Best Fall Colors to Wear Based on Your Skin Tone
Fall is one of my favorite (and busiest) times of year. As a mom, life is back in full swing with Kai in school. As a hairstylist my schedule is filling up with clients wanting a new look for the season. And, as a lifestyle photographer, my books get super busy because everyone wants those autumn skies and changing colors as their backdrop.
I CAN. NOT. WAIT! to meet up with everyone and get going on all these fall sessions! To help make sure you’re getting the best autumn photos, I’m addressing the color-aspect of a question I get asked a lot, right after clients book their session:
“Can you help me decide what to wear?”
First of all, YES. From the minute you book with me, you have unlimited email access via your Client Portal. This is where I get sent screen shots and Pinterest boards from clients looking for my advice on which kind of outfits, color schemes and family coordination would make them look the best and create the best images, while also taking into consideration the location and time of day they’ve chosen.
Phew… You guys, I know it sounds complicated, but that’s what you’re hiring me for… Right? I got you!!
In my last blog, How To Prepare For Your Fall Mini Session, I touched on outfit ideas with a bit of color advice, including which to avoid. This blog is more practical, giving you the best color choices based on your skin tone. Now, as a cosmetologist, I know there is much more to figuring out your tone and undertones, and there are lots of spectrums and variations that I could get into, but I don’t want to boggle your brains.
For the sake of simplifying, I’m only sharing the basics of color theory for cool tones and warm tones. I’m sure you know what you are already, or can quickly Google how to find out. Here we go!
Think of cool skin tones as matching those moody, stormy autumn skies. Deep blue clouds layered with lighter blue-gray ones. All of the still-green foliage taking on a deeper blue-gray cast.
Your best color schemes for a fall session: Gray-pinks, violet-reds, dusty rose and deep mauve, steely grays, cooler teals, sage and olive greens, burgundy (violet brown), beige and off-whites, and camel tans.
Think of warm skin tones as matching the peak autumn leaves. Golden-hour sunshine blazing onto all the reds, oranges and yellows of the changing foliage.
Your best color schemes for a fall session: Light buttercream yellow, mustard or butterscotch, walnut, dark chocolate, mahogany (yellow-auburn), ruby red, dark forest green, and dark teal.
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Use the color palettes above to help you start figuring out which colors to mix and match based on your skin tone! I would selfishly love to see mustards, sage greens, rust orange and dark teal in more of this fall’s photos… but that’s just me.
Color theory or not, the best outfit for your session is always going to be the one you love wearing and feel great in! Now get inspired and share your ideas with me when you book! I’m here to help:)
