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Hey photographer friends! Welcome back to our Photography Blog, Mastering the Wedding Photography Biz with Hunter and Sarah!

 

Today we’re answering the common questions, “What should I wear to photograph weddings?” or “What should I wear to photograph engagement sessions”. We’re going to give you a peek behind-the-scenes at what we wear to high-end wedding and engagement sessions, and how we settled on our “work uniform” even in the early days of our business. And trust us, looking like a professional photographer, and dressing comfortably for hour 8 or 10 on a wedding day do not have to be mutually exclusive. So let’s jump in!

 

 

How to Dress Like a “Professional Photographer”

The whole reason we decided to do a video about what we wear to photograph portrait sessions and what we wear to photograph wedding days is because we get this question a lot from our photography students. And we also see it posted in Facebook groups, and usually when we see other photographers answering it, their answers make us cringe. Part of the issue here is that there’s no real standard. If you work at a restaurant, you can ask your boss about the dress code, and look around at what the other employees are wearing to get a good idea. Or maybe there’s an industry standard, like if you work at an attorney’s office, where there’s an industry-wide expectation of suits and formal wear.

 

But for most of us, running our own photography business means that’s we are the boss, and that we have no coworkers. So the decision is totally up to you. And while there are no true “rules” about how to dress as a professional photographer, there are definitely things that we believe can hurt your brand or hold you back from growth. Because the thing is, “professional” means something different to everyone. Now, hopefully we can all agree that if you’re being paid by strangers to do photoshoots, you’re a professional photographer. And professionals in almost any industry typically avoid things like clothing with explicit language or inappropriate images, clothes that are overly-revealing or suggestive — stuff like that.

 

But beyond that, there’s really no consensus about what to wear to photograph a wedding or an engagement session or a family session. And we’re certainly not going to claim that we’ve cracked the code or have somehow established the industry-standard. But we are going to use the rest of this video to explain what we decided was appropriate for us — and more importantly, fit our brand — and why we’ve chosen to stick to those convictions throughout our entire business. So let’s jump in!

 

 

“Dress for the Job You Want…”

Now, you’ve probably heard the old phrase, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” And since the very beginning of our business, Sarah and I knew that we wanted to be high-end wedding photographers one day. So, from the very beginning, we tried to pay attention to what those photographers were doing on their wedding days. And what we found as we did our research was that a lot of photographers in the ultra-high-end market were dressing more like wedding guests — as if they could’ve taken off their cameras and fit right in at the cocktail hour.

 

And early in our career, as we mentored under one of the world’s best photographers and assisted him on all over North America, often on wedding weekends with budgets of over a million dollars, we found that this was true in real life as well. The photography and videography teams we worked with were always wearing suits or formal dresses. So, we decided that we’d do the same, even though we were shooting weddings with budgets of just a few thousand dollars at the time.

 

Now, obviously, we didn’t show up to a casual backyard wedding in a tuxedo and floor-length formal dress. But we’ve always tried to get a feel for the attire that was appropriate for that wedding day, and dressed accordingly. And what we found really surprised us.

1. 1. People Took Us More Seriously. For starters, people immediately started taking us more seriously. Whether it was other photographers vying for the same location during an engagement shoot, rowdy wedding parties, or momzillas who we were warned would question us at every turn, we found that when we dressed like professionals, we were treated like professionals. Because no matter what culture you live in, dressing formally subconsciously communicates professionalism, importance, and experience.
   2. It was Good for Our Brand. Not only did this instill confidence in our couples and communicate to them that we take this job seriously, but it also was good for our brand. It was like a little mini-marketing moment for everyone who saw us. If wedding guests are used to seeing wedding photographers dressed in athleisure or in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and we roll up in a full suit and a formal dress, we imagine them whispering to each other, “Wow, the bride and groom must have really splurged on their wedding photographers. I can’t wait to see what the photos look like.” Because they just automatically associate people who dress nice with people who are high-end, expensive, or professional.
   3. It Made Us Feel More Confident. Dressing up also made us feel more confident. There have been a ton of studies that show that psychologically, dressing more formally can make people feel more confident, wearing glasses can make people feel more intelligent, and wearing pajamas can make people feel more sleepy. And this was even more important when we were brand new to wedding photography, and were basically just faking it until we made it. It helped us to feel more confident in those stressful moments.
   4. It Gets Us in the Right Headspace. And now, it’s become like a uniform for us. When we wake up on the morning of a wedding day and I put on a suit or Sarah puts on her floor-length black dress, we feel like superheros putting on our super-suits before a battle. We’re communicating to ourselves on a deeper, subconscious level that it’s GO time, and we’re about to get out there and lead the crap out of this wedding day or this engagement session. And that just wouldn’t be the case if we wore something more similar to what we wear in our everyday lives.

 

 

Our Four Wedding Outfits

So, let’s dive into some specifics of what we’ve decided works for us and fits our brand. Keep in mind, we aren’t saying that this is necessarily the best for everyone. If you’ve built your brand on being a contrarian, punk-rock wedding photographer who bucks the trends and hates clichés, then maybe you’re going to wear your ripped jeans and spiky leather jacket to a wedding. And that’s fine! Because it’s what your couples knew was your vibe when they hired you. Likewise, if you’re an adventure photographer who lives in the mountains and loves 5:00 AM hikes for your elopements or engagement sessions, then hiking books and cargo pants might be the perfect fit for your brand.

