Ladies - Female Photographers - proper clothing choice for weddings?

Tuxedo? Yeah, sure. I wear comfortable black dress shoes, khakis and black polo. If it is a fall wedding I wear a black dress coat over the polo... I am a male and so this is off topic, but you DID say you know men wear tuxes. Us PJ shooters can't be encumbered by tuxedos.

Ian

I wear nice blazer, slacks, cute shoes black lower heeled, nice dress shirt. and my own version of the shootsac.

hi Annie, I am in the UK and me and my assistant (best friend and fellow director of our little photography business) wear matching suits, white blouses and matching chiffon scarves. We get priests, celebrants and hotel managers commenting on our dress and even have had recommendations because of looking professional! We are working in a very male dominated industry certainly in the UK and have been told of many stories of male photographers turning up looking scruffy and unkempt and even in shorts and flip-flops!

My female 2nd shooters have pretty much stayed with black slacks/blouses and flats. While I have lightened up some and don't always wear a tux, I stay with black slacks/shirt/tie with most weddings.

I am shooting the next wedding in a (rented) kilt, spurrun and scottish suit (I'm male). Should be good for a laugh. Anything to get guests smiling.

I feel you have to be smart, as far as women go, 2 golden rules; dont look better than the bride and dont match the brides maids.

Two pro wedding shooters I know (1 male, 1 female) both wore trousers and did not look smart, I dont approve. Maybe they look like photographers so get away with it because they are obviously not part of the guest list.

Cheers G

I think anything that gives you freedom of movement and doesn't draw attention to yourself is appropriate. Most of the female shooters I encounter wear slacks and a black blouse or black jacket. As a male, I generally avoid tux jackets because they tend to get disarrayed when carrying cameras, bags and batteries. Instead I wear a black shirt or a vest.

Black shirt (usually sweater or nice knit, button down is too constricting for me personally) and black pants. The most important part are the black dress danskos. I could not wear anything else for the 8-12 hours I work. For more casual weddings I wear more browns or shirts with a little band of color, but for the most part just the all black combo. I have been thinking about getting a shirt on the recommendation of other photographers at http://www.eshakti.com/ I love the idea of a nice fitting long shirt with a little style.

This was a topic last year that generated a ton of responses so you might look for that thread.

I find that the all black look is just too boring puts me to sleep to wear. The biggest suggestion I have is to find shoes that fit, don't make any noise on church floors and are a great color. I prefer red to all else.

My feeling is that people hire me to be creative and fun and so I need to look the part not look like the waiters. I troll the closeout part of high end web sites like ColdWaterCreek to find long jackets that have pockets to carry cards and lens in and tailored pants in black and other neutrals.

I wear my pants till they don't look criso anymore then throw them out! Most are washable to avoid the dry cleaning bills and to take into consideration how much time I spend sitting one grass, stones and dirty reception floors to get the shots I want. If you dress to the style of the clients you reall can't go wrong but do avoid too tight anything and shoes that click clack as you walk.

Brooke

Hi Annie,

I think that really depends on what the wedding is like! Is it very smart? Or casual? I usually ask my clients how stylish/formal the wedding is going to be, and dress accordingly. That may mean I have to get my ballgown out for the evening...

Generally I try to be ALMOST as elegant as the guests. Nothing worse than overdressing though! But I?d also hate to stick out as too casually dressed in a very elegant surrounding...

Teresa