Planning your engagement session
As a photographer who strives for dreamy, emotional, true to color photos that share the same nostalgia as those filmy photos we all love, I think it is so important to not just schedule your engagement session for a pretty location, but to communicate your ideas and vision. I love sending my clients a questionnaire prior to shooting so we can build a custom session atmosphere that will create genuine emotion through storytelling.
If you hire me as your photographer, you can expect me to work closely with you to make that vision happen. When deciding where you want to shoot your engagement photos, ask yourself questions like these:
Where and how do we spend most of our free time?
Where do we feel most ourselves?
What activities do we enjoy together?
When you think of your love, do you envision golden hour, sunrise, sunset, nighttime, dusk, or bright afternoon sunlight?
That last one is one of my favorites. The lighting you choose for your session can completely shift the vibe. Photos in direct sun can be so artistic, and photos in soft light can be so dreamy. Make sure you hire a photographer who is comfortable shooting in all different lighting situations, because your wedding day will have a variety.
When choosing the location, I will provide you with a list of my commonly used locations, but I encourage you to think outside the box with something that is special to you. Maybe add an activity to it as well! Here are some out-of-the-box ideas:
on your farm with horses or cows
in your home with your pets
in your backyard with a movie projected on a sheet
laundromat
in a truck bed
on client’s property
on a boat (canoe, pontoon, sailboat, etc)
picnic in the woods
grassy hills with kites
down by the river with a canvas and paints
on the tire swing where you grew up
swimming in the pond you spend evenings by
at night under the stars
under the streetlights in a downtown setting
an empty parking lot with fastfood and milkshakes
in a car, vintage or not
in a parking garage
Another important aspect of planning your engagement session is the outfit selections. I have a style guide posted here on my website. This guide covers the basics, if you feel you have a good vision already. If you feel completely lost, I am here to help you, whether that means online shopping (my fav) or sending you moodboards and pinterest boards to get you on the right track for nailing your vision. Outfits can really set the tone for your session. For example, short dresses are adorable but can limit the poses you can do comfortably. My number one tips when choosing your outfits are:
choose something you are comfortable in, and will be able to move freely in (I like to pose and direct you with lots of movement, more like you’re in a movie than a photo session)
if there will be time during your session, choose two outfits! If there isn’t much time or a place to change, try some cute and easily removable layers to give your photos lots of variety!
when choosing your partner’s outfit, don’t match, but correlate
make sure your outfits have a variety of textures, whether that is lace or different fabrics, this creates depth in your images
All of these tips can help you when making your vision come to life, but the most important, is that you do something that you resonate with, and that feels like YOU. Because the best and most genuine photos come when you are not afraid to be yourself with your honey. I encourage you to be playful, just have fun, and let me direct you at your session. That is how we will make some beautiful art that you can feel!
