When photographing portraits, I work with each client to help select outfits for the session. Part of that process is also choosing what jewelry to wear for photographs. Often this is difficult because it’s so hard to know whether a piece of jewelry will look right with the neckline, whether it will overpower the outfit, or maybe even cause problems when the person wearing it moves around.

In this post you’ll find out some general necklace guidelines for selecting jewelry for portraits, which pieces look best with which necklines, and what to do when you’re just not sure whether a necklace is really working.

General Necklace Tips for photography portraits

• Keep it simple - choose jewelry that is classic and minimal.

• Make sure your jewelry is clean, polished, and without excessive fingerprints - dirt and smudges easily show up in photos.

• Don’t mix metals - go with gold, or silver/platinum, but not both together. Sometimes this works out, but most of the time it’s best to stick with one metal only (unless mixing them is your personal style!).

• Try necklaces on with the top you’ve selected as it’s sometimes the only way to tell whether the look works or not - don’t rely on eyeballing it, try it on!

• If your jewelry has a colored stone (or several), make sure the color coordinates with your outfit - don’t bring colors that don’t look good together.

• I always suggest including meaningful pieces in your portraits. If there’s a necklace you wear every day that was a gift from someone special, it doesn’t matter what it looks like, you should definitely wear it for portraits!

Best necklaces for V-neck Shapes

A V-neckline is one of the most flattering shapes for tops and dresses. But pairing a necklace with a V-neck can sometimes be tricky. Make sure that the necklace you select is fully visible within the neckline opening. The necklace itself can be a short rounded shape or a V following the neckline, either one works well! The key here is the length - you need about an inch of so of clearance above your garment, but most of all, use your eyes - if the necklace looks weird with the outfit you selected, it’s probably best to chose something different.

Best necklaces for high necklines

If your shirt has a crew or boat neckline that comes in fairly high, go for longer necklaces that can fully stretch out on their own. Make sure your jewelry fully clears your neckline and is long enough to go past the top of your shirt. The problem with having a necklace that’s too short is that it will get caught on the neckline of your garment and will end up inside your shirt, at which point it will no longer be visible. It can also become twisted and will generally cause some trouble during the photoshoot.

Best necklaces for deep necklines

If your neckline is a bit deeper, whether it’s a V-neck or a loose flowy blouse, you can either go super-long or short for your necklace length. For longer necklaces, it’s super important that there’s a lot of overlap so that your necklace doesn’t end up wedging or getting stuck in your shirt. For shorter necklaces, you want to make sure you have plenty of breathing room so that everything looks intentional and neat.

When in doubt...

Keep it simple! Often jewelry is truly not needed. The point of a portrait is to make you shine, not what you’re wearing. Having an elaborate or flashy necklace can often distract from your face and overly complicate the visual integrity of the photograph. So more often than not, the answer might be to simply leave the jewelry out of it and make sure that we focus on what’s most important.. you!