What to Wear
'Simple, Yet Elegant'
​48FineArt specializes in fine art portraiture, capturing the unique facial expression, mood and the essence of each subject.
Your portrait sitting is a wonderful time to spend with your family Treat this experience as something special and your family will have something special for the rest of their lives. Investing in the right clothing is invaluable to the success of your portrait and the time you will take in finding the right clothing is time well spent. This space is ideal for writing a detailed description of your business and the types of services that you provide. Talk about your team and your areas of expertise.
​When choosing the right clothing, please bear these points in mind:
Tonality (Dark vs Bright):
Choose dark tones rather than light ones. The brightest part of the portrait should be your face.
Colors (Hue):
The colors you choose should work in harmony within your own outfit and together with everyone else in the portrait.
Fit:
Well fitted clothes are essential, especially for children and your clothes should be free of wrinkles and creases.
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Style:
​Clothes should be elegant but blend into the overall portrait background. Solid colors works best. Longer lengths for women are the most flattering, keeping ‘bare skin’ to a minimum. Even if your favorite dress may be striped or plaid, it will be a distraction in a portrait. The same applies to busy patterns and logos. ​​
​Remember, you are the focus of your portrait, not your clothing.
​We recommend that when you have chosen everyone's outfits, you set them all out to make sure they work well together. If you would like to take photos of your proposed outfits and email us, we will be very happy to take a look and discuss with you. Ideally this should be done 3 weeks before your portrait sitting.
​Clothing for Women:
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Please remember that the classic style portrait is not based on what is on trend now. Think of what you would wear to an evening event such as a wedding or cocktail party. Clothes that are elegant and classic.
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Longer length dresses/skirts (past your knees) are the most complimentary and make it easier for sitting or standing poses.
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Shoulders and upper arms are best if they are covered; a wrap or similar is good.
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Closed toe shoes and not open sandals.
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​Our eyes will automatically go to bright colors or bare skin and we want the focus to be on your face. Clothes should be elegant but blend into the overall portrait background.
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​Clothing for Men:
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Please wear a suit and a long sleeved buttoned down shirt that matches the color of your suit.
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No white shirts please. Men and boys should wear shirts to match their suits/jackets.
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Ties – no stripes or patterns. We have extra ties in the studio.
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Dark socks and footwear and have your shoes shined!
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Hair – avoid gel and if getting a haircut please do so about one week before your portrait.
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Men should shave 1-2 hours earlier than the scheduled session time.
Clothing for Boys:
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Please wear a suit if possible or alternatively a blazer/jacket and matching colored long pants.
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Buttoned down long sleeve shirt.
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No white shirts.
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Bow ties are great and these can be colorful.
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Clothing for Girls:
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Party/Occasion dresses in darker or jewel toned colors work very well in our portraits.
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Please avoid bright colors or patterned dresses.
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Closed toe party or dress shoes are recommended.
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Headbands or flowery clips are encouraged. Bring any other favorite accessories.
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Please remove any nail polish, temporary tattoos, color marks etc.
Hair, Make Up and Jewelry:
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It is important that you are happy with your hair; wear your hair as you usually do but please avoid it covering your eyes or too much of your face.
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Soft make up as you usually wear it.
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Avoid too much hairspray or gel.
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If wearing jewelry, nothing too bright or contemporary.
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Nails – no polish or just clear is best.
Glasses:
If you normally wear glasses you may do so in the portrait, viewers of your portrait will recognize you better. You might want to consider removing the lenses to eliminate reflection.
Preparing for your session
The Night Before:
Have all your clothes and accessories ready the night before the portrait session.
Please make sure your clothing is wrinkle free! Wrinkle removal is not included within the scope of our complementary portrait artistry.
The Session Day:
Please eat beforehand! As the session may take up to two hours, we always recommend that you don’t come hungry.
We are very happy to answer any questions you have prior to the session regarding our clothing guidelines to avoid the need to reschedule your session. If in any doubt whatsoever, we encourage you to send us a photo of your outfits.
Above all, we hope that your portrait session will be truly wonderful and most importantly, stress free!
