Ready, Set,
Let’s Play!
You’re engaged and diving into all the tasks involved with planning a wedding. But I hope you’re also taking time to celebrate this special season in your journey with your love.
Since you’ve probably been together long enough that you’re super comfortable with each other - it’s easy to let life just be a routine. But now that you’re engaged, let your relationship feel sparkly and new again.
Taking engagement photos can be the perfect way to celebrate and remember this feeling. Plus, I promise that they don’t need to add to your list of wedding worries. I’ve compiled my top 10 tips to rocking your engagement photo shoot. With these tips you’ll be ready to really enjoy this time and celebrate with your love.
Get creative with your session to tell your love story
Engagement photos are the perfect opportunity for you to create unique art that tells the story of you and your partner. Imagine our photoshoot as the fairytale version of your regular life. Think about what’s unique to your relationship. What do you and your partner do often together?
If you love to cook, let’s make an afternoon of it and photograph you cooking dinner together. Activity based shoots like this are the perfect opportunity to capture a glimpse into your life together while also distracting you from the fact that you’re being photographed. Win-win.
Make choices that will help you feel confident
There should be no expectations for engagement photo sessions. Every love is different and I want you to have the flexibility to make the photo shoot exactly what you want. When you’re choosing location, activity, and outfits pick options that will help you feel more confident and excited for the photo shoot.
Pick a location that’s meaningful to you, so you’re also choosing a place that you’re comfortable in.
Choose to incorporate an activity, like hiking the foothills, going on a bike ride downtown, or just playing some games at home. Activities are a great way to share your unique personalities as well as capture something that you do together.
Not sure what to wear? Pick clothes that make you FEEL amazing. Do you have that go-to shirt that makes you feel powerful? That’s what you want to wear.
Couples photography is about more than just photographing the moment - it's also about capturing the feeling. So I want you to feel your best together. That’s why I offer unique styling tips to all my couples as we're planning their engagement session. My suggestions are based on the activity, their own personal style and what works best on camera. So you don’t have to worry at all.
Mindset Matters
If we’re capturing the feeling and the moment, we need you to be feeling good in the moment. Makes sense, right? This can’t happen if you’re still running through your list of undone tasks in your head or worrying about how you’re going to manage all of next week’s activities.
Think of this photo session as a golden bubble that's reserved only for fun and joy with your partner. Even if you’re worried about being photographed, choose instead to focus on the love that you feel for each other and the joy that you get from spending time with your love. If you or your partner aren’t excited about having photos taken, instead pick out something from the experience that you can be excited for - even if it’s just having it all be over. Focus on that excitement and let all other worries melt away.
BONUS TIP: Make this an all day activity!
Set aside your todo list and just take the day to relax together. Sleep in and enjoy your time together, so that when we meet up for the shoot, you’re excited, relaxed and ready to play. When you look back on the photos together, I want you to remember how wonderful that day together was.
Plan Ahead
Everything takes longer than you think it will - especially when you’re in a hurry. Think through these aspects before the day of our session so you don’t add extra stress to this adventure.
- How to get to the location
- Where to park
- Try on and set aside your outfits
- Plan out your hair and makeup or schedule a professional appointment
- Do you need to bring anything specific? Props, pets, pet accessories, etc.
I recommend that you plan outfits, props, and accessories at least 1-2 weeks before the shoot, that way you have wiggle room if anything is missing or needs special cleaning. Planning the other bits can be as simple as taking a few minutes the day before to map the location, think about traffic, plan parking and work backwards to create a timeline for getting ready and leaving the house. Don’t forget to add buffer time into each important step so you don’t have to feel rushed when it comes time to actually get ready.
Relax & Smile
Not sure what to do once that camera comes out? My simplest tip is to just relax together and smile. No need to go for a megawatt grin, but research has shown that smiling lifts your mood. And we want you to have a good time, remember!
It’s your photographer’s job to put you at ease and create space for you guys to interact naturally together. So you really don’t have to worry about a thing. Take a go with the flow approach and keep that happy mindset.
Still feeling nervous, try these three actions to calm yourself down and center in on your love together:
- Get cuddly, close your eyes and breathe deeply together
- Gaze into your partner’s eyes for a minute
- Share affirming statements about what you love in each other
Be Yourself & Don’t Hold Back
Don’t get hung up on what you think an engagement photoshoot should be, or how you think you need to act. Just show up however you naturally are as a couple.
Think about how you normally are when you’re alone at home together.
If you’re silly, be silly. If you’re cuddly, be cuddly. If you’re serious, be serious. You do you!
Bring your own unique energy to the session and we’ll play off it. Cause I can only capture your unique love if open up and let me. Couples sessions should feel like a safe space where you can be honest and vulnerable. I’ll be there to guide you through the process and you’ll have your favorite person by your side the whole time, so relax into that.
Posing Tip: If It Bends, Bend It
This might be a phrase said by every photographer, but that’s because it’s so true! When standing, try to put more weight on one leg than the other so that your hips & knees are slightly bent. Keep a soft bend in your elbows by pulling your hands in and up your thigh a little, placing your hands in your pockets or planting your hand on the tiniest part of your waist.
While you’re bending your joints, you also want to lengthen your neck and spine, ie: have good posture. To easily do this, imagine there is a string going up the middle of your body and out the top of your head. When we tug on the string you naturally stand up taller and your shoulders relax back and down. Slouching rarely looks good on anyone, and can portray feelings of withdrawal, anxiety or being bored. None of which are things you want your engagement photos to convey!
Our bodies look our best when we stand up proud and have angles, like we do naturally as we move around the world. Simple actions like walking, swaying or even dancing can help make any photoshoot moment feel and look natural.
I'll be with you the whole time with helpful reminders to stand up straight and easy actions to do that look natural and distract you from worrying about what you should do with your hands!
Don’t Get Hangry
This tip could be an all around life lesson - everything is less fun when you’re hangry. Engagement shoots are often a great kick off to a fun night out together, but even if you’re planning on getting dinner later, I recommend having a small snack before you head to your session. On longer activity based photoshoots I love to bring along a few of your favorite snacks to help us all keep our energy and happiness levels up.
Final Checklist
You’ve planned, prepped and had your snack, now it’s minutes away from your engagement session. Here’s my final checklist for you to run through so you won’t have any worries while we’re out taking photos
- Take a few moments with your love before the session
- Remember why you’re doing this, why you’re excited for it, and why you love them so much
- Take some slow and relaxing breaths together
- Empty your pockets & leave your phones in the car
- Put only your essentials into a single bag or purse. Don’t need anything? Even better!
- Take off any obvious wearable devices so your photos aren’t dated by your technology (smartwatch, fitbit, etc.)
- Double check your hair, make-up, outfit and teeth before leaving the car
- Give your love a compliment
Focus on Each Other & Enjoy Being Together
The final tip is to just focus on each other. You’re having engagement photos taken to capture what makes your love special, so focus on that love.
If you ever feel like a deer in the headlights, remember to touch and interact with your partner. Try to tune out all distractions, like the clicking of the camera, and just take this time to enjoy hanging out with your favorite person.
Remember, this session is your little golden bubble of joy when you can truly just love on your love. No pending tasks, or external responsibilities to drag you down. Go with the flow, don’t take anything too seriously and enjoy being together! It’s going to turn out great!
I’m so excited for you to use these 10 tips to feel comfortable, confident and excited to rock your engagement session. The photos you create today will become the memories that you will treasure for years to come and I want you to enjoy the process as much as the finished result.
If you’re ready to capture your own creative engagement session, reach out with your story and I’ll be your guide at every step of the process.