Over the hoildays, many couples got engaged and are searching for their photographer and/or preparing for their engagement session. So I thought I’d share a few tips on how Ed and I like to prepare our couples for their engagement session.
When you’re prepping for your engagement session, there are a few things to keep in mind. This is the fun time!! A chance for us to get to know each other, shoot with no pressure, no time constraints, and nothing holding us back from capturing fun joyous portraits. Your wedding day will be beautiful, with out a doubt! However, we’ll be crunched for time, your dress won’t be able to get dirty, and we’ll be on a timeline. So relax, your engagement session won’t be bad at all!
Here are some steps to take so that you’re prepared for your engagement session:
1. Outfits: Most couples have two outfits, one casual and one that is dressier. The best advice I can give about outfit selection would be to try to coordinate instead of matching. Try to stay away from logos and bold patterns. Also, I love how jewelry, scarves, and accessories photograph. A pop of color photograph really well. Most importantly, make sure you look like YOU and feel comfortable.
2. Preparing your Groom: You know your soon-to-be hubby better than anyone else, so with your help,we can prepare him for this shoot. If your fiance’ is completely unaware of this style of photography, he is going to think it’s really strange when I tell you two to get “nose to nose”. He may be shy, he may just not like taking pictures, or he’s expecting a few pictures smiling at the camera and that’s it!. With your help explaining why you love this style of photography, why you love the joy, the laughter, and all the hugs that come with our style, he’ll know what to expect!
3. Relax & Trust us: As you’re preparing for your engagement session, remember that we don’t expect you to be a pro at this. we work with normal, everyday couples all the time. We have new techniques and patterns that we will teach you that will help you relax and get you going. It will take a good 20 minutes to warm up at the beginning of your shoot. So relax and don’t be nervous. You’re going to be great at this! Allow us to be creative and you’ll have a wonderful time.
4. Be on Time: This is really important. What most couples don’t realize is that being natural light photographers, we are 100% dependent on the sun. If our couples show up late, they will lose that amount of time during the session due to the lack of light. If at all possible, try to be on time so that you don’t lose any of your shooting time and pretty sunlight.
5. Location and Time: The best time to shoot portraits is 2 hours before sunset. When it comes to picking the location for your portraits, we will help narrow down the location for you. I love shooting engagements in nature. Open fields are my favorite! I understand that this isn’t always possible. We will make sure the location will be beautiful for the both of you.
6. Hair, Makeup & Ring Cleaner: I highly recommend getting your hair and make-up done. Some brides opt to have their makeup trial done the day of their engagement session. This is a great way to see what their hair and makeup will look like before the wedding day. This will also help add that gorgeous touch to your engagement portraits! Lastly, we will be taking ring shots. So if your diamond could use a little cleaning, I would suggest having your ring cleaned prior to the session so that it would make it really shine.
I hope those tips were helpful! I look forward to our up coming brides of 2016!
Hugs,
Mar