Shayna’s Dress | Shoes | Arian’s Suit | Florals | Location

Happy Summer! I can’t believe we are halfway through the year already! It went by so quickly! We have a wedding every weekend in July and I’m so excited to capture so many beautiful moments. While my weekends are full with weddings, my weekdays are filling up with family, portrait, and engagements sessions, which I couldn’t be more excited about. This time of year is so beautiful here in Southern California. Mornings are usually a little bit gloomy and chilly and then the sun comes out just in time to capture the early evening glow. I’ve received a few emails and direct messages on Instagram asking about what to wear for a family session or just beautiful dresses for summer. So I thought I would round up a few- 18 to be exact- of my favorites! I also wanted to include a few criteria I look for in choosing dresses to be photographed!

1. A solid color is always a great choice! When looking at solids, I like to look for some sort of detailing or texture. With a white dress, that could be lace, or with a colored dress, that could be a waist detail or ruffled sleeve.

2. When choosing a print, I tend to go for smaller prints. I feel that they tend to be more flattering across multiple body shapes. That’s not to say a larger print wouldn’t be beautiful, I just think they are a bit more seasonal.

3. Especially when helping guide a client on finding something to wear for a portrait session, I tend to look for a little bit of length. I love a good sassy cocktail dress just as much as the rest of us, but when you are taking photos, movement is so wonderful and a dress with some length gives you a little more freedom to move and dance! Here in California, I photograph most often in open spaces, either in a field or on the beach and I love the way longer dresses flow and move with the wind.

4. Stay true to your personality! If you’re still trying to figure out how to show your personality in how you dress, order a few, try them on at home, turn on some music, and dance around! Be free and see which speaks to you the most! And then return the others! It’s so important to feel comfortable and confident!

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If you are interested in booking a summer session, send me an email and we can talk about all of the details: beautiful locations, what to wear, and get to know each other! I am also doing wardrobe styling, locally and remotely! If you are interested in that service, we can talk about that as well!