What should I wear for a studio photoshoot?

Solid colours in a good fit, ironed or steamed, with two or three options for the photographer to choose from. Avoid clothes the same tone as the backdrop, anything green on a green screen, and fine stripes or small checks.

What should I bring to a photoshoot?

Your outfits on hangers with shoes and accessories, the products with spares, props that make the pictures yours, make-up and hair essentials for touch-ups, water and a snack, and the shot list.

How early should I arrive for a studio photoshoot?

About fifteen minutes before the booked time, so the hours you paid for go on pictures rather than parking and changing.

How do I prepare for a photoshoot if I am camera-shy?

Tell the photographer, bring references of pictures you like, and expect the first ten minutes to feel stiff. Weight on the back foot, body turned slightly away and face back towards the camera is a simple pose that works for most people.

How do I prepare products for a studio photoshoot?

Clean them with a lint-free cloth and handle them with gloves, remove or straighten labels and tags, bring spares of anything that marks or melts, and group them in shooting order with a list.

How to Prepare for a Studio Photoshoot: A Checklist

How to prepare for a studio photoshoot comes down to three things: a clear brief, the right clothes for the backdrop, and arriving ready to start. Do those and the hours you booked go on pictures, not on sorting things out. This checklist covers the week before, the day before and the day itself, for portraits, products, teams and families.

It is part of our series on studio shoots in Abu Dhabi. If you have not chosen a studio yet, start with the ten checks for choosing a photo studio.

A week before: the brief

A good brief is short. It tells the photographer what the pictures are for, so every decision on the day points the same way.

What the pictures are for: a website, LinkedIn, a product listing, a campaign, a family album.
Where they will run, because that decides the shape: tall for stories and reels, wide for a website banner, square for a grid.
The shot list: every picture you must leave with, in order of importance.
Three to five references: pictures you like, and a line on what you like about each one.
Who is in it, and how many, and anything the photographer should know: a shy child, a tight schedule, a product that scratches.

Send it to the studio a few days before, with your choice of set. If the studio builds the set for you, the brief is what it builds from.

A studio set being built: a large octagonal softbox on a stand facing a pink draped set with flowers — One set, built from a brief before the doors open. Evo studio, Abu Dhabi.

A camera on a tripod framing a bowl of pink flowers on a draped plinth, monitor showing the shot — One set, built from a brief before the doors open. Evo studio, Abu Dhabi.

What to wear for a studio photoshoot

What works depends on the backdrop. The rule underneath all of them: solid colours, a good fit, and nothing that fights the background.

What to wear, by backdrop
Backdrop	Works well	Avoid
White cyclorama	Solid colours, black, deep tones, texture such as knitwear	All white, unless you want a bright, high-key look on purpose
Green screen	Solid mid-tones, matt fabrics	Green, shiny or reflective fabrics, fine stripes
Coloured light	Black, white and neutrals, which take on the colour of the light	Strong colours that clash with the light
Painted or dark backdrops	Rich colours and texture that stand out from the background	Clothes the same tone as the backdrop

Bring two or three options and let the photographer choose on set. Clothes should be ironed or steamed, and anything new tried on at home first. For corporate pictures, a kandura, an abaya or a suit in a solid colour photographs cleanly; check the collar, and the fold of a ghutra or a shayla, in a mirror before each set. For families, choose a palette: matching shirts make a strong, graphic picture, and two or three colours that sit well together look softer.

Maternity couple portrait against a dark studio backdrop — What reads on camera: light clothes against a dark backdrop, traditional dress under coloured gels, and a family in matching colours. All shot at Evo's studio in Abu Dhabi.

Studio portrait of a man in traditional Emirati dress lit with coloured gels — What reads on camera: light clothes against a dark backdrop, traditional dress under coloured gels, and a family in matching colours. All shot at Evo's studio in Abu Dhabi.

Grooming, hair and make-up

Studio light is honest. A haircut a week before, rather than the day before, looks more natural. Matt skin photographs better than shine, so bring powder or blotting papers. If you are booking a make-up artist, ask for a look built for camera and for studio light, and leave time for it before the booked hours start. Glasses can reflect the lights: anti-glare lenses help, and the photographer can angle the lights or the frames.

