Updated: July 24, 2026
The question everyone asks the night before.
The session is booked, the location is set, and the photographer is confirmed. But at 10 p.m. the night before, someone is standing in front of a wardrobe, experiencing a small crisis.
What you wear has a greater impact on your photographs than almost anything else you control. It affects your photos more than lighting, but less than the camera, location, and lens choice. Additionally, it is the only element that is entirely yours to decide, and it is usually decided last, often in a hurry.
Miami presents its own set of challenges: heat, humidity, intense light, wind from the ocean, and backgrounds that are already visually complex. Here's how to approach these issues.
Coordinate, do not match
The old instinct pictures everyone in white shirts and jeans, reminiscent of a photograph from a specific era. This flattens everyone into a uniform shape.
A better approach is to use a palette. Choose two or three colors that complement each other, along with a neutral color. This allows everyone to select different pieces within the palette. The group will appear to belong together without looking like a uniform, and individuals will still maintain their unique style.
What tends to work here:
- Soft neutrals include cream, sand, warm greys, and gentle earth tones.
- Muted blues and greens blend naturally against water and palm trees.
- One deeper accent, used by just one or two people, rather than everyone.
- Textured fabrics rather than patterns: linen, knit, and a bit of movement in the fabric.
- Layers allow a look to change without having to completely change outfits.
The Miami factor that often surprises people: the city is already colourful. Pastel buildings, turquoise water, art-filled walls, and lush tropical greens all contribute to its lively aesthetic. If your outfits are also bold and bright, everything can become overwhelming. Against a busy background, quieter clothing allows people to stand out. Against a simpler backdrop, you can afford to be more expressive.
What photographs badly, and why
| Avoid | Reason |
|---|---|
| Logos and slogans | The eye reads text before faces |
| Tight stripes and small checks | Can produce moiré, a shimmering artifact. |
| Neon and highly saturated colour | Reflects onto skin, tints faces |
| Everyone in pure white | Blows out in bright Miami sun |
| Everyone in black | Loses all detail, becomes a silhouette |
| Brand-new shoes | Visible creases, stickers, and blisters. |
The neon row is real and often surprises people. A bright shirt in direct sunlight can bounce its color up onto the underside of a face. A neon green top can give you a green chin, and it is genuinely difficult to correct without ruining the skin tone elsewhere.
Understanding the moiré effect is important rather than fearing it. This phenomenon occurs when a fine repeating pattern interferes with the sensor's own grid. For example, a shirt with a very fine check can shimmer in a way that no editing can remove. However, bolder patterns are fine. It is specifically the tiny, tight, regular patterns that cause this issue.
Miami is hot, and the photos will reflect that.
This is the part that generic advice often overlooks entirely. It is not a minor issue here.
Heavy fabrics like wool, thick denim, and structured jackets are not ideal for August. These materials do not breathe well, making them uncomfortable during hot weather. After just twenty minutes outdoors, everyone looks as uncomfortable as they feel.
Practical answers:
- Natural fibres. Linen and cotton breathe. Synthetics show sweat as dark patches and hold heat.
- Avoid wearing tight sleeves and heavy collars when you are outside in the summer.
- Book either an early morning slot or the last hour of light. Both options are beneficial for avoiding heat and for capturing better lighting.
- Bring blotting sheets. It is much easier to prevent shine than to retouch it.
- Arrive in the car with the air conditioning on, then step out. Do not walk for fifteen minutes.
Wind is the other one. Anything by the water gets it, and it is not the gentle breeze in the inspiration photographs. Long loose hair will be across faces in half your frames. Flowing dresses look beautiful and become unmanageable. Bring a tie for hair, and know that light fabric will move, which can be lovely and needs to be a choice. Our note on planning a family portrait session covers timing in more detail.
Special cases
Maternity
Fitted beats loose. Flowing fabric hides exactly what the session is about, and a bump reads best when the silhouette follows it. Bring more than one option, because comfort late in pregnancy is unpredictable and what felt fine last week may not today. Our note on maternity photography goes further.
Small children
Comfort is key. An itchy collar or stiff shoes can make a child miserable, and that's what you'll see in the pictures. Let them wear something they like, within your color palette. And bring a complete second outfit, because something is likely to be spilled.
Holiday sessions
Themed clothing becomes outdated quickly. A photograph intended for a decade-long display on the wall should not be tied to a specific year's novelty. Seasonal colors tend to age much better than seasonal slogans.
The details nobody mentions
Small details that become extremely noticeable in a photograph:
- Iron everything thoroughly, including what is underneath a jacket. Creases are very noticeable.
- Check the back of every outfit, as you will be photographed from behind.
- Nails are visible in every hand-on-shoulder shot. Consider this detail.
- Remove hair ties from your wrists. They seem to appear everywhere.
- The length of socks becomes important when people sit down.
- Tan lines from a strappy top will be visible when wearing a strapless dress.
The last issue is a genuinely Miami problem and deserves consideration a week in advance rather than the night before.
And the practical tip that surpasses all the advice above: try everything on together, as a complete outfit, before the day. Not each piece separately. Put the whole group in their outfits in one room and take a look. That is when you discover that two people chose almost the same shade, and one is wearing something that fits nobody's palette. Fixing it then takes just five minutes.
Send us a photo of the outfits
We are happy to assist. Please lay everything out, take a single picture with your phone, and send it to us. We will honestly inform you if something may clash with the location or the lighting. This process will only take us two minutes.
We prefer to do that rather than spend a session working around a color choice that nobody pointed out. If you are undecided between two locations, let us know what you plan to wear, because sometimes the clothes should dictate the location rather than the other way around.
You can see how we plan sessions on our about page, and our note on holiday portraits covers the seasonal version. Get in touch through the contact page, and ask before you buy something new.