What to Wear for a Photoshoot on the Amalfi Coast — A Photographer's Honest Advice

The single question I get most often, before location or timing or anything else: “what should we wear?” Here’s the honest version of the answer, after several hundred sessions on the coast.

The principle: borrow the colours of the place

The Amalfi Coast has a specific palette. Pastel houses (apricot, cream, blush pink, dusty terracotta), whitewashed walls, weathered stone, deep Mediterranean blue water, pink and purple bougainvillea, dark green cypresses. Outfits that echo this palette disappear into the place and let the people stand out. Outfits that fight it look loud forever.

In practice, this means:

Works beautifully:

• Cream, ivory, oatmeal
• Sand, beige, soft taupe
• Dusty rose, terracotta, rust
• Soft blue, denim
• White (especially on Capri or against pastel walls)
• Olive and sage green (with flowers)
• Black (sparingly — see below)

Avoid:

• Bright primary colours (red, royal blue, kelly green) — they pull the eye and look out of place
• Neon and fluorescents
• Bold all-over prints, especially geometric or graphic
• Loud branded clothing (logos that read clearly in photos)
• Stark white sneakers (they always become the brightest thing in the frame)

Fabric matters more than people think

Some fabrics photograph beautifully. Others look stiff and lifeless. The Amalfi Coast almost always involves a bit of breeze, especially near the cliffs and at sunset, which means flowing fabric makes for some of the best shots.

Fabrics I love:

• Linen — wrinkles a bit, drapes naturally, colours sun-faded perfectly
• Cotton in soft weaves — breathable and natural
• Silk and silk-blend — moves beautifully but watch wind on cliff locations
• Chiffon and gauze — for dresses, especially with movement

Fabrics that don’t work as well:

• Polyester with a sheen — looks plastic in strong light
• Heavy synthetic blends — drape badly, often cling
• Anything that wrinkles dramatically if you’ve been walking for an hour

For couples

The goal is complementary, not matching. You’re not in a 1990s Christmas card.

A simple approach:

1. Pick one colour family (e.g. cream + sand + soft blue).
2. One person wears the lighter end, the other wears the slightly darker or accent.
3. Touches of one shared accent — same shoe colour, similar accessory tone.

Examples that work well:

• She: cream linen midi dress / He: tan trousers + cream linen shirt.
• She: terracotta dress / He: white shirt + sand chinos.
• She: dusty blue silk slip dress / He: navy linen shirt + cream trousers.
• She: white flowing dress / He: olive shirt + tan trousers.

Examples that don’t quite work:

• Both in pure white head-to-toe (you blend together and there’s no visual separation).
• One in red, one in white (the red dominates every frame).
• One in a heavily patterned dress, the other plain (visually unbalanced).

For solo travellers

You have more freedom. The two main directions to choose between:

• Editorial / portrait: a flowing dress in a soft colour, one striking accessory, hair down. Great for vertical portrait shots.
• Travel / candid: linen shirt or simple top, soft trousers or jeans, sun hat, a small bag. Looks natural in walking shots.

Bring two outfits if you can — one of each. We swap halfway through a Signature session.

For families

The single best advice: a palette of two or three colours, no uniform.

Pick something like “cream, sand and one navy accent.” Each family member dresses within it however they like. Kids in cream linen rompers. Mum in a sand-coloured dress. Dad in navy linen shirt + cream trousers. Grandparents in cream and navy. Looks coherent in every frame, doesn’t look forced.

Avoid the matching-t-shirt approach unless that’s deliberately the joke.

Specific things people often ask

Black? Works in moderation, especially on Capri or against pastel walls. Avoid full head-to-toe black on bright cliff locations — you become a silhouette and lose all detail.

Heels? Look great in stills but become a real problem on Amalfi Coast steps and stone alleys. Recommendation: wear comfortable shoes (sandals, espadrilles) and bring heels in a small bag for one or two specific shots.

Sunglasses? Stylish but they hide your eyes, which are usually the most important thing in a portrait. Wear them between locations, take them off for shots. I’ll prompt you.

Hats? Yes — straw hats and panamas photograph beautifully. They also save you from harsh midday sun. But again: take them off for some frames so we have eye contact in the gallery.

Jewellery? Subtle is better. One delicate necklace, simple earrings. Big statement pieces fight with the village backdrop. The exception is a wedding/engagement ring — those photograph beautifully and we’ll capture them deliberately.

Practical packing list

For a trip with one planned session, bring:

• Two outfits (one for the session, one as backup)
• One pair of comfortable shoes for walking
• One pair of “look good” shoes for stills if you want them
• A light layer if shooting at sunrise or in Ravello
• A small bag I can hold during shots
• Water bottle in summer

For families: same logic, multiplied. Pick the palette before you pack.

The thing nobody tells you

By far the strongest predictor of how you’ll look in the photos is not the outfit. It’s how relaxed you are. Soft fabric on a tense person never looks as good as ordinary clothes on someone who’s having a great time.

So: pick something you actually like, that fits well, that’s comfortable enough to walk and sit and laugh in. Then forget about it during the session. The clothes were never the photo.

If you’d like specific outfit advice for your booked session, send me a quick photo of what you’re considering and I’ll tell you honestly. We’ll figure it out before the day.