Ready for your engagement photos? Here’s how to capture the perfect images that tell your unique, love story.

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After the big question is popped, and your answer is an overwhelming, tear-filled “YES!” It’s easy to get wrapped up in all the excitement of your engagement.

Your attention is solely focused on sharing your big, exciting news with friends and family, and celebrating your newfound titles as – fiancé.  And after the confetti (or glitter – hehe) settles on your engagement party, reality tends to set in. Now it’s time for us to plan a wedding! 

WAIT WHAT?

Don’t fret. Below are the answers to all of your engagement session questions.  And hopefully, after reading this information, you will have a clearer understanding of why you should book an engagement session; and more importantly, how to go about creating an engagement session that is romantic & authentic, and true to your unique, love story. 

So, let’s get started.

1.) Why should you book an engagement session?

The main reason to book an engagement session (aside from the fact that this is the ONE and ONLY time in your life you will be engaged) is the chance to be in front of your wedding photographer’s camera. 

Not only will this give you a chance to get to know your wedding photographer better and get comfortable in front of their camera, but you will also familiarize yourself with their posing style, their personality, and your photographer will also assess how to photograph you in the most flattering angles & poses too! Believe me – this alone can lead to a lot LESS stress for you on your wedding day. 

So, not only will you get a feel for your photographer’s shooting style during your session, but you will get a true feel for how they guide you in and out of poses, and how they are able to get the best candid reactions from you within those poses – hello cute laughing photos!

And BONUS, familiarizing yourself with your photographer’s creative style during a session, will make the portrait sessions on your wedding day flow more naturally, smoothly, and quickly. It’s a win-win-win for everyone! Yay! 

2.) Who should capture your engagement session?

Based on the above answer to question #1, it’s clear that your wedding photographer is the BEST bet for an amazing engagement session! As listed above, there are many benefits to having your wedding photographer take your photos, but additionally, most wedding photographers also include an engagement session in their package. 

In other words, experienced wedding photographers know the value that engagement sessions hold and thus, they offer some sort of engagement package to all their clients.

*Hint Hint* – Your wedding photographer wants to get to know you both better, and learn how to best photograph you as a couple. 

With that said, before choosing a wedding photographer, make SURE to do your research! There are a gazillion (yep, I said it) different types of wedding photographers out there; and personalities and styles of wedding photographers can vary greatly.

Thus, when you are selecting your wedding photographer – here are some quick questions to ask yourself.

Do I like this photographer? Yes, “liking” or connecting with your wedding photographer is almost as important as ensuring their editing style is consistent. Your wedding photographer will be there with you during every little moment of your day – I emphasize EVERY LITTLE MOMENT! 

So, make sure that you feel completely at ease with them. Then, ask yourself if you like their editing style and is their work cohesive & consistent?

Review multiple galleries on their website, and read their client reviews. 

Once you have done thorough research, and have booked your wedding photographer, then you can decide with your photographer, when to book your engagement session.

3.) When should you book your engagement session?

The timing of your session is largely dependent upon when you set your wedding date. Some couples get engaged and married within a 3-4 month period (elopements etc.) If you would like an engagement session completed prior to your elopement, discuss this with your wedding photographer, and they will help you decide the ideal time to book your session.

However, if you are planning your wedding a year or so in advance, and would like to send out a save-the-date card utilizing one of your engagement session images. You may want to consider scheduling your engagement session 8-10 months prior to your wedding. That way, you are able to print and send out your save-the-dates no later than six months before your wedding.

Other than the above two concerns, you and your wedding photographer should be able to establish the best time to schedule your session.

4.) What should you wear to your engagement session?

Many variables should be considered when deciding what to wear to any professional photo shoot, but the first and possibly most important would be, the time of year – summer, spring, winter, or fall? And second, what is your wedding photographer’s style of shooting?

For example – does your wedding photographer capture outdoorsy, adventurous sessions (ie. cut-off shorts, barefoot frolicking in the sand, hiking boots on a mountain top etc.), or do they capture a more, intimate, casual look (ie. coffee cups in hand, laughing with one another at your favorite, local coffee shop, or strolling hand-in-hand through your favorite park?) Or, is a more luxurious, formal look more their style (ie. dressed to the nines in long, flowy dresses, heels, and a dapper suit in a field or forest?) 

Whatever style your photographer typically captures, try to avoid too many variations of patterns in your clothing, and keep your silhouettes streamlined. Don’t try to be “matchy-matchy” and instead, think of coordinating your outfits. If you are worried about how a color may translate in camera, just choose a neutral, and a few coordinating colors tones you both feel confident in, and go from there. Keep both of your accessories as simple as possible so you can avoid flashy distractions in your photos.

And remember, the most important feature you bring to your engagement session are your smiles, your connection with one another, and lastly, the memories you will make together during your session.

5.) What location should you choose to capture your engagement session?

Try to be as creative as possible when it comes to your engagement session location.

In a standard engagement session package, most wedding photographers offer multiple location sites, with the option of 2-3 outfit changes, as well. 

So, some couples will choose to shoot their engagement session solely outside – hello beautiful, warm light! You may choose a lake, the beach, mountains, forests, fields – the sky is the limit – see what I did there – hehe?

Or you may want to visit the place where you got engaged, or a few of your favorite spots to go on dates. For example – a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, downtown, the zoo. You may even decide to have a destination engagement session like Paris, Italy, Greece, Iceland etc. Still stumped on choosing a location for your session – don’t worry, your wedding photographer will have suggestions for you, as well.

In the end, whatever location you choose, and however you may envision the sentiment behind your session (casual, formal etc.), just make sure that you are telling your real, authentic, love story through your photos, and you’ll never be disappointed!

And once again, I cannot reiterate enough – the most important thing to remember is to have fun with each other & laugh a lot – because this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and a little fun is a MUST!