What to Wear for a Santorini Photoshoot: Colors, Wind, Shoes

Outfits come up in almost every request, and rightly so: you will look at these photos for decades. Santorini has a specific palette, brilliant white walls, blue domes, terracotta roofs, black volcanic rock and a sea that runs from turquoise to navy, and the right clothes sit inside it instead of fighting it. Here is what works, learned from photographing couples on the island every week since 2014.

Colors that work

What to avoid

• Neon and very saturated colors: they pull the eye away from faces and age badly.
• Large logos, slogans and busy prints: they become the subject of the photo.
• Identical outfits: coordinating is better than matching. Same color family, different expressions.
• Pure bright white head to toe in direct sun: it can overexpose against white walls. Ivory and cream are safer at midday; white is fine at golden hour.
• Black on both of you: it works for one, it flattens two.

How to coordinate as a couple

Pick a color family, then let each person wear it differently. Combinations that work every time:

• White or ivory dress with a navy linen shirt
• Terracotta dress with a cream or stone shirt
• Sage midi dress with a white linen shirt
• Blush dress with grey or charcoal trousers
• The same earth tone in two textures, linen and silk, for example

Not sure? Send a photo of both outfits before the session. Alexandros answers on WhatsApp with a yes or a swap.

Fabrics and the wind

The caldera edge is almost never still. Lightweight linen, chiffon and silk move in the breeze and look alive in photos; a stiff fabric looks the same whether there is wind or not. A midi or maxi dress moves beautifully and still handles the cobbles and steps. On a strong-wind day a very light, very full skirt becomes a fight in Oia at 19:00; a heavier fabric or a slimmer cut solves it, and so does a sunrise session when the air is usually calm.

Hair worn down will move. Often that is the picture; if it worries you, a loose braid, a half-up style or a clip in your bag gives you the choice on the spot.

Shoes and the steps

Santorini is steps: Oia's lanes, the 300 steps to Ammoudi, the caldera path in Fira. Flat sandals photograph as elegantly as heels and are far more comfortable over an hour or two. If you want heels, carry them and put them on for the terrace frames, then walk between spots in flats. Men: leather sandals or clean sneakers in a neutral color, not hiking shoes.

Men

Linen is the answer. A linen shirt, untucked or lightly tucked, with well-fitted trousers looks relaxed and sharp. White, stone, navy and olive are always right; a plain T-shirt rarely lifts a photo the way a collar does. Roll the sleeves, lose the watch tan line, and leave the sunglasses in your pocket for the portraits.

A second outfit

One change fits a two-hour session naturally: we switch between villages, usually at the car. On a one-hour session a change costs ten minutes of the best light, so we suggest one outfit and a different light instead. For the three-hour Grand Session two changes are easy.

Jewelry, bags and props

Keep jewelry simple; statement earrings work, anything that clanks or flashes does not. Your engagement ring will be in many frames, so keep the hands uncluttered. Leave bags with us or at the first spot; a straw hat is the one prop that always works.

Children and families

Light, matching-but-not-matching colors, no characters on the shirts, comfortable shoes, and a spare top for the smallest. Grandparents: the Imerovigli terraces have no steps, so the outfit can be anything you walk well in.

Sunrise versus sunset outfits

At sunrise the air is cool and the light is pale, so pastels and whites look soft and clean; bring a wrap for the walk. At sunset the light is gold, which warms everything: creams, terracotta and sage glow, and white turns to honey. Navy and deep blue look best at sunset against the orange sky.

The one rule

Wear what you feel good in. Confidence shows in every frame, and so does a dress that is too tight or a shirt that is not you. The best photos we have ever taken were of couples in simple, well-chosen clothes that suited them, not the most elaborate outfits, the most them.

Three outfits that always work in Santorini, with the spot

What to bring in the bag

• A hair clip or a thin elastic, even if you plan to wear your hair down
• Flat sandals to walk in, heels in the bag for the terrace frames
• A light wrap for a sunrise session; the air at 06:30 is cool even in July
• Tissue or blotting paper in summer; the walk up from the car park is warm
• Water, and nothing else you would need to hold in a photo

Maternity and babymoon sessions

Fitted dresses in cream, sand or sage show the shape and sit well against the white walls; flowing fabrics work too if they are cut close at the top. Avoid busy prints and black. Flat shoes, always: the terraces in Imerovigli are flat, the paths to them are not. Most maternity sessions run at golden hour on the chapel terrace below Skaros Rock, where there are no steps at all.

Weddings and elopements

The dress is chosen; the question is the walk. A long train on the caldera path collects dust and catches on steps, so we carry it between spots or bump it for the walk. Veils are the best thing in the Santorini wind; a long one needs a second pair of hands, which is what the groom is for. Grooms: linen or a light wool suit, not black in July; cream, sand, light grey and navy all photograph well and feel better at 30 degrees.

Sunglasses, hats and the sun

Sunglasses off for the portraits; the eyes are the photo. A straw hat is the one accessory that always works, and it doubles as shade between spots. Sunscreen before the session, not after; a shiny face at 19:00 is a sunscreen face.

Questions we get about outfits

Can we send photos of our outfits first? Yes, please. A quick yes or a suggested swap on WhatsApp saves a change at the car.

Is white a problem against white walls? Not at golden hour, when the walls turn cream and gold and white clothes stay white. At midday ivory is safer than pure white.

Do you have a changing place? Between villages there is the car, and in each village a café bathroom; we plan the change for a spot where it takes five minutes.

What about children's outfits? Plain, light, comfortable, no characters. A spare shirt for the smallest. Shoes they can run in; the photos happen while they run.