So, your lover popped the question, and you said YES! 

You now have to start thinking about all of this wedding planning stuff. (If you are going to have a wedding, elope, a long engagement…. etc.) 

You know that thinking about an engagement session is so exciting because you will finally have cute photos of you guys to post EVERYWHERE and hang all over your walls but you have no idea where to begin on how to make the engagement shoot itself; successful. 

I am here to help 🙂

Here are four things to consider when planning your engagement session with a photographer of your choice! p.s.- these things strictly apply for me and my business, other photographers may do it differently! It’s really important to do an engagement session with the same photographer that is doing your wedding because it’s kind of that, getting-all-of-the-awkward-out stage. You need to know how comfortable you are going to be in front of this persons camera! If you are uncomfortable on your wedding day with the photographer, your photos are probably not going to be your favorite part of the day! 

1. LOCATION

Location can be a really important factor in making your photos- you. If you absolutely hate outdoors and nature, then going hiking for your engagement shoot is probably not the best idea. Looking over a mountain side is GORGEOUS, but not if that is something you guys never do. Try to collaborate with your photographer to find places that are special to you. Maybe somewhere you spend a lot of time, went on your first date or one of you may have even grew up! It doesn’t have to be the most insanely gorgeous place, (trust me, that is sometimes important) but what is most important is that we are telling your story. Beauty comes from the eye of the beholder so allow your photographer to use their talents and make your special place photograph worthy- I have faith that they can do this 😉 

Another option is to go somewhere you guys oooohhh and ahhhh about. Maybe it’s somewhere you guys have never been but fantasize going. Dream big, the sky is the limit! I love traveling and we can make it work! 

2. OUTFITS 

Outfits can essentially make or break your engagement session. The better planned outfits, the more amazing the photographs. It is as simple as that 🙂 Think of all of those pinterest worthy engagement shoots that you see when browsing on your phone – their clothes are well thought out! From my experience, I always suggest my couples to do 1 casual outfit (something they would wear on a typical Monday night out), 1 outfit they would wear to a dinner party, and then something REALLY dressed up (maybe a suit element for the fella, and a flowy dress for my ladies.) 

Now, I am not saying you need to go out and buy a new wardrobe if you feel you have nothing appropriate to these ideas, but as long as you feel comfortable and beautiful, that will relay in your photos. I love when my couples send me outfit ideas and ask for suggestions! 

3. HAIR AND MAKEUP 

As far as hair goes, curled hair always seem to photograph better. Straightened hair always comes with those pesky fly-aways and get’s caught in random positions. Curled hair is better for movement and can look ok if it get’s messy or looses a bit of it’s umph! Makeup, you should wear your everyday makeup routine and maybe just a little extra. The word, is that heavier makeup translates better in photographs, it does indeed in terms of eyeshadow and lashes. Always go darker with those things! If your photographer uses natural light, highlighter is beautiful but if your photographer is using artificial light, you may choose to stay away from highlighter because you will look more like a glowy-alien instead of the beautiful person you are 😉 

4. WHEN YOU SHOULD DO YOUR ENGAGEMENT SESSION

I think as far as calendar date goes, it’s really up to the two of you and your wedding date. If you are planning on sending out save the date’s, you will want to have your engagement session finished around 6-8 months before the wedding day so you have time to get those out before invitation time! But if you have a long engagement and you are wondering if you should wait that long for an engagement session, the answer is, it’s up to you! 🙂 You can easily pick your guys favorite season and plan accordingly to that! If you love flowers, do it in the spring! If you love the warm fall tones and all things pumpkin, do it in the fall! If you love snow and think winter is romantic, then January +  February is a no brainer! Summer is good for those lake engagements and all of you travel bugs who love warm weather! 😉 

Another thing to consider when picking a time to do your engagement session is lighting. If you love those cozy, romantic and dramatic engagement sessions, definitely pick a sunset time. Even if that means getting up at 5:30 AM in the summer, you should do it! If you love that warm , light shining through your hair kind of session, pick a time closer to sunset. Your photographer will be able to help you with this and let you know their preferences. Maybe you prefer all blue skies with your hot pink dress, mid-day might be the option for you! Some photographers will only shoot during certain times of the day so if mid-day is important to you, make sure the  photographer is in love with the idea too! 

5. DON’T STRESS – TRUST YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER

It’s so easy to stress about how you are going to look in the photos, if your double chin is showing, if your hair is in the right place, if your lover HATES photos and you wonder how he is going to get through them. This is why picking the right photographer for you is so important (and I just blogged about that yesterday) because your photographer is trained to see these things. They know to fix your hair, they know how to pose you in flattering angles, if the people consistently look good on their instagram feed and it’s not strictly just good photos, then that photographer knows what they are doing! Relax! Each photographer also has a different style of shooting their subjects. With me, we play games, and that seems better for those stiff grooms who absolutely hate photos. It kind of brings them out of their shell and it’s easy to get a more genuine smile rather than those fake things they try to use. I hear all of the time “we are the most awkward in photos” and I love seeing that not be true in front of my camera! 🙂 

So, I hope this post helped you in some way while planning your engagement sessions! Did I forget something? Let me know in the comments! 🙂 

I AM SO EXCITED TO WORK WITH ALL OF MY 2018 ENGAGEMENTS and WEDDINGS!!!! If you want to get on my calendar, fill out the form at the end of this 😉