 

But assuming you’re like most photographers we know, you might consider doing something similar to what we do. For starters, we have sort of 4 levels of formality.  The first is what we call a “date night vibe”, which we reserve for engagement sessions and surprise proposals with our couples. For Sarah, this is usually a pair of nice jeans with nice shirt or blouse or sweater, or sometimes a skirt or cocktail dress in the summer. For Hunter, this means pants, boots, and something with a collar on it. Even when we’re shooting mid-summer engagement sessions and it’s almost 100-degrees outside, Hunter always tell himself that if our guys have to wear pants and close-toed-shoes, so does he.

 

We think of “Date Night Vibe” as casual enough that we don’t feel out of place wandering around a winery of a local park with our couples, but it’s not so casual that it looks like our engagement session was something we scheduled between our workout and running errands.

 

 

The next level of formality is “Semi-Formal”, which we pull out for more casual weddings, and especially ones that happen in the middle of the heat of summer or are happening at farm venues. Sarah will wear a cocktail-length dress or a skirt-blouse combo, and Hunter will wear dress pants with a button-up, but no tie or jacket. We did a lot of weddings like this early in our career, but don’t do very many of these any more.

 

 

For most weddings, we wear what we call “Typically Wedding Formal”. So for Hunter, that’s a full suit (although he typically loses the jacket when the dance floor opens up). But he might wear a blue suit, or even a dress pants and blazer that are compliments without actually being a matching suit set. And Sarah will wear a dress that’s a bit more formal — sometimes cocktail length, and sometimes floor-length.

 

 

The final level of formality is “Black Tie”. We reserve this for weddings that list black tie as the dress code. This typically means that guests are expected to be wearing tuxedos or formal gowns. And although we might not go quite to that level, Hunter will only wear his nicest black suit to these types of weddings (and sometimes with a tie or bow-tie) and I only wear floor-length formal dresses.

 

 

What We Avoid

Now, here are a few stories from our past experience that have shown us what we absolutely want to avoid.

 

1. The Grocery Store Vibe – A few years ago, we pulled up to an overlook outside of Charlottesville that’s a super popular spot for engagement sessions. We got out of our car, popped the trunk, and before we could pull the camera bag out, a woman walked over to us. She had a dual camera harness on, so we immediately knew she was another photographer. But she was wearing a pair of workout shorts, an old t-shirt from a sorority formal from 10 years ago, and a pair of running shoes. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she had no make-up on or anything. She said to us, “Hii! Are you Jason and Brandy?” and we responded, “Uhh no, we’re actually photographers too.” And she was like, “Oh, I’m so sorry! You guys are just dressed so nice I thought you were here to have your photos taken!”

 

Obviously we didn’t say anything rude to her in the moment, but later that evening as we were driving home, we realized we both had the same thought in that moment, which was: “Wow, the way we dress for basically any old engagement session looked so nice to her that it didn’t even cross her mind that we were photographers.” But the thing was, if she didn’t have her cameras on her, we would’ve assumed she had just gotten back from the gym or was on her way to the grocery story. If we were her couple, that would communicate to us that she doesn’t take her job very seriously — like their engagement session is just sorta something she does between running errands and getting in a quick workout. So that’s why we avoid sneakers, sandals, shorts of any kind, yoga pants or leggings, t-shirts, hats — really anything that feels too casual to us.

 

 

2. The Caterer Look – The next look that we avoid is what we call “the caterer look”. This is the black pants, black button-up, black shoes vibe that we almost always see photographers over 40 recommending to people who ask about what to wear to take photos. But our brand isn’t built on us being “just another vendor at your wedding”. We don’t want to blend into the background, like the stagehands who move the set decorations in the background of a play. And we definitely don’t want a guest trying to hand us their empty glasses at the cocktail hour 😂 We understand that — as your photographers — we’re going to have a pivotal role in your wedding day, so there’s no point in pretending like we aren’t there. Plus, it’s not like wearing all-black actually makes you blend into the background. It’s not like wearing a green suit in front of a green-screen. People are going to see us, so we might as well look good 🤷‍♂️

 

 

3. Being Uncomfortable. The other most common thing that we see other photographers telling people who ask this question is, “be comfortable, that’s what’s most important.” But the thing is, being comfortable and dressing professionally don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Hunter has invested in dress shoes and boots that he can wear for 8 or 10 hours in a row, and still feel good the next day. Sure, they’re more expensive than a cheaper pair of dress shoes, and aren’t quite as comfortable as wearing sneakers, but they look way more professional. And when it comes to suits and dress pants and shirts, he buys them from places like Lulu Lemon or Ministry of Supply, so they feel like putting on a pair of workout pants or a dry-fit t-shirt. Most of his dress wear is made from that kind of material, so they’re stretchy, breathable, machine washable, wrinkle-proof, and super durable. He has one black suit from Ministry of Supply that he’s worn to over 100 weddings, without any visible signs of wear!

 

 

And for Sarah, dressing comfortably is about two things: shoes and pockets. If she can find a formal or semi-formal dress, either in black or in a neutral color that won’t draw too much attention, the first thing she looks for is pockets. If she can’t keep a spare battery, lens caps, and her phone on her at all times, she doesn’t want to wear it. And of course, investing in shoes that look professional but can be worn for 8 or 12 hours is also essential. This is going to sound crazy, but Croc actually has some shoes that look nothing like their classic clogs, but are made of that same material, so they’re still comfy at hour 8, but don’t look out of place on a wedding day or an engagement session.

 

Also, one other hot tip, even though they are a very cute alternative to dresses and skirts, Sarah does not wear jumpsuits to weddings. And if you’ve ever worn one and then had to use a public restroom, you know why. Now add in the fact that you have to remove your camera straps and maybe a sweater, and do that quickly so you can make it back to work, and you probably understand why it’s no ideal for a wedding photographer.

 

 

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