ENGAGEMENT SESSIONS
Congratulations! You’re engaged!
Engagement sessions are great for many reasons. Not only do they capture this incredibly special time in your relationship and provide you with images you’ll treasure forever, but it also gives you a chance to work with your photographer prior to your big day—and that takes a lot of unnecessary stress out of the wedding shots. It’s a chance to get comfortable and relax in the front of the camera.
You want to capture in photos the happiness, the joy, the romance of your extraordinary love at this moment in your life together as a couple. As a work of art, an engagement session should be timeless and true to you.
And, of course, engagement sessions are great for getting photos for your save the dates, sign-in books or as framed displays at your reception—and they’re a beautiful reminder of the time before you were Mr. & Mrs.!
As the bride, your engagement session will be an easy, fun and casual experience. But to to get the most out of your shoot, below are five great pro-tips that will give you stunning and timeless photography.
1. LOCATION. LOCATION. LOCATION
Your love story is a journey, your engagement session can be an adventure. Maybe it’s somewhere you’ve been together as a couple or maybe it’s a new location that has all the things you love to do as a couple – a suger-soft California beach, or the dry, dreamy desert of Palm Springs, or under an urban backdrop with city lights, a snowy mountain, a quaint winery. Embrace the personality of the location. Picture you and your fiancé there to determine if it’s a good match for you.
Tips:
Consider this when scouting for a location:
- What memories do you attach to a certain place?
- What weather makes you feel most engergtic?
- Do you prefer to be surrounded by people or venture off the beaten path?
- How about an exotic and destination location?
The photographer will help you choose the time of day for the best light. Each location is different: it could be sunrise or it could be sunset.
Do you love to travel? Do you love art? Then choose
Destination: VENICE ENGAGEMENT
Do you love good beautiful vineyards, rolling Tuscany Hill? Italian food and wine?
Destination: TUSCANY ENGAGEMENT
Destination: KAUAI ENGAGEMENT
Destination: PARIS ENGAGEMENT
2. FASHION: WHAT TO WEAR?
What do you look and feel good in? Does it blend with the location? It wouldn’t make sense to wear a suit to the beach or board shorts in the heart of Rome. Allow your chosen place to help you decide what to wear. Remember, for your photographs to be timeless works of art, skip the trends and pick something elegant and enduring.
- Send your photographer pictures of outfits you’re thinking about wearing so she can give you advice on what works best with the camera.
- Be inspired by the environment of your chosen location
- Create a Pinterest board with your favorite outfits
- Consider the colors, textures, and movement of our clothes
- Choose 2 to 3 coordinating outfits
Destination: POSITANO ENGAGEMENT
3. YOUR HAIR, YOUR MAKEUP
Hair and makeup is just as important as your clothes, How do you want your hair? If it’s long – do you want it up or down? Do you want to do our hair and makeup yourself and have it professionally done? This a great opportunity to schedule a trial session with a professional stylist in advance of your wedding day.
- Consider these tips when choosing makeup:
- You want to look like a more polished version of you, so embrace your classic look.
- Do you have warm or cool-toned skin? Choose colors that compliment.
- Consider the weather at the location of your engagement shoot. Is it a misty beach, a dry desert, a breezy mountain?
- Choose long-wearing products that can help you stay fresh no matter what the weather.
Destination: PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA ENGAGEMENT
4. DON’T FORGET YOUR PROPS, (besides your ring).
Do you share a common sport or passion? Was there a special gift you gave to one another, something sentimental, a book, a shell or something else? That can be integrated into the photo shoot. If you have a dog, include him or her.
Destination: SAN DIEGO ENGAGEMENT
Tip: Torrey is a pro-surfer and Kristen loves to surf as well. So we did a shoot as Solana Beach in San Diego with their surfboards.
