communicating with your photographer

It's been a couple of weeks since the last installment.  So here I go:
This week I will discuss the importance of communication with your photographer as far as clothing and colors you will be wearing to your shoot.
Many studios, especially the very commercially oriented ones, use grey, white, or blue-marbled backdrops for most of their shoots.  Given that these colors are neutrals, your choice of color that you will be wearing does not make a big difference.  If you book an appointment with a smaller, more detail oriented, and personalized studio, you should communicate with your photographer about the color choices you will be making in your wardrobe, so he or she can select the appropriate backdrop for your session.

Lighting is also heavily influenced by your color choices.  If you decide to wear black in particular, light will be absorbed and it would be a good idea to inform your photographer that you will be wearing it.  He/she will light you in a way that still shows your body against the backdrop.  Personally I love black clothing for dramatic effect, especially when I decide to go black and white.  Black satin shoots better than black cotton, velvet and fur in black is gorgeous when lit correctly.  White is also quite stunning, but as it reflects light, especially in satin, it is lit a bit more indirectly to show well.

If your session is to be held outside, choose solids rather than prints, as the natural background will lend the patterns in your pictures.  Since these discussions are related to personal portrait sessions, not editorials, large patterns should be avoided in any setting, as the photograph should be about you, not your clothing.

Here are a couple of samples to illustrate my point:

The model in this image is wearing a simple satin blouse, it enhances her skin tone without distracting from her lovely features.

As you see, the blouse has a slight pattern, but still works well with the natural setting behind the model.

In this image, the model is wearing a pattern, but since the setting is naturally simple and the pattern on the dress looks earthy, it works well for the mood that was created here.