What to wear to a photoshoot in Iceland
When it comes to planning a photoshoot, one of the most important aspects is choosing what to wear. A lot of people put it off until last minute but this is a huge mistake as it can greatly impact the overall aesthetic and mood of the photos.
Dressing for a photoshoot in Iceland can be quite challenging: you want to look your best but Icelandic weather always has its own plans that sometimes change without any warning. In this article I will give you tips and ideas on what clothes to wear to a photo session and will cover 5 different aspects of the subject: best types of fabric, colours, styling and accessorising, how to stay warm and what to avoid wearing.
1. Types of Fabric
There are certain types of fabric that always look good in photos no matter what. Among them are those like wool, cotton, silk/satin, denim, linen, velvet, corduroy, faux fur, lace, chiffon and tulle.
If you already bought a traditional Icelandic wool sweater called Lopapeysa it might be great to pair it with jeans or even a long tulle skirt (if you are going for a more fancy look) or buy one if you don’t own any, they are amazingly breathable, warm and also known for their antibacterial, water and dirt repellent properties. If you are not interested in buying them you can also rent the sweaters I own for a shoot with me (I have different sizes and colours).
Velvet, flannel and corduroy jackets are always very stylish if you are going for a casual look and could be combined with polo necks, shirts, sweaters and jeans.
Some examples of more fancy chiffon/tulle dresses that could work really well for an engagement or a honeymoon/anniversary photoshoot:
2. Colours
Your colour choice will depend a lot on the location of your photoshoot. The key here is to create contrast with the background because you don’t want to completely blend with it.
There are a lot of dark tones in Icelandic landscapes, colours like black, dark green and earthy brown prevail in a lot of locations so I would recommend choosing yellow or red if you really want to stand out.
Here is a great example of how well these colours can look if combined together:
Another color that looks really well with black is sky or powder blue and different shades of pink.
A classic and timeless colour that looks perfect on black, brown and even green is white or light beige.
There are however locations where you will have a lot of white/light blue in the background (big waterfalls, snow, ice, glacier lagoons and so on) so you preferably would want to wear either something vivid or dark (or even black if it suits you). You can find some examples below:
3. Styling and accessorising
Basically there are two different looks you can go for: casual and cocktail/fancy. For a casual one it could be an oversized sweater, a cardigan, a casual shirt, a polo neck with a flannel/corduroy shirt or jacket over it, a pair of jeans or chinos, a long skirt, a casual dress and so on.
A fancy/cocktail look is always going to be a suit for men and a cocktail dress for women.
As for accessories you can use a fedora hat, a beanie or a head scarf.
A beanie can also be a great color accent of your outfit.
When choosing a pair of shoes I’d always recommend going for some sturdy ones like ankle boots as the terrain in most locations is quite rough with rocks and sometimes slippery sand. That way you will also make sure your feet will be warm as you can wear warm socks and even put feet warmers underneath.
If you feel like you need some fresh ideas to create your outfit check out Pinterest app, it’s a great tool for getting inspiration and references for styling.
4. How to stay warm
Keep in mind that it could be quite cold in Iceland even in the summer (even in July/August) so if you see some beautiful photos of people wearing summer dresses and you think they were feeling warm you are terribly wrong! In general I would recommend sticking to casual outfits and layering up quite a lot for a casual photoshoot and if you are more used to the cold (or if it’s a shoot dedicated to some kind of celebration like an engagement or an elopement) could go for a cocktail/fancy outfit.
Ladies, if you do decide to wear a dress try to choose one that is long, has no slits and preferably has a few (the more the better) layers of fabric, that way you can wear some warm thermals underneath and not freeze after 15 minute of the session. You can also choose a dress with long sleeves and have something underneath to add an extra layer of clothing.
Always bring along your warmest and puffiest jacket (even if you are coming in the middle of the summer), you can always take them off for a few photos and put on for a few minutes during the shoot if you are feeling too cold. Also keep in mind that the weather and temperatures in Reykjavik could be quite different from the location of the shoot even if it’s only 30 minutes away, let alone somewhere further. It is almost always really chilly in the evenings and early mornings and this is usually the best time for a photoshoot because of lighting (unless it’s an overcast day) so you will most likely be cold during your shoot. In order to stay warm I would highly recommend bringing hand and feet warmers (I usually keep some in my car too so don’t worry too much if you forget them), putting them in mittens and your boots is a game changer. I also have a wool blanket and some hot tea/water with me, it helps a lot to warm up almost immediately when feeling cold outside.
5. What to avoid wearing
And last but not least is what to avoid wearing to a photo session in Iceland. I would recommend staying away from:
all sportswear including hoodies, sweatpants and shorts (unless you are doing a fitness shoot)
clothes with logos, graphics and prints
neon colours, too much grey color
busy patters (stripes, polka dots and so on)
T-shirts usually don’t look good unless they are black/white and are worn underneath a jacket or a casual shirt
wrinkled or stained clothing: make sure your clothes are clean and ironed before the photo session to ensure that you look your best.
clothing that doesn't fit properly: ill-fitting clothing can be unflattering in photos and may make you feel uncomfortable during the photo session.
if you are a couple avoid wearing clothes of the same colour or having clothes from different styles/dress codes (one is wearing a cocktail outfit and the other is dressed casually)
I can help you style your look and give my feedback before our photoshoot on the clothes you chose to wear so contact me before packing for Iceland.