Yay!! You have your engagement photos booked and you’re anxiously and excitedly awaiting the day!
During your engagement session, you’ll have the chance to get to know me, and get a feel for my photography style of posing and directing you. Your engagement session will make a BIG impact on how your wedding days goes. I will show up on your wedding day already knowing how you two interact and know your unique love languages towards each other, and how to accurately photograph you in a genuine way! Engagement sessions are great practice and great fun to prepare you for your wedding.
I realize that preparing for a photoshoot, especially your engagement shoot can feel like quite a lot. In this blog, I will highlight some helpful tips to best prepare you for your engagement session.
Preparation is key!
The more you prepare ahead of time, the more relaxed, confident, and relieved you will be leading up to your session.
- When getting your hair cut or colored, make sure to schedule that 1-2 weeks beforehand.
- If you get a spray tan done make sure you do this 5-7 days before just in case the color comes out patchy or too harsh.
- Go get a mani/pedi! I will be taking a lot of closeup pictures of your hands and that AMAZING engagement ring of yours! Having your nails done for your session will make you feel and look like a million bucks! P.S. don’t forget to bring hand lotion too!
- Set the date, time and location. Your engagement session can be scheduled anytime before your wedding. I suggest scheduling it 3-6 months before that way you have time to get your photos ready for save the dates and wedding invites. The best time for photos is a little before sunrise or sunset, that is when the light is so beautifully golden and glowy. In the spring/summer months, I suggest scheduling them around 7-8pm depending on light and that time of the year, same goes for the fall/winter months scheduling them around 3-5pm.
- Plan your outfits ahead of time! Make sure to give your self enough time to coordinate outfits. Pinterest is your best friend for outfit inspiration, I have a board on Pinterest that I have filled full of different ideas for outfits and color palettes that look great with my editing style. I will make sure to send that over to you when we schedule your session. The night before make sure to set out your outfits so they are ready to go!
- Get your ring cleaned! I suggest taking your ring in the day before to get cleaned. Most jewelers do this for free and it only takes about 5-10 min to clean. It really makes a difference!!
- Eat a light meal or snack before your session! Bring a bag of snacks and some bottles of water with you, the way you’re prepared either way. No one wants to feel and especially look hangry in photos. I will have you two moving around a lot during our time together so having some sustenance in you will make sure you have enough energy to move and groove!
- Pack a bag! Some things to consider packing in your bag: Additional outfits if you’re wearing more than one, comfy shoes when walking between photo spots, makeup for touch ups, money for state parks or parking fees, and a coat or blanket (for the colder seasons).
- Make it a date!! This is my key advice for when you schedule your engagement photos, to make a date out of it. Ways to make it feel like a date and feel just like you two, is to pick a location that is meaningful to you both. Maybe you could go where you had your first date at. Things you like to do with each other/share together, (Ex: pet(s), instruments, swimming, record store date, pop some champagne 🍾, picnic in the park, coffee date, skateboarding, ice cream date, etc. Any thing you want to go do, or have at your engagement session, and that is you to a T then that is great with me! Whatever feels like you, DO IT! This is your engagement session, so I want to make sure it 100% you.
