Neutrals are a timeless choice. And they work well for personality portraits because they will allow emotion and expressions to shine through more than clothing.

When thinking about neutrals you can go with shades of white, creams, grays, browns, muted greens, pinks, and blues.

Here is some inspiration for neutral outfits on Pinterest.

Neutrals can feel very minimal, but you can add extra visual interest with a few tips. Try combining lighter and darker pieces in one outfit. Let’s say you have a light sweater then you can add darker pants. Or if you have a lighter dress you could add a darker cardigan or darker belt. You can also add interest with your fabric choices like a knit sweater with a smooth skirt. Or a corduroy blazer with khaki pants. Or a smooth t-shirt with denim pants. Finally, layering and accessorizing are also fun ways to add visual interest with a vest, cardigan, jacket, scarf, bows, shoes, and belts. And anything others you can imagine.

Personality sessions are bold and playful by nature making them the perfect opportunity to  go big with color choices.

Don't be afraid to bring silly, quirky, and colorful items that represent exactly who your child is.

You should still try to avoid graphics that have faces or writing unless they really make sense with for the portrait. And patterns will work great.

When you plan to do portraits with a sibling or other family members then you’ll want to have outfits that match well with everyone else. You can check out my guidance on choosing colors that go well together. Or you can jump straight to my inspiration for coordinating outfit examples on Pinterest.

More on Color Combinations

What to Wear for your Outdoor Playful Family Photography Session

Pinterest

Blue Inspiration on Pinterest

More Color Combinations Inspiration on Pinterest

Another idea to consider is bringing in one of your child’s favorite outfits.

Can anyone say princess dress? Or astronaut costume? Every child seems to gravitate to favorite items they wear again and again. I think it’s really sweet to capture these in personality portraits.

For my daughter, she wore a pink satin hello kitty dress many, many times. And I made sure to get pictures of her in it including a well-loved headband that only partially matched the dress.

There’s no pressure though. Feel free to also come up with any existing or new, fun style that you both love.

And don’t forget fun accessory possibilities too - fun jewelry, costume or real, jackets, sweaters, cat ears, bunny ears, headbands, clip on earrings, bows, sunglasses, etc. Have fun with it.

For personality sessions, I also love bringing along an item that is meaningful to your child. It can help them feel more comfortable, and it is also a way to document what is special to them at this age.

It will be a special keepsake for you both.