Wardrobe Mistakes That Can Distract From Your Portraits (And Easy Fixes for Each)

You’ve spent weeks coordinating outfits, everybody looks cute in the mirror, and then the photos come back with something… off. Maybe there’s a weird wavy pattern on Dad’s shirt, or the whole family looks like they’re wearing matching pajamas from a catalog. It happens more than you’d think, and it’s almost always fixable before the session even starts. After more than 12 years photographing families across Oklahoma City, I’ve seen the wardrobe wins and the wardrobe whoops. This post covers the most common mistakes I run into and exactly how to sidestep each one.

The Wardrobe Stuff Nobody Warns You About

Here’s the thing: most wardrobe advice floating around online is surface-level. Wear solid colors. Don’t match too much. Avoid busy patterns. Sure, fine, but that advice leaves out a lot. And when clients show up having followed all the “rules,” they can still run into problems nobody told them about.

I want to give you the honest version. The kind I’d share with a friend getting ready for their session.

Mistake #1: Tiny Prints and Stripes That Look Fine in Person

This one surprises almost everyone. You put on a cute shirt with a small houndstooth or a thin striped pattern, and it looks perfectly normal. Then the camera picks it up.

Here’s what happens: cameras today are incredibly detailed. When they capture a fabric with a very small, repetitive pattern, it can create something called moiré. It’s an optical illusion that shows up as wavy, rippling lines across the fabric in the final image. It can look strange, and it can be really distracting in an otherwise beautiful portrait.

Sometimes I can correct it in editing. But it’s time-consuming, and the fix isn’t always perfect.

The easy solution:

• Skip anything with tiny stripes, tiny plaids, or very small repeating prints
• When in doubt, hold the item at arm’s length and squint – if the pattern starts to blur together, it might be a risk
• Opt for medium or larger-scale prints, or solids, if you love a patterned piece

Mistake #2: Being Too Afraid to Mix Patterns

This is the flip side of mistake number one, and it’s just as common.

A lot of families play it so safe that everyone ends up in solid colors from head to toe, and while that can work, it can also look a little flat. The hesitation usually comes from not knowing how to mix patterns without it looking chaotic.

Here’s what I’ve seen work really well: mixing patterns that share a common color but have different scales or styles.

What works:

• A plaid paired with a floral
• An ikat design alongside stripes
• A large-scale print next to a small-scale one in the same color family

What to avoid:

• Plaid with another plaid or stripe with another stripe
• Two florals competing for attention
• Patterns that don’t share any common color thread

When done right, mixing patterns adds visual interest and genuinely elevates the overall style of your portraits. It’s one of those things that looks intentional and polished in the final images.

Mistake #3: Treating Wardrobe as an Afterthought

This is the one I wish more clients knew about before they started pulling things from their closets.

Most people spend a lot of time thinking about location, timing, and who’s coming to the session. Wardrobe? That often gets handled the night before. And then someone shows up in something that photographs terribly or clashes with a sibling’s outfit, and we’re all problem-solving in the parking lot.

The good news is that I offer something that makes this whole process genuinely easy: Style and Select, a complimentary online styling service included for my clients.

Here’s what it actually does:

• Works with what you already own or lets you shop online
• Covers every price point and budget
• Handles every family member, from babies to grandparents
• Delivers custom style boards with your chosen colors, fabrics, and styles

You’re not handed a generic mood board and left to figure it out. The boards are built around your family. And the result is that wardrobe stops being a stressor and becomes one of the parts of the session you actually look forward to.

“ Your styling service is so unique and helpful! It made shopping for my family a breeze, especially since I centered everyone around a dress I already own. I love that it creates style boards for you!”

– Kam Davidson

Why Wardrobe Actually Matters This Much

I know it can feel like a lot of thought to put into clothing. But here’s the thing: your outfits are in every single image. They’re part of the story your portraits tell. They’re part of what you’ll see when these photos are hanging on your wall five, ten, twenty years from now.

Getting wardrobe right doesn’t mean spending a fortune or overhauling everyone’s closet. It means making a few smart choices that let your family’s connection and personality take center stage. The clothes should support the photo, not compete with it.

And honestly? When families walk in feeling confident about what they’re wearing, the whole session shifts. There’s less second-guessing, less “does this look okay?” – and more just being present together.

Ready to Get This Part Right?

If you’re planning a session and the wardrobe piece feels overwhelming, let’s take it off your plate.

Style and Select is complimentary for my clients and it’s honestly one of the things I hear the most feedback about. Families love how simple it makes a process that used to feel stressful. It works for every budget, every age, and every style preference.

You’ve already got enough on your calendar. Let’s make sure your portraits look exactly the way you imagined, starting with what everyone wears.

Book your session or reach out to learn more at missymayophotography.com