It’s summer time and that means we’ll be scheduling a lot of engagement sessions. These sessions are the foundations of our relationship with our couples. During your engagement session, you’ll have a chance to get to know John, experience how he shoots and how he handles posing and lighting. This session will make a huge impact on how the wedding day flows.
Below are our 5 tips to help get the most out of your engagement session.
1. Communication.
For a lot of our couples, this might be the first time they are having their photos taken professionally. Therefore, collaborating on the styling and inspiration of the session ahead of time makes a tremendous difference. There are no shortage of ideas out there for planning your engagement session, but we like to talk with our couples about what style best represents who they are together. This helps us begin pinpoint what locations, time of day, and even the time of year to best fit their needs. John and I typically suggest bringing several layers and accessories to the session and we can collectively pick which works best for each location.
2. Location.
We always suggest that our couples choose a location that has meaning to them as a couple. For some couples, they are more comfortable outdoors or on their family farm, while others enjoy walking downtown and enjoying some coffee together. Maybe you met at a particular location or have a ‘special’ place that you’d like to go together… Whatever it is — trust us — you will photograph better when you feel more natural. Here are a few questions we like to ask our couples when planning their engagement session locations:
- What types of things do you like to do together?
- Where you can most likely be found on the weekend?
- Where do you feel the most comfortable together?
3. Attire.
This is probably our most common question. “What should we wear?” Our best advice is to dress how you would normally dress! You want to be comfortable, and these photos should reflect who you are! If you don’t normally wear dresses and lots of makeup then there is no need to do it for your engagement session! We want to highlight your personalities and tell the story of you as a couple, so it is always best to be yourselves! If you feel great in something, then the confidence you derive from that will definitely translate into better images. However, we do have a few suggestions to consider:
- Consider the season and setting. You want to consider the season and setting when planning out your outfits. High heels are great, but not when we we are walking through a field. It is most important for you to feel natural so choose pieces that you are can easily move and walk in based on whatever locations we choose. Most of our couples wear two outfits for their engagement session, one more formal and the other casual. We will plan your locations accordingly.
- Coordinate, but not matching. We’d prefer you to not be wearing the exact same thing!
- Try everything on beforehand. Take time before the engagement session and try everything on! Nothing is more distracting than ill-fitting clothing, wrinkles, panty lines and bra straps in photos. If you feel uncomfortable, it will show!
- Guys… Try out a v-neck shirt! If you’re wearing a white shirt under a polo or button-down, then the difference between a crew neck and a v-neck is more significant than you think! That gleaming triangle of white from a crew-neck shirt can be very distracting from the overall image, and the best way to avoid it is to find an appropriate v-neck
4. Hair and Makeup Trials.
We always like for brides to feel and look like themselves, but most of us have no idea how to apply makeup for photos. So, it is always great to plan your engagement session around a hair and makeup trial for the wedding day.
5. Have Fun.
This is the MOST important one! Treat your engagement session like a little date together, relax and enjoy the time spent together! It’s totally okay to be nervous…don’t try to hide it, laugh it out!