What to bring to a studio photoshoot

Outfits on hangers, ironed, with the right shoes and any accessories.
A steamer or a lint roller, if the studio does not have one.
The products, cleaned, with spares of anything that scratches, dents or melts.
Props that make it yours: a logo, a mug, a ball, a trophy, a book, agreed with the studio in advance.
Make-up and hair essentials for touch-ups: powder, a brush, hair ties and pins.
Water and a snack, and for children, whatever keeps them happy.
The shot list and references on your phone, to tick off as you go.
A drive or a cloud link, if you are renting the room and taking the files yourself.

Child in fairy wings at a pink first-birthday party setup — Bring what tells the story: fairy wings and a set in the party's colours for a first birthday, at Evo's studio in Abu Dhabi.

Props are the quickest way to make a studio picture personal. A team brings its trophy, a founder brings the product, a family brings the toy the baby will not let go of. Tell the studio what is coming, so the set leaves room for it.

The day before

Confirm the time, the address and parking with the studio, and send them to everyone who is coming.
Pack the bag from the list above, and charge anything that runs on a battery.
Sleep, and drink water. It shows on camera more than most things you can put on.
Check the route, and allow for traffic and, in Ramadan, different working hours.

On the day: how a studio shoot runs

Arrive fifteen minutes before the booked time, so the clock starts on pictures, not on parking and changing. Most studio shoots then run in the same order:

Walk through the plan: the shot list, the order of the sets and looks, and the time each one gets.
Test frames: the photographer checks the light on you and adjusts it. These are not the keepers, so relax.
Warm up: the first ten minutes are usually the stiffest. A good photographer talks you through it and gives your hands something to do.
Shoot the must-haves first, while everyone is fresh, then the extras.
Review on a screen at the end of each set, and say if something is not right while the set is still up.
Change and reset between looks, with time for it in the plan.
Agree the selection and delivery before you leave: how you choose, how many are retouched, and when they arrive.

Posing, if you are not a model

Nobody expects you to know how to pose. Put your weight on your back foot, turn your body slightly away from the camera and your face back towards it, and keep a little space between your arms and your body. Breathe out just before the shot. If you are nervous, say so: a good crew directs every frame.

Seated
Standing

Two simple poses that work for most people, seated and standing, from one corporate session at Evo's studio.

Preparing products for a studio shoot

Clean every product with a lint-free cloth, and bring gloves so fingerprints stay off.
Remove or straighten labels, stickers and tags, and bring the packaging if it is part of the shot.
Bring spares of anything that marks, dents or melts, and of anything you will open or pour.
Group the products in shooting order, with a list the photographer can tick off.
Say where each picture is going: a marketplace listing on white has different rules from a campaign on a set.

A soft toy monkey lit and photographed as a formal portrait between two lights, with title lettering above — Even a soft toy gets a portrait's lighting: two lights and a set, at Evo's studio in Abu Dhabi.

Product shoots go fastest when the products arrive ready. Time spent polishing, assembling or hunting for the right size comes out of the booked hours.

Preparing a team or a squad

Send a schedule with each person's slot, so people arrive when they are needed, not all at once.
Kits clean and complete, with numbers and badges showing, and spares in sizes that fit.
One person in charge of the running order and of getting people to the set.
The group picture first, while everyone is there and fresh.

Black and white composite of a boy striking a football — A young footballer's portrait, in black and white, at Evo's studio in Abu Dhabi.

Preparing children and families

Plan around the youngest person in the room. Book the part of the day when the children are usually at their best, bring snacks that do not stain, and dress them last. Keep the shot list short and take the family picture first, before anyone gets tired. Maternity and newborn sessions need more planning; our family, maternity and newborn guide covers it.

After the shoot

Ask how you will choose the pictures, how many will be retouched, in what sizes, and by when. Give your feedback on the first edits in one list rather than a stream of messages, and keep the originals somewhere safe. If the pictures are for a brand, agree in writing where they can be used and for how long.

For what a studio costs and how many hours to book, see photo studio rental in Abu Dhabi. For the sets, the address and how a booking works, see the Evo Media Pro studio guide or the studio page.

How to Prepare for a Studio Photoshoot: What to Wear, Bring and Expect