Your Perfect Engagement Session: The 5 keys to give you photos that you and your fiancé will love and cherish!
It's that exciting time in your life where you've just said "yes" to marrying your person! The one who've you been dreaming about spending the rest of your life with, and now you're taking your commitment to the next level. But with wedding planning, there can be a lot of stress.
I'm hoping to give you some tips to make your engagement session less stressful and more fun. Your engagement session is one of the best parts of your engagement season, its a time where you and your fiancé get to pause in the craziness of wedding planning, and just enjoy some quality time with each other, while also getting to document your love in beautiful pictures that marks the beginning of your forever.
So, without further adieu, let's get to the fun part!
Tip #1 - YOUR VISION
When you think of engagement photos what comes to mind? Is it the candid, fun, adventurous poses, or is it romantic poses that are also candid in some variety, or maybe it's a little mix of both? When you've pinpointed your vision, this will help you to create the perfect engagement session that fits you and your fiancé. You'll be able to also make your expectations known to your photographer so they can better serve you.
Tip #2 - LOCATION
Your location backdrop sets the scene for the kind of engagement session you want. For example, if you are more of an adventurous couple, maybe you want photos on a mountain peak, in the woods, at the springs, or in an open field. If you're looking for more romantic posed portraits, maybe it'll be in a garden, the beach or in a field of mossy oak trees. Once you've pin pointed your vision, your photographer should be able to recommend some locations based off your vision. Or maybe you even have a location that comes to mind, something that means a lot to you and your fiancé. This is such a crucial part to ensuring you get portraits you love.
Tip #3 - OUTFIT
Before you start stressing about what to wear, wear what you feel comfortable and confident in! Our tip is to match your outfit to your location. For example, if you're going to be at the beach or in a field, you're probably not going to want to wear stilettos, or an outfit you can't sit in. Plan for two outfits, I love when my couples bring both a casual outfit and a more formal one. Your outfit can completely transform the location and elevate your portraits to deliver some killer results.
Tip #4 - GOLDEN HOUR
You may have heard of golden hour before. But let me tell you, golden hour makes all the difference when it comes to your portrait session. If you want that beautiful golden hue hitting your hair or shining behind you and your fiancé as you lean your heads in together, you need to plan for golden hour. When is golden hour? Well, it's either first thing in the morning as the sun is rising, or it's in the evening about an hour and a half before the sun sets. Make sure to let your photographer know that you really want golden hour portraits so that they can work with you to make it happen. Sometimes rain might cause a plan B option like changing the time to the morning or even a different day. Be sure to ask your photographer before you book with them what their plan would be if golden hour can't be achieved on your engagement session date.
Tip #5 - HAVE FUN
This might seem like a given, but if you show up to your shoot frazzled about your hair, or uncomfortable in your outfit, or self-conscious about how you look, those emotions will be very evident in your portraits. Make sure that you feel good, and you have fun during your session. Take this time to soak in the season with your love, it seriously goes by so fast. Make the session your own, you can bring props or snacks that you love. For example if its summer, you can bring a cute blanket to sit on and some ice cream cones to share, or if you or your fiancé plays an instrument, you can bring that and your photographer could capture some super sweet moments that are memorable for you and your fiancé. The more relaxed you are and the more ready you are to see this as a date and not just a session the more fun it will be and the more perfect your engagement session will be.
COMMUNICATION
A big part of getting the photos you want is being open with your photographer, let your expectations be known. This will help your photographer deliver the portraits you want and will love. If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask! The last thing you want to do is be afraid to ask and then be disappointed with your portraits. The best thing you can do is meet with your photographer or talk with them before your engagement session to make sure you work with each other well. An engagement session is a great way for your photographer to get to know you better and be able to deliver photos on your wedding day that are perfectly tailored to you.