Fashion photographer shares secrets of capturing the best pictures of your holiday outfits

When we travel abroad, most of us want to capture photos to record our memories. In the age of social media, we may also want to capture us looking our best and share our holiday outfits whilst away. If you are not as comfortable behind or in front of the camera and want to get the best snaps from your trip, you’re in luck. Women’s clothing brand Fairfax & Favor spoke to freelance fashion photographer Katey Hayward to find out her expert tips for getting the best photos of your holiday outfits. Here’s what she advised:

Wear colours which contrast your backdrop

The first thing you want to think about is the backdrop you are working with, is it a beach setting or cityscape? What would work best with the looks you want to photograph? If you’re wearing a lot of blue and posing near sea and sky your outfit won’t pop and could get lost in the backdrop, so you may want to opt for bolder colours which contrast your background to achieve the best result in your outfit photo.

Avoid using flash

If you’re taking photos during the day, the natural light should be enough to get a well lit photo. Whilst flash can add more light, it may also detract from the result you are aiming to get. Flash photography can counteract the natural light of your photos and affect the tone of your photo. Flash can also create harsh shadows which detract attention away from your focal point, which in this case is your outfit.

Take photos during golden hour

Golden hour is the period of time just after sunrise or just before sunset. This gives a small window of time to snap your outfits but it is one of the most flattering times for photography. There is typically a warmth to the light in photos taken during this time, as the sun isn’t at its full brightness. The softness of this light leads to flattering imagery, it can offer a glow to make you look warmer toned in images and soften harsh lines in your photo.

Look just past the camera

This tip is especially effective for those of us who feel less comfortable in front of the camera. Looking right at the camera can cause us to act less natural and feel more awkward in our posing. Looking to the side of the camera or just below the lens can make you feel and look more natural, leading to a more authentic looking image.

Elongate your frame and create angles

If you are wearing a long dress or an outfit with a lot of fabric you need to ensure you don’t look swamped in your photo. Creating dynamic angles with your body, such as placing a hand on a hip or bending your leg, can make your outfit look more flattering in a photo. Wearing heels is also a good tip to elongate your frame, couple this with posing standing up straight with your shoulders back for a more flattering pose.

Stand facing the sun

If the sun is behind you then the camera struggles to focus, this creates bad lighting which won’t show off your outfit or accessories. You should stand with the sun in front of you so the light hits your outfit in the best position to accentuate key features of your look.

Avoid high angles with your camera

Taking photos from above will distort your proportions and not do justice to your entire outfit. This could mean key focal points of your look aren’t captured, such as your footwear choice. Taking high angle photos also leaves less room to showcase the pretty backdrops of your holiday location.

Don’t lean your head back

Leaning your head back makes your body appear bigger and distorts your overall body proportions. This can lead to your head looking too small for your body and doesn’t offer the most flattering pose for outfit photography. If the photographer is taking a lower angle picture, try leaning slightly forward to keep your body proportions the same as they would be naturally to balance it out.

Adjust the focus to be on the right points

When taking photos on smart photos, the camera built in isn’t always intuitive enough to know what to focus on. If you want a photo of your handbag or your outfit, tap the screen to make sure the camera is focussed on the correct area, this avoids your focal point becoming blurry in your images.

Lower your ISO, try portrait mode on an iPhone

Some smartphones have the ability to adjust settings now, as cameras do. The rule of thumb is the lower the ISO, the more background blur you can achieve. You just have to be sure you have sharpness in your focal point and get the focus right. Pretty imagery can be created by having a short depth of field, where a key item is sharp in focus and the background fully blurred. You can get this effect also on an iPhone by switching your camera into Portrait mode, although the subject of the photo can’t be too far away from the camera.