My friend Monika, who is a wonderful photographer herself, just recently got married.  When I suggested we do some fun editorial style portraits in her wedding gown, she was totally up for it!  We headed to one of my favorite locations for portraits and had a bunch of fun trying out different poses, camera angles, etc.  I’ve never photographed a fellow photographer before and I loved it!

Isn’t she gorgeous!?  When you’re done looking at these images, you should check out Monika’s wedding photography.  If you’re looking for a wedding photographer I highly recommend her

If you haven’t read my helpful guidelines on what to wear to your photoshoot, make sure to check it out.  Also you can find the “What to Wear – Casual” installment here.

Again, the purpose of these What to Wear posts is not to have you go out and buy these exact outfits.  They’re to illustrate what type of clothing looks good on camera and why.  Whether your portraits are taking place in the studio, downtown Minneapolis, or anywhere else in the Twin Cities, these tips and ideas will serve you well.

When choosing clothing for your senior portrait, it’s always a good idea to mix it up a bit.  If you’re already bringing something casual, make your next outfit is a little dressier.  One of the easiest ways to do this as a guy is to incorporate a nice blazer, jacket, or sweater.  Whether you have a t-shirt or nice dress shirt on underneath, those clothing items automatically heighten the level of classiness.

While you technically have one outfit, it would be easy to turn this into 2 looks by taking off the blazer and switching into a more casual pair of shoes.  As always, accessories are a must have.  Sunglasses, in my opinion, are one of the best accessories to bring to a photoshoot.   Especially since they work for pretty much any age except newborns.

Items above can be found at Urban Outfitters, Gap, & Express.

Meet my ADORABLE cousin Samantha.  She (along with her very fun parents) visited Minnesota over Memorial Day Weekend, so of course we had to do a fun set of portraits!

Unfortunately because all of our extended family lives at least a few states away, we don’t get to see them all as often as we would like to.  Thanks for being such a perfect model and I hope to see you again soon Sam!

Yesterday I posted some guidelines to follow when choosing what to wear for your portrait session.

Here’s a sample of a good senior guys outfit.  There’s a lot of detailing and texture in these pieces.  With the two shirts, hat, and scarf, we could create a few different looks with one outfit.  Later in the week, I’ll post a great 2nd outfit to complement this one.

Clothing and accessories shown above can be found at Gap.

I’ve decided to start a “What to Wear” series on the blog.  The goal of this series is not necessarily to have you go out and buy these outfits, piece

for piece.  It’s to illustrate the “guidelines” of dressing for the camera.

1st Guideline:

BE YOURSELF!  Stay true to

your style.  You might want to push the envelope a little bit, but your essential style should be true to who you are.

2nd Guideline:

Make sure your clothes fit properly.  If you’re at all uncomfortable because something is too tight, too loose, too itchy, etc. it WILL show in your finished portraits.

3rd Guideline:

Plan outfits completely.  Your shoes will be visible in many of your portraits.  Hats, scarves, sunglasses, jewelry, etc. will all greatly enhance your portraits.

4th Guideline:

Color, texture, detailing, & layering are always a good idea.

5th Guideline:

Bring more clothing to your sitting than you need.  We won’t use all of it, but it’s always better to have too much clothing and have options than be limited.

6th Guideline:

If your portrait session is for more than one person, think complimentary styles and colors instead of matchy-matchy clothing.

Clothing and accessories above can be found at Gap & Anthropologie.