How do you know what skin tone you have? And why does it matter? By determining your skin tone, you can determine what colors will look best on you for your photos. The colors you wear can affect how you look in your photos and by wearing the correct colors, the colors that work best for you, you can ensure that you and your photos look great!
Test It Out
So how do you determine your skin tone? There are a few tests you can do to find out. Choose the best test that you think will give you the most accurate results.
The Paper Test
Hold a white piece of paper up to your face and look at your skin against it.
- If your skin appears yellowish or sallow (an unhealthy yellow or pale brown color beside the paper), you have a warm skin tone.
- If your skin appears pink, rosy, or blueish-red, you have a cool skin tone.
- If your skin appears gray, you have skin with a neutral tone.
The Vein Test
Hold out your arm in natural light and look at the color of your veins.
- If your veins appear blue or purple, you have a cool skin tone.
- If your veins are blueish-green, you have a neutral skin tone.
- If your veins appear green or olive, you have a warm skin tone.
The Sun Test
Ask yourself how your skin reacts to the sun.
- If you burn fast, you are most likely a cool tone.
- If your skin tans but it can also burn, you have a neutral skin tone.
- If you tan easily, you are a warm tone.
The Metal Test
When it comes to jewelry, what color metal looks best on you?
- If silver looks best on you, you are a cool tone.
- If gold looks best on you, you are a warm tone.
- If either looks great on you, then you are a neutral tone.
So now you have taken all or some of the tests and have gotten the answers about what tone your skin is, it’s time to determine the colors that look best on you!
Best Colors for Each Skin Tone
Warm Skin Tones
- If you have a warm skin tone, you will look best in colors with a warm, golden undertone. Generally, warm tones look best with hair color that ranges from golden blonde to medium golden brown. Avoid harsh, bright colors such as fluorescent yellow, hot pink, or lime green.
- List of colors that look best for warm skin tones: brown, yellow, orange, green, and ivory.
Cool Skin Tones
- If you have a cool skin tone, you will look best in colors on the cool end of the color wheel spectrum. Generally cool skin tones look best with hair colors that are cool, ash colors such as platinum blonde, or dark colors such as brown or black with blue undertones. Avoid oranges, beige, browns, and other warm type colors.
- List of colors that look best for cool skin tones: Blue, emerald green, purple, pink, gray, and white.
Neutral Skin Tones
- A neutral skin tone is one in which a mixture of cool and warm tones work. This skin tone is lucky because you can play around with all tones to find the ones that work best. Be sure to try on a variety of colors to see which looks best on you.
- List of colors that look best on neutral skin tones: soft pink, medium blue, green, taupe, and gray.
No matter what skin tone you have, it is important to try on clothes in different colors to see what will work best for you and your tone. And don’t assume one color is the best color for photos such as white! Just because a certain color is popular doesn’t mean it’s the best one for YOU! Remember to bring a variety of color choices and not have every article of clothing be the same color (BORING!). And colors that pop will pop in your photos too! Subdued colors will be subdued in photos! Think about what you want for your photos and find colors that express that!
More Resources
Now that you know your skin type, the next step is to be educated on how professional hair & makeup play a major part in how your photos look. Great photos have many components to them, and I want you to be educated on each one.
If you’re in need of a local MUA (makeup artist), Makeup by Mya Alyssa does a wonderful job. I have seen her work personally by my clients and no matter the look you’re going for, she’ll take care of you. Check out her Instagram page.
If you are interested in booking a portrait or senior session with LaToya Jyadon Photography, click here and let’s talk about it.
