I couldn’t resist that title, sorry.

When I last went to the Nacogdoches Goodwill with Doug, I was explaining to him what makes a good portrait shirt, and it gave me the idea to write about it, so here we are. Obviously, I am drawn to color in my photos, and the color scheme of a set often comes from the wig or wigs I plan to wear, but it can come from clothing I find to wear too. So let’s focus on clothes for this post and leave wigs for later.

The first thing that came up when we were looking for tops (since I knew this would strictly be a portrait session, there was no need to look for full outfits) was that t-shirts are almost always a bad idea. They just do NOT photograph well. They look shabby, wrinkly, and unimpressive overall. I got away with it in the shot above because the focus is on the hair flower, but it still would have been way better with something else here. I just didn’t have anything at the time I wanted to shoot with this poinsettia so I threw on the green t-shirt and went with it. Any time you see me in a portrait with a plain old t-shirt on, believe me, that is exactly what happened. But there are a few exceptions:

Sometimes I come across a t-shirt with a great slogan on it, and in that case, I can make a t-shirt work. This one I found at the Goodwill in Houston, and man was it an awesome score. Problem was that it was freaking TINY, and I basically had to rip it at the seams to get it on and off, so it was no good after one photo session. It’s really too bad because this is still one of the more awesome t-shirts I’ve ever used.

Believe it or not, this one was actually my husband’s. His mom made it for him back when he was a teenager, which is hilarious (this is, by the way, the back of the shirt, but I’ll talk more about that later). It’s a great example of the times when a t-shirt really works in a photo session, which is rare. In each case there’s something more interesting going on than just a plain tee- the first one was embroidered and had a tight cut, which kept it from looking too schlumpy, the middle one was a ringer tee, which helped, and the disco one was a football-style tee which gave the shoulders some interest and also added shape. But for the most part, t-shirts are meh at best, and ick at worst, even when they’re not the focus of the shot:

So, with a few exceptions, say no to t-shirts. But anything can work if it has an interesting neckline. It could be a scalloped neck, or it could have some cutouts, or, if you’re really lucky, you’ll find a top with feathers around the neck – and you can never go wrong with feathers! An asymmetrical top can also be cool, as can super-huge shoulder pads, lace, or ruffles. Anything that adds interest to the part of the top that is going to show can work, but for me, I am drawn more toward texture than loud prints. I’ve chosen plenty of tops with interesting prints that still work, and they’re easier to find, but anything with interesting textures or embellishments is a definite yes.

https://flic.kr/p/2axeuEC

But don’t just look at the neckline; sometimes a top will have interesting detail elsewhere that you can utilize. I have several tops with unusual unique sleeves that I’ve made work – but unique sleeves do involve some weird posing, as you want to be sure you get them into the shots.

This red one has it all – ruffles at the neck, a nice satin material, AND lace inserts at the shoulders. To get the full benefit of all that, I did have to smush my shoulders together or pose while looking over one of them, but it worked great!

Another thing to consider is how else you can wear the top aside from the normal tag-in-the-back. If there’s an interesting detail on the back of the top, can you wear it backward to show it off? I do this quite often. In fact, that hotrod angel shot above had an interesting back to it as well, also with text, so in a case like that, it’s as if you get two shirts for the price of one:

https://flic.kr/p/VHqfUp

Many times, the front of a top is too low to make it into the frame of a portrait in a significant way, so I will often turn a top around and wear it backward if there’s something about it I want to feature.

In other words, don’t be afraid to wear a top in some abnormal way to get the effect you want. In fact, you don’t have to wear it at all. Sometimes, I’ll take a top that never worked well for me and wrap it around my head, or my neck, or layer it under/over something else – anything that works to create an interesting shot. Take the first picture in this post – that’s actually a green floral shirt that I threw over my head at one point.

I think you get the idea. Another thing I look for in tops for portraits – movement. If it’s light and flowy, I’m all for it. I love to use fans to blow hair and clothes around as it creates interesting shapes, so a flowy top is always going to be high up on my list. Light fabrics in generous cuts that can be flung around, especially if they’re in an interesting print, are gold, because there’s so much you can get out of flinging them about in different ways.

But let’s say you’re bored with all of this. Why not take yourself down to Pier 1, or Home Goods, or hell, a sporting goods store, and buy shit to wear that was never meant to go on the human body? You’d be surprised how much fun you’ll have choosing items to wear from the automotive aisle at your local Target.

The last thing I’ll mention is sweaters. In my opinion, there’s nothing better than a thick chunky sweater for taking interesting pictures. And fuzzy sweaters? Yes, please. Unfortunately, they’re also hot as hell, and posing while wearing them is ROUGH unless you’re outside in the cold. Who knows – now that I live on a property with an interesting landscape maybe I’ll take advantage of that this coming winter and take lots of outdoor portraits wearing crazy sweaters, because they really do add interest to a shot. But you’ll probably sweat to get them.

Whew! I think that’s all I have to say about portrait tops. Next time, my favorite subject: WIGS!