Why Light Colors & Neutrals Are Best For Your Photo Session

I'm not one who always has to know the "whys" behind things, but sometimes it is nice. Usually I'm fine with accepting an expert's word. After all, they are the expert and they know what they are talking about. From time to time, it is nice to get a reason for why I am doing what I am doing.

Today, that's what I'm giving you. We are going to talk about the reason I, and many other photographers, highly recommend light colors and neutrals for your photo sessions!

The first thing you need to know is that light reflects off surfaces. Okay, you probably knew that, it is a pretty basic science fact, but I don't think it is one we think of all that often. I certainly didn't before I became a photographer. So we have light hitting things and then reflecting back up. Guess what? It reflects color with it.

Often times you can't really tell but there are some cases where it is extremely obvious. When I did my snow session, you can see the white, bright light reflecting back up on me. At my church, we have red carpet in the sanctuary and during a certain part of the morning on sunny days, the sun shines down on the carpet and casts a huge red reflection on the wall. I would never take a photo in that area during that time because my subject would be washed in red light!

Maybe you've noticed that photographers like to do sessions near light concrete or stone. This is because it gives us lovely bright light to reflect back into our clients' faces. I won't photograph in grassy, heavily tree-covered areas unless there is a section of sky above because my clients would otherwise have green color cast on them from the grass and trees. (I did my brother's senior photos before I learned this lesson well and had a TERRIBLE time editing the photo of him in a tree because he was so green!!!)

So what does this have to do with clothes? If you're wearing a brightly colored shirt, the reflection onto your neck, face, and arms will be tinted that color. Obviously it is my job to fix that, but your photos will be much better overall if we just avoid it to begin with! In addition, dark shirts will hold light and not reflect it back up, and sometimes that reflection is exactly what we want in the photo!

I would recommend having the darker part of your outfit (if you are going to have a darker color) be the bottom - skirt, pants, shorts, capris. Obviously, sometimes a darker top is just fine, especially if you will have good reflectors all around you (light stone, the beach, or snow for example), but in general, lighter colors and neutrals are going to be your best option for photos with that light and airy style you are looking for!

You want to know where I first learned about color cast? I worked for a short time photographing gemstones and before I ever started, my boss told me to never wear bright colors because they would affect the color of the stones in the photos. I could wear dark colors (because they don't reflect light) or light colors (I had a light gray shirt I wore a lot) but nothing bright (like the goldenrod shirt I'm wearing as I type this. That would be right out). Would you be interested in knowing more about that job? Let me know in the comments. Maybe I'll write a post about it in the future.

I hope this was informative and helpful for you! I am always available to answer any wardrobe questions you might have.