Ario Triwibowo wrote:
Dear friends at MM,

I am planning to do a bikini photo shoot. My model has a dark skin, as she is Melanesian. I am wondering which color of the bikini suits her.

Is bright colors like red, yellow etc will be better, or should I go dark like black?

thanks!

Will depend on how dark that she is. Your definition of dark to others might be not dark. Brown skin. Now if you're talking about a color like a very dark skinned Black, bright colors work best.

This is dark skin. Is this the skin color that you're working with?

Ario Triwibowo wrote:
Dear friends at MM,

I am planning to do a bikini photo shoot. My model has a dark skin, as she is Melanesian. I am wondering which color of the bikini suits her.

Is bright colors like red, yellow etc will be better, or should I go dark like black?

thanks!

Depends entirely, I think, on how much contrast you want.  Perhaps a pasty white girl may not look as good in a snow white bikini as she would a black bikini.

But it depends...





For the brown bikini, without the floral pattern, it would probably very uninteresting on her.

Ario Triwibowo wrote:
Dear friends at MM,

I am planning to do a bikini photo shoot. My model has a dark skin, as she is Melanesian. I am wondering which color of the bikini suits her.

Is bright colors like red, yellow etc will be better, or should I go dark like black?

thanks!

What color is the background? Outdoors on location or indoor studio?

AG_Boston wrote:
On a dark model, I like anything which is a shade of turquoise.

That's a great color.

Ario Triwibowo wrote:
Dear friends at MM,

I am planning to do a bikini photo shoot. My model has a dark skin, as she is Melanesian. I am wondering which color of the bikini suits her.

Is bright colors like red, yellow etc will be better, or should I go dark like black?

thanks!

White.  On my male models..I tried Black before...I find it always hides the lines.

CHAD ALAN wrote:

That's a great color.

Yup! Looks great on my dark skinned girlfriend.

AG_Boston wrote:
On a dark model, I like anything which is a shade of turquoise.

+1

Ario Triwibowo wrote:
Dear friends at MM,

I am planning to do a bikini photo shoot. My model has a dark skin, as she is Melanesian. I am wondering which color of the bikini suits her.

Is bright colors like red, yellow etc will be better, or should I go dark like black?

thanks!

I'd go with a bright color, rather than black or brown. The question is whether to go with a warm color like red or yellow, or a cool color like blue or green. Or white, or a light neutral color. And that depends on what kind of dark skin the model has, what the setting is, and what effect you want to achieve.

I happen to like blue on dark skinned models:



But I can easily imagine cases where a photographer would prefer a warm color, instead.

Ario Triwibowo wrote:
Dear friends at MM,

I am planning to do a bikini photo shoot. My model has a dark skin, as she is Melanesian. I am wondering which color of the bikini suits her.

Is bright colors like red, yellow etc will be better, or should I go dark like black?

thanks!

Black can work with tanned skin but probably not in this case. Lighter tones are likely to be better - yellow/gold is a fav of mine. Red or Blue can work but really depends on the skintone.

I find the best way is to consider what it would look like as a black and white shot - you want something that will not flatten out to be a similar gray tone as the body. You should also consider hair color and eye color when making your choices. 

Best answer is - buy a few in different colors - they will always do for a future shoot. I have at least 6 bikinis on hand for future shoots.

Amul La La wrote:
What's the best colour for anyone?.


More complimentary / most impactful...

Any colour.

It's up to you to make the colour/s you choose work.

Ario Triwibowo wrote:
Dear friends at MM,

I am planning to do a bikini photo shoot. My model has a dark skin, as she is Melanesian. I am wondering which color of the bikini suits her.

Is bright colors like red, yellow etc will be better, or should I go dark like black?

thanks!

I think you need to think deeper b/c there are more variables than just the model's skin.  For instance, if a model had strong blue eyes, I might pose her in a suit that had some blue in parts to highlight/compliment the eyes and maybe even a prop that worked with the eyes.  So look at the setting, at the color for the day, the props you're using, her hair (I know it's black or dark but does it have any highlights or does she put anything in it like beads?) and eye color.  Look at the makeup she uses.  That's why when I do a swimwear shoot with a new model, I tell her to bring at least 3 different shoots that are not all the same style or color.

Ed