8 Engagement Session Tips

Engagement sessions are so amazing but if you're not used to being in front of a camera it can be nerve-wracking. Your engagement session is a special time you and your partner get to celebrate your lives coming together and get comfortable being photographed for your big day. Whether you're engaged already or think you might be soon, wedding planning can be very overwhelming. I'm help to share some tips to make this process a bit easier. From how to prepare to where to go, keep these eight things in mind when planning your engagement session.

Why you should get engagement photos done

Obviously you should take this opportunity to spend time with your loved one in a unique, intimate, and fun way! This time in your lives is a milestone and it's important to celebrate the love the two of share. These images are something that will get shown to your kids, their kids, and generations to come. This is the time to laugh and get beautiful moments captured that you can use for save the date, invitations, and decor. You'll be able to get to know your photographer, their work flow, and the posing and/or prompts they commonly use. Also, why the hell not?!?!

The first step: Pick a wedding date

Okay, hear me out on why I think this is important in the long run. Some photographers, such as myself, include engagement session in their wedding packages. You'll be able to know them super well, kill two birds with one stone, and the pictures from your engagement session and wedding with flow together nicely. You can also book a hair and makeup artist at this time. After picking your engagement session date, you can schedule your hair and makeup trial for the same day as your session. That way you are all dolled up for your and get to see how your hair and makeup will photograph before your big day! You want to make sure when you take engagement photos you leave enough time to get save the dates and/or invitations sent out before your wedding.

Theme/Activity/Vibe

Your session is the story the two of you coming to life through images. If you think your session as a movie of the two of you, what would the cover look like? Maybe you're more introverted and romantic and a picnic in a field would be perfect for you. Maybe you're goofy and adventurous and the perfect adventure for you would be renting a sailboat or heading to an arcade. You could also correlate it with your venue if your wedding theme is boho, rustic, black tie, floral, etc. Think of how you want you session to feel and think outside the box with props too, such as champagne to pop. a guitar,  pizza and beer, paint and  canvas, smoke bomb, bouquet, an antique car, or even your dog. Whatever you decide, just be true to yourself, because these are images you're going to look back on for a lifetime

Outfits

This is key to your whole session. the most important thing is that you're comfortable. If you're uncomfortable, it's going to come through in your images. You want your attire to match your vibe. Do NOT be afraid to be a bit extra with your outfits though! You and your partners outfits need to compliment each other in a way that makes sense. Go with softer, muted, and/or neutral colors, and try to avoid lots of textures, patterns, or any logos. (Pinterest is a great tool here for visual inspiration.) Think about how you can spice up your outfits as well, even if it's only for a portion of your images. Try adding things like fun sunglasses, sparkly boots, or fedoras. Worst comes to worse you bring a bunch of different outfits and accessories and get advice in person from your photographer.

Preparing for your session

This is where the juicy tips are!

• I said before that you should book your hair and makeup artist for your wedding date when you get engaged. The reason for this is so you can schedule you trial run on the same day as your engagement session. That way you can get all dolled up and ready for your session AND see how your hair and makeup will photograph on your big day. WIN-WIN!
• If you normally tan or get spray tans do this about 7 days before your session.
• Don't make any drastic changes to your hair in case you don't like the color or cut.
• Treat yourself and get your nails done! There will be a lot of attention and close up of your hands so make sure they are looking their best, (This includes the men who are rough on their hands.)
• Going off the last sentence, get your ring cleaned or get a cleaner and do it yourself.
• Get and try out your outfits in advance so you have time to exchange them if need be.
• Try to eat a light meal... If you're anything like me you get hangry easily, but we also don't want you bloated and not feeling your best, so try a light snack.
• Bring a touchup/emergency kit. Touch up makeup, change of clothes, towel, medicine, etc. anything you may want or need.
• The number one thing you should do is to clear your schedule! You want to be able to enjoy this beautiful and romantic day and make a whole date out of it. This is so exciting! So take the day to be with each other, relaxing and taking in the day were you celebrate that you'll soon be saying "I DO."

Choosing a location

This seems to be the most stressful part and where couples feel like it will make or breaking the whole thing. Take a deep breath. There are endless locations to choose from. You can choosing a places where you spend a lot of time or where you had your first date. Thinking of a place that means more to you both will make your session feel more special and unique! Here's some places my past clients have done or I just think may spark an idea:

• A park you spend a lot of time together at
• On the lake
• In your home
• Downtown
• Top of a parking garage
• A lake ( maybe in or on it even)
• An arcade
• The Drive-in movies
• A coffee shop or bar
• A museum
• A backroad
• A barn
• A small airport
• At an ice cream shop/mini golf
• A waterfall

The list is endless, but as you can see your location can be as exciting or as simple as you want it to be! Planning your sessions location should speak to your heart in one way or another! Don't overthink it, just close your eyes and envision what you want your session to look like! Regardless of your location, Your session will be amazing because its a chance to make out spend time with your partner spend time.

Hire a professional photographer

I am obviously biased, but I really do think it's important. For most cases when people don't they end up regretting it! Your engagement pictures are something you'll proudly look back on, share on social media, use for save the dates and invitations, and maybe even put on display at your wedding! When you are spending hours on your time creating your save the dates and invitations, you don't want to receive your finished product and realize your image is blurry or didn't print right! Your photographer will know the importance of lighting, angles, and posing! You want it to be a special experience where the outcome just takes your breath away! When you're budgeting for your wedding just remember that the things that will last a lifetime will mean the most! Find a photographer that matches your vibe and makes you feel comfortable, it'll make all the difference.

Working with the sun

Lighting is definitely one of the most important things when it comes to photography. This is definitely something you should discuss with your photographer. If you live in a place like NY, where there are lots of trees and hills, you'll know that there might be no light on one side of town while there's plenty on the other. So just take in account that if you're not in a big open valley or on top of a hill facing the west the sun may go down before the sunset time listed online. The best times of day are half an hour before sunrise to an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset to a half an hour after sunset! Sunrise usually has more of that soft, glowing even light and sunset is the more colorful, warm, bold light.

Relax and be yourself

This is the best date night of your life, or at least we want it to feel that way! If you want to be super goofy, then be super goofy! Dress sexy if that makes you feel confident! Bring your favorite pizza if that makes you feel like home! When you are relax and confidence that will make your experience perfect! When you're nervous, communicate that to your photographer so they can ease you into the session to make you feel comfortable! Never be afraid to express your feelings or wants to your photographer! Maybe you think an idea is too crazy, a pose you want to do is to sexy, or the prompt they're instructing you to do are way out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to look outside the box or be super simple!

Well that's all my tips for now. If you've made it this far, you'll realize I used the exclamation mark probably 100 times by now, but this is such an exciting time! You are now photo ready! Relax and enjoy your session and I promise your pictures will come out beautifully!