ten years, now’s the time to be bold and embrace checks, stripes, florals, gingham, and more. Just remember to make sure that your patterns complement rather than clash. To do so, try choosing one focal design and accenting your outfit with another. Alternatively, opt for two patterns with matching or complementary color palettes.
8- Curate Your Colors to Suit Your Skin Tone
Have you ever wondered why some colors look great on you and others don’t? It’s because of your skin tone. To ensure every outfit you wear looks amazing, try filling your looks with the colors that flatter you the most. If you have a cool complexion, shop for white, black, grey, silver, and blue colors. On the other hand, if your undertones are warm, stock up on designs in shades of brown, yellow, gold, olive, and red.
9- Learn About The 3 Essential Jackets
You may know that a little black dress and a white T-shirt are wardrobe essentials, but do you know which jackets, trench coats, or blazers work best for your outfit? A tailored blazer, leather jacket, and denim jacket are the three designs that are non-negotiable for every stylish lady. While a tailored blazer will have you covered for a polished look, the denim jacket will take care of casual looks. The leather jacket, on the other hand, is perfect for edgy outfits.
10- Show Just the Right Amount of Skin
Showing just the right amount of skin is essential to creating a stunning evening ensemble. To ensure that you nail the right look, try showing off just one part of your body. For example, if your best feature is your legs, opt for a long-sleeve, high-neck mini dress. If you want to show off your cleavage with a deep-V design, pick a full-length one. When in doubt, try revealing less, not more.
11- Accessorize
Adding accessories should be the final step to completing all your outfits. Whether it’s something as simple as a belt or as decadent as lashings of necklaces, accessories have the power to transform your look from good to show stopper. Therefore, it’s important to invest in high-quality statement accessories. In addition, stylish shoes, bags, hats, sunglasses, and jewelry are essential items to own and wear for a fashionable finishing touch.
12- Create a DIY Styling Kit
Even perfectly planned outfits can fall apart when something goes wrong. For those times, a styling kit can be a lifesaver. If you’re not a stylist by trade, create a kit for yourself by stocking up on the essential items for the job. A stain-removing pen, a lint-roller, a pill remover, a needle, some thread, and safety pins are all must-have emergency items. Other necessary articles include double-sided tape for fixing loose hems and gaping tops, a bra clip for hiding visible straps, and a makeup sponge for banishing deodorant marks.
13- Learn How to Layer
Layering can take an outfit from plain to perfect, and while it can be a tricky skill to master, it’s one worth learning. Find inspiration from your favorite street style stars and try mimicking their looks with your wardrobe. Also, don’t be afraid to experiment. For example, try wearing a white crew-neck T-shirt under a satin slip dress, a trench coat with a mini-skirt over the top, or fishnet stockings underneath pants. The results can be incredibly playful and seriously stylish.
14- Seek Expensive
Now, this rule is essential when looking at low-price items. Think and seek expensive-looking pieces. Check the fabrics to make sure they won’t instantly fall apart, pill, tear, or easily stain. Most fast-fashion stores still offer good-quality items if you look hard enough, so make sure to check everything, and if it seems cheap at first glance, it’ll be even worse when paired with your other clothes, especially in your photos—so skip it.
15- High-Low Strategy – Use It To Elevate Your Outfit
High-Low style is where you pair the most expensive pieces with the most affordable, or rather, less expensive items for a perfect fit and cost-effective style.
It can also be combining high-fashion, tailored, and custom pieces with more casual items. Since it’s fun to create different looks, it’s great to know how to pair and wear high-low like a fashionista.
Designer pieces are a great option to elevate any outfit, but avoid wearing them head to toe.
Great style is never about the cost of the individual garment or an overload at any one time. Instead, enduring style is coordination of pieces that work together and tell a story.
Bags, shoes, belts, and jewelry are perfect for elevating any regular outfit to a high-end look if your budget allows.
You can mix an expensive dress with less expensive trendy shoes or an expensive coat with mid-tier shoes and a bag – it’s all about mixing and matching items that coordinate and don’t stand out too much on their own and cheapen the entire look.
