Herman Au Photography Los Angeles Fine Art Wedding Photographer

“what should I wear form my engagement photo session?”

That question come up often when I schedule my upcoming engagement photography sessions. To find the answer rather than just saying “just dress casually”, I looked to Julie, who I recently did an engagement session with along with her fiance Minh since she’s done a fantastic job selecting her outfit. I went ahead and asked if she would share her thoughts on how she chose her outfits for her engagement session, and she kindly agreed! She generously sent me an email with details on why she chose her outfits and a lot of great tips to share! (and even where she bought them!) This should be very helpful for the future bride-to-bes in picking their clothings.

Without further ado, hare the tips from the amazingly photogenic Julie on what she picked to wear and why:

Outfit 1: Julie: Navy & white graphic print shift dress (Ann Taylor Loft) and navy cardigan (JCrew); silver ballet slippers (Zappos). I purposefully wanted a graphic print dress because I thought it would really pop in pictures. When perusing magazine and websites, the pictures that stand out always have one element that really shines through. Some women like to have bright shoes (ie. a great pair of red heels) or bold accessories (i.e. a statement necklace). I think the key is to have at least one thing that really draws the viewer’s attention. So don’t be afraid to add some color or play with accessories. Women, especially, have so many options with jewlery, belts, hair pieces (headbands, feather pins), and shoes. But even guys could add a little something something, like funky argyle socks, or if you want to go fancy, nice cufflinks, or maybe a faded, rugged baseball cap, or a great pair of sneakers.
me: The dress looks perfect on Julie and is simply adorable. The seemingly repeating pattern really make her pop and draws the viewer’s attention without being too cluttered. It even works great in sepia/b&w tone as well! Good pick, Julie!

Outfit 2: White button-down cotten sleeveless top (Gap), yellow cardigan (JCrew), and slate gray silk dupoini skirt (Ann Taylor). I picked the skirt because I love the sheen and feel of silk and just tailored the rest of the outfit around the skirt. It’s helpful to have a ‘look’ in mind. This outfit was meant to be my more dressed-up option hence the reason for the heels and silk just has a great texture. Plus, since I love color, I liked the idea of pairing yellow with the gray. I was originally thinking a magenta or pink, but the point was just to add color.
me: This simply is an awesome combination and overall I love the looks of it – sleek, smart, dressy enough to go to work and pretty enough to walk into a party. This looks distinctively different from the dress she picked earlier which gives us a good variety in the pictures overall. Yellow probably wouldn’t have been good if we were heading to the beach, but look how works so well with her grey skirt and how good it looks even among brick colors. Best of all, this shows another side of Julie. Also notice how Minh has quite a different look simply by changing a shirt. =)

Outfit 3: White sleeveless top (Gap), dark blue jeans (Gap), and silver flip flops. I don’t think you can ever go wrong with the classics. A crisp white shirt and jeans is just easy and casual, but still stylish (at least in my humble opinion). Plus, it really helps to wear pants/jeans for certain poses. Best advice: be true to your own sense of style. You want the pictures to be you, just the best representation of you possible. And I think it really helps to love what you’re wearing because confidence is always beautiful.
me: The most amazing thing about this outfit is that Julie simply took off her cardigan and slipped into jeans and put on her flip flops – took her like 2 minutes in the car to change to a whole new look! Again, this looks distinctively different from the previous, but she still maintains true to be herself but only showing a different facade of her personality!

Tell us what you think! and be sure to share your tips here with other future brides!

Thanks again Julie! and of course, a few more of their engagement pictures to share!