What to wear for kids headshots
The short answer: solid bright colors, comfortable, and twice as many options as looks you booked. The long answer is the ColorPop method itself. The top is chosen for your kid, and the backdrop is chosen for your kid in that top, from every Savage seamless color there is, in the room, with you.
Start with the kid, not the closet
It is never just skin tone. I read skin, eyes and hair together, because the color that makes one of them come alive is the color to build around. You know that better than anyone: you see your kid every day, in every color, and you are the first and best source on what they look good in. If they have an agent, the agent may have a view on the roles they see your kid going for, and that can steer a look too.
Choosing the clothes is the quick part. We go through what you brought, I pull out my favorite one or two, we confirm together, and then I pick a backdrop that will not clash with the skin tone and will complement the top. Four kids from the gallery, and what I saw in each one.
Pink under a white tee
A light olive complexion with very little red pigment, green eyes, a plain white tee. The pink brought out the green in his eyes and gave a soft contrast to the white shirt. There is nothing inherently girly about pink, and I think this picture proves it.
Purple under a light blue polo
His mother wanted him in the polo, and she was right: the color complemented his eyes, his skin and his blond hair. The purple was chosen to quietly support those colors without being overbearing, and it still gives the picture its pop. Pop does not have to mean loud.
Lilac on lilac
The lilac shirt made her darker skin look vibrant, so instead of fighting it with a contrasting color we went tone on tone: a deeper shade of the same color behind her, and her face became the thing that stands out. Sometimes the pop comes from the face itself, not from color contrast.
Hot pink under a blue dress
She has incredibly deep blue eyes, so when I saw the blue dress her mother had brought as an option there was no question that would be the first choice. Hot pink is a great complementary color to that blue: very dominant, never overbearing, and a fun combination that pops for sure.
Three things a backdrop can do
Contrast. The paper pushes against the top and both read louder. The white tee on pink, the blue dress on hot pink.
Quiet complement. The paper sits under the top and supports it. The light blue polo on purple.
Tone on tone. The paper is a deeper shade of the top, and the face carries the picture. The lilac shirt on lilac.
Which one we use is decided in the room, with your kid in front of me. That is the part no wardrobe list can do for you.
What to bring
Solid bright colors. Tops or dresses in clear, saturated colors. Some plaids photograph nicely but can look busy, so stick to solids when you can.
Collarless when possible. Nothing that obstructs the shape of the neck and head.
Comfortable. Nothing itchy, nothing too tight. A kid who is comfortable is a kid who is playing.
Any season. The studio is temperature controlled, as cool or as warm as your kid needs it, so clothes do not have to match the weather outside.
Twice the options. Two outfits for one look, four for two, six for three. We choose together in the studio.
Camera-ready. Hair done on arrival, no makeup at any age. Glasses come both with and without. Braces, freckles and missing teeth stay, because casting wants the kid who walks in.
Why seamless paper, and why Savage
A seamless paper backdrop is exactly what it sounds like: a wide roll of heavy, matte, non-reflective paper that curves from the wall onto the floor with no seam and no texture, so the only things in the frame are the kid, the top and one clean color. Savage makes the standard range, 55 colors from Pure White to Black with every pink, purple, blue, green, yellow and brown in between, and a printed swatch chart that photographers use to pick from. Having the whole chart in the studio is what lets the backdrop be chosen for the kid, and not the other way around. Every paper on this page is listed with its Savage number and name, so if you ever want to look one up, you can.
Every Savage color, in the studio
The backdrops are Savage Widetone seamless background paper, and every color in the Savage range is in the studio, all 55 of them, so the paper is chosen for your kid rather than from whatever happens to be on the wall. Pick a skin tone, eye color, hair color and a top, then tap any paper to see the pairing. It is a toy, not a decision: the real choice happens in the room. But if a few combinations make you smile, screenshot them and bring them along.