Tips to crush your engagement session!
Chances are that you have never had engagement photos taken before, and so it’s natural for you to have a lot of questions leading up to the session. With that in mind, we’ve outlined a few of our most common tips and tricks below. This won’t answer every question you have, but it will give you a good idea of what to expect when you show up to an engagement session!
Confidence and Connection are Key!
This is the most important thing we can say! Remember that the reason we’re photographing you is to celebrate how much you love each other! It’s natural for everyone to be a little nervous in front of the camera (we get nervous when someone photographs us too), but it’s so important that you work to let go of that fear and focus on connecting with each other during the session. That choice to connect with the person you love most in the world will shine through in the photographs and is way more important than your clothing, the location, or the weather!
Bring Two Outfits!
We often suggest that our couples start with a more dressed-up outfit and then change into something a little more comfortable to finish up the session. This will offer you two different looks when you’re working on save-the-date cards or invitations!
The second outfit is also a great chance to include a few items that are true to who you are as a couple. Do you play guitar? Bring it! Love having your coffee together in the mornings? Perfect. Popcorn? Beer? Wine lovers? Yes. Yes. Yes! These types of items add to the story of who you are as a couple and we love to incorporate them into your shoot. However, we would suggest you leave the “soon to be married” signs and other outdated props at home. Here are a few not to cheesy ideas for you in case you’re feeling stuck: a bouquet of flowers, a favourite blanket for laying on, champagne for popping, campfires, smores, canoes, paddle boards, charcuterie… The list is endless!
Empty your Pockets
Nothing will frustrate you more than getting your images back and seeing the boxy outline of your cell phone in your back pocket! We suggest you leave your phones in the car and give your keys to us, we’ll keep them safe in the camera bag for the shoot. And don’t worry, if you happen to forget…we’re always on the lookout for anything we can do to help make your images even more beautiful!
Frequently Asked Questions
-
If you are hoping to use your engagement photos for save the date cards then we recommend you book your session about a year before your wedding date. This will give you enough time to receive your images from us and send the cards out to your family and friends.
If you don’t need them for invitations, then we suggest that you pick the season you love the most!
-
The most beautiful light of the day is the hour before and after sunrise or sunset. By planning your session as close to sunrise/sunset as possible, you give yourself the most flattering and gorgeous light. We often use google to calculate the sunset hour for a session months in advance, so even if your session isn’t planned for another six months we can set a time with confidence based on the sunrise/sunset times posted online.
-
Every photographer is different. But we plan to spend between 60-90 minutes photographing you for your engagement session. This gives us a chance to move to a second location and make an outfit change if you want to. It’s also long enough that we feel like we can get to know you both a little better (which is really important to us). But it’s not too long, so you won’t feel exhausted afterwards!
