Skin Tone & Clothing

[laawaaris]

I will be shooting an engagement session for a couple this weekend. The bride-to-be is very concerned about her skin tone and how different it is than her fiance's. I talked to her on the phone and she explained that she was very fair complexioned and her fiance was very "chocolate" complexioned.

She was also somewhat concerned about what clothing to wear. She said the fiance is set on wearing a blue button down shirt with collar and slacks to match. She said that she would go shopping for some outfits (shirts) based on my recommendation.

I did not have any detailed responses for her and in the end it was decided that she should wear what she looked good in.

I was hesitant to give detailed feedback because of what I do not know about clothing, skin and so forth.

Anyhow, since I have never met them before, I did ask the couple for some pictures so I could see them beforehand. She does not seem to be as fair complexioned as I thought, but attached are their pictures. She also said she was a little bit bigger now than in her pictures.

We will be shooting in the Japanese Tea Gardens (Houston area park). Any advice on clothing and how to handle different skin tones is appreciated.

[mom2aidan]

they call that "chocolate" toned? i would not put her in white or bright/light clothing as she may disappear
the red shirt seems to make her eyes pop and i would put him in a light colored clothing so he doesn't stand out too terribly much

that is my opinion

[LegacyPhotographic]

Ya.. I definitely wouldn't call that chocolate.. but I would stay away from her in red or pink as the pictures above show those colors make her skin look very blushed. Something a little more neutral, I'm thinking. But then... my thinking tends to lead to trouble. No matter what they go with, he will look darker than her, and while clothing may/may not help out with that to some extent, it will still be noticable. Just try and get her comfortable with that fact, and assure them that its differences like those that make couples so interesting, and they should enjoy their differences (obviously that is one of those easier said than done things)

Sorry I could not be of more specific help.. but look forward to seeing your results!

[HotHolly]

I'm assuming she's concerned b/c he has a mocha based coloring and her's is red. If she wears red it will make it more pronounced. I would strive to milky her skin tones up a bit (yea, make her paler). The danger is her looking red. If she is concerned b/c of the difference in the range b/t their skin tones (thats kind of life) but you can subdue him and pasty him up too.

I have a clothing suggestion sheet I give to clients. It tells them the basics about colors, patterns, etc. Some people show up in the most God-awful outfits. *eye roll* The sheet tends to help. Also ask them to bring a back up shirt, just in case they clash or you see something they didnt. No biggie. Layering clothing helps make that easy. And its slimming. Good luck.

[Double H]

It may be last minute, but if she is receptive you might suggest a spray-on tan. If they go light on the tan, I've seen some beautiful light golden brown skin (not red) on otherwise fair-skinned females. If you had a longer lead-time, she could go the tanning bed route and you could "fine tune" the skin color.

RM

[HotHolly]

Randy, good idea if you spring for a really good salon. But I have seen SO many spray tans go funky orange on people. Be careful.

[barP]

how about putting them both in black?

wp.

[stargal01]

what about earth tones?

[laawaaris]

Holly

How do you make her look pastier? Is it more neutral clothing (beiges and grays or darker yellows)?

What about for the guy? Is it the same approach to clothing?

[AllenAyres]

Idda know... I'm not sure what the problem is supposed to be - their skin tone is their skin tone - we can help them with clothing/color choices to not emphasize the differences, but I think the differences are some of the things that make them unique as a couple. If they showed up and their skin looks like it does in the second photo (she's a little flushed in the first) I think the photos will turn out fine. Help them with clothing color choice and that should make for some very nice photos.

I've seen a lot of photographers desaturating the photos a bit for an artistic feel - if you were to do something like that it would even out the tones some. B&W would even more... but I think the skin color looks fine.

[laawaaris]

i think everyone here makes sense ... i've tried to call the bride to talk to her again but have not made contact yet, however i feel a bit more informed and educated when talking to her

thanks guys!

[toverman]

Tell them to clean up their kitchen, too. That cranberry juice isn't gonna last just sitting out like that.

You'll definitely not want to shoot her in bright light because it will probably wash her out. he appears to have pretty blue eyes, though, so maybe having a blue shirt on hand would help them pop out. Or tell them to wear only solid colors and convert some of the images to black and white.

[AllenAyres]

Was just thinking - if she is really into evening out the skin tones, Boutwell's Yin/Yang at a lower opacity would probably do a nice job of it.