Engagement Session Tips!

 

First off, congrats on your recent engagement! Take this time to relax.. go grab a coffee and enjoy the ride 🙂

You are about to start off on a huge photographic journey with myself, and I can’t wait to share on your special memories that this time brings! I love engagement shoots! It’s my favorite part of being a photographer to photograph couples, and or single portraits. I love the one on one time that I can get when shooting with couples and bringing their love to print.

 

What location should we choose?

When choosing a location, it’s really important to figure out what best fits your personality as a couple. Whether you are a seaside person and favor the beach, or you want something more rustic, or natural. It’s important to think what you like. So with that said ask yourself,  what you want your images to look like? Do you want to choose something that will either tie to your wedding date, or tie to your likeness and hobbies that you do as a couple? Do you guys sail or have picnics at the beach, maybe a marina with a blanket, champagne, books, will create the perfect setting to your engagement shoot. Do you love the urban culture, like architecture, fancy buildings, maybe more brick than greenery? Perhaps a downtown area shooting near a fun Art/History museum would be best for your engagement shoot. The possibilities are truly endless.. After all the end goal is to have something you will cherish forever.

How do we dress?

I get this question all the time.. it’s a good option to bring accessories and items to change into, or add or take off. To much is never enough. Jewelry, scarfs, hats, jackets, shoes, hair pieces and or accessories are all items that can bring a new mood into a photograph, or change it. It’s  all about your style and bringing it out to the max. For example, if you want to wear a maxi dress on the beach, you can always bring a denim jacket and add some nice jewelry pieces like bracelets to add a little bit of color and pop. And than during the session, you can just take off the jacket, and have your neck be more bare, or bring up your hair. Pinterest is a great source for wardrobe ideas and putting things together. I personally have learned to accessories because of Pinterest! 🙂 So I highly recommend it.

When choosing out your wardrobe think about where you’ll be.  So for instance, if you are at the beach, perhaps bring flip flops to change into and out of those platform sandals you wanna wear or vice versa in a field. Perhaps bring closed toe shoes just in case for creepy crawlers if the grass is really tall. You can always wear flip-flops and change into your fancy shoes while we walk around your location spots. So, always think comfort too. If you need a changing tent, I got one, just ask! We can either change in a close by bathroom for a complete second wardrobe option. Or, you can change in my mini popup that I have. (It’s completely screened and all you’ll do is hop in and step on a towel so you feet will stay clean and dry).

 

Professional makeup?

I think this is a great opportunity to get photographed with possibly the same makeup you want for your wedding date. Its a wonderful test drive to see how your face will be, and what you feel is enough and you love. Some future brides opt for the professional makeup artist to come glam them up, and if you choose this I can recommend some friends and or recommend some other options as well. Whether or not you do your own, or opt for a professional bring touch up items! Lip gloss goes a long way, and it’s especially handy to reapply when your kissing your significant other! Also, if you want bring some blush to freshen up. Something really cool  I’ve learned is using an oil blotch pad. These handy little guys are great to to eliminate the shininess we all get when we get a little sweaty.

 

Choosing a date and thinking about the weather.. When should I schedule my shoot, and what time of the day?

I’m good with whatever time of the year you want to shoot. It ultimately boils down to the comfort of the client. If you guys are okay with sweating a little than summer is for you. Especially if you want to have some images in the water, or near the water. If you are more of a winter/fall person that of course choose closer to Sept-Nov for more of a fall color type of shoot.

 

In terms of lighting for the day I shoot either two hours-1hour and 30minutes before sunset, or 30minutes before sunrise.  Each offer soft beautiful light. In terms of the sky and what we will get, that’s all up to fate and what God’s paintbrush is feeling like producing that day. I always try and educate my clients that we may have a cotton candy blown sky, with those gorgeous pink’s and blues, but we may also have an overcast sky where the sky is a bit more blown out. But nonetheless the light will be gorgeous and glowing.  The time of the day just depends on if also if you like to rise early, or you feel more energized towards the end of the day.

What happens after the shoot? 

Well…. the anticipation of seeing your images should be pretty high so I do my very best to shell out the images back to you as soon as possible. So with that said, I strive for a 2week delivery date from session to end. You’ll be able to see all your images of the session two weeks from when we shot. Also this will be sent in an email format, and you will be able to view all your images in a gallery. This gallery can than be passed on to family members, friends, and whomever you want to share your images with. From this you can also print, put on a dvd of your own, or even create a print order for me to fulfill. Once the delivery of your images via the online gallery is sent, I than work on your blog about your session and introduction of you as a couple to my own audience. From here on,  I package your images onto a disk or a usb and you should than receive the hard copy of your high resolution files within three days of me sending it out.

 

PS:

So after all is said and done you want this experience to be stress free and fun! So don’t worry about the posing and technical stuff. I got that covered! 🙂 Also, I’ll bring water bottles if your thirsty, and I’ll make sure to bring mosquito repellent for those crazy spots. I got you! 🙂 Engagement sessions are meant to be fun, tons of giggling, and laughing. So just bring an open mind and I’m sure your engagement session will be a fantastical experience for both you and your fiance! (or fiancee)