Sweet Memories’ Tips for a Successful and Fun Engagement Session
Getting Ready for your engagement session and don’t know where to start? Whether it’s picking a location, what to wear, what to bring, etc., push it aside and take a deep breath. Your upcoming session doesn’t need to be another item to add to your list of things to stress about! I have put together my own list of tips for a successful and fun engagement session to help guide you.
Location
Choose a location and/or atmosphere that you feel comfortable to be yourselves in. A lot of couples choose a place that is significant to them whether it’s where they met, where they got engaged, or just their “happy place.”
No location is a bad location. I have had couples ask me to shoot in Wynwood for a more artistic and eclectic look, at a local and favorite restaurant where they dine often, and the college where they first met. The more personal, the better I say!
What to Wear
The most important thing is that YOU feel pretty/handsome. Wear clothes that you feel great in, fit well, are comfortable, and compliment your significant other’s outfit. Stay away from extremely busy patterns and wearing matchy-matchy outfits (white shirts, blue jeans, etc.). Combinations that I love are:
**the above inspiration photos under “What to Wear” are not my own**
Keep in mind, these are looks that I personally love. Everyone has different taste and style. These are just examples of how you can mix and coordinate colors and patterns. You can always utilize Pinterest for most ideas!
Trial Run
If you’re having your hair and makeup professionally done for your wedding day, this might be a great opportunity to schedule your trial run. This often adds to tip number 2 in helping you feel gorgeous during your engagement session. And it always benefits you to work with your hair and makeup people beforehand, and see how everything is going to look on the day of your wedding.
Although it is definitely not mandatory … you’re gorgeous au naturel!
Props
We welcome any props you may want to use, whether it’s your dog, a save-the-date board, balloons, sparklers, etc. Some of the cutest photos are the ones where they include personal and fun items.
If you choose to bring a pet, balloons, champagne, sparklers, etc., make sure to check with your location about this. Some locations require a specific permit, an additional fee, or strictly forbid it.
When it comes to your furbabies, please bring an extra person. We won’t need your pet in every photo but want to have them accessible! An extra person will help with this as they can hold the leash while we have our fun!
Timing
Be on time! This is very important! Engagement sessions are scheduled at a specific time for optimal lighting conditions. Give yourself plenty of time to arrive at your engagement session location. You never know whether traffic or parking will be an issue, or if you run into any other uncontrollable situation. Arriving on time benefits you and the photographer – you will receive beautiful and beautifully-lit photos and your photographer won’t feel rushed through the session. Optimizing your time with your photographer is a sure way to ensure memories and photos to last forever.
Plus, time is valuable. We don’t want to waste your time, so please be respectful of ours.
Trust
Trust your photographer to be creative, make you feel comfortable, direct you when needed, and provide you with some amazing shots! If you worry too much about controlling the session, you won’t have fun and neither will your photographer.
However, there is nothing wrong with sharing a few photos that you love and inspire you prior to the session. In fact, I personally want to know what my couples love about my photos and what speaks to them. I will often ask them for their top five favorite images to get a feel for what sort of session they’re looking for. Do they like more candids or more traditional? Sunrise or sunset? More or less artistic?
HAVE FUN!
Be yourselves, interact with each other, be playful, laugh, and have a good time! This is the perfect chance to have fun and more casual photos of the two of you. There are a plethora of ways you can use these photos: wedding website, social media, save-the-dates, to display around the house, albums, even a guest sign-in book or photo.
Newly engaged? Let’s grab coffee or a glass of wine and chat about your big day, answer any questions or concerns you have, and talk about celebrating together! Contact me today!