It’s that time of the year! Congratulations to all you graduates! This beautiful graduate asked me to do graduation portraits for her and also cover her actual ceremony and family portraits afterwards. We had so much fun doing portraits in a park in Holladay, Utah and it was an honor to attend the ceremony and see the celebration and the support from her family! What a fantastic achievement!
Your engagement session is more than just pictures for your save-the-dates or announcements. It captures this special and unique moment in your lives- the start of your journey together- and should portray your love, your story, your separate personalities, and how you bring out the best in each other.
In a more practical sense, engagement sessions are also a great opportunity to have a trial run with your hair and makeup (depending on what you’re planning for the wedding and whether or not you will be doing formal pictures before the wedding).
It is also the perfect time to get to know your photographer. It’s SO IMPORTANT that you are comfortable with your photographer and the best way to get comfortable is shooting with them before the wedding. If you’re not used to your photographer and the way they shoot, you won’t be at ease in front of the camera on your wedding day and it will show in the photos. This is why I ALWAYS recommend using the same photographer for your engagements, formals, and wedding. I also recommend meeting your photographer for a consultation before to make sure you get along well.
Here are a few tips for planning your engagement session:
1. Pick a location that means something to you as a couple. Not only will your pictures be more original, but they’ll also be more meaningful and the emotion will come through in the photos. Maybe it’s the restaurant you went to on your first date, or the landromat where he helps you with your laundry, or the beautiful trail you like to run together, or your favorite coffee or ice cream shop. Be creative. And make sure you have permission to shoot at that location in advance. Your photographer can help with this.
This couple chose to do their engagements at the capitol building in the city where they met and where they would start their lives together. She wore a sassy little black dress and heels that fit perfectly with their dramatic Art Deco wedding theme.
2. Pick the time of day with the best lighting for that location. Probably early morning or late afternoon/evening. This is a good question to ask your photographer. If you want a certain kind of mood (light and airy or dramatic, for example) be sure to let your photographer know so they can plan accordingly. Mood has everything to do with lighting. I love shooting in the city in the early evening and into the night. The light and mood changes dramatically in just an hour or two.
We shot this session through sunset into night. The differences in lighting and mood are dramatic.
3. Dress accordingly. Choose your clothes carefully. Dress for the location, season, and mood you want in your photos. Also consider your wedding theme and colors- especially if you will be displaying the photos at your wedding. If you want light, airy, and fun pictures, wear something light and flowy. If you want something more dramatic wear darker colors and something more formal. It’s not necessary to buy a completely new outfit- try and use what you already have. Your wardrobe should already reflect your personalities and style. If you want more depth on the subject of clothing feel free to check out my Clothing and Makeup Guide.
4. Bring a prop or two. It’s easy to get stuck during a photoshoot. The biggest problem is what to do with your hands! Props are a simple and effective way to fix this problem. Bring one or two items each that reflects your personality, is something you like to do together, or fits the style, season, or location of your session. I’ve seen everything from guitars to horses used successfully in engagement shoots. (If you’re bringing a horse, please tell your photographer!) Some people design an entire mini set for their engagements (picnics and camping set ups are popular right now) These can be very cute, but I only recommend doing it if a. it represents a significant part of your relationship and b. you already own most of the props needed. If you do decide to do a set, it’s all in the details! Ask your photographer if you need help with the design.
The red umbrella was perfect for this couple because it was snowing during their shoot and their wedding colors were black, white, and red. Charming and functional!
5. Plan an activity. This can go along with choosing a location and/or props. It’s always a good idea to have something to do during your shoot. Just posing and saying ‘cheese’ gets old fast and it will show in your faces. It’s important that you’re interacting with each other, talking, laughing, and enjoying yourselves. Your photographer will help you get to where the lighting and background is best and can give you some posing direction, but having something to do together will help calm nerves (doesn’t the camera make everybody nervous?) and give you the opportunity to have real interaction and real emotion and that’s when the magic happens.
This couple’s shoot was so fun! Their wedding theme was adventure explorer with a vintage feel. They’re both into archeology and wildlife so this was PERFECT for them! They chose the zoo for their engagements (where they had their first date) and they brought all kinds of cool props.
6. Be spontaneous! Sometimes you can plan and plan and things just don’t happen the way we want. If you see something amazing that no one planned- just go for it! For example, we (couples and photographers) often think we need to cancel a shoot if it’s raining, but rainy day pictures are sometimes the best! Make the most of it!
I drove up to some mountain lakes in the morning with this couple and we got some traditional couples shots, but the magic just wasn’t happening. The sun was climbing high and the light was getting bad when we ran into a group of scouts practicing their canoeing on one of the lakes. My spontaneous couple asked to borrow a canoe and had a great time paddling around the lake. We all agreed after- the canoe shots were the best!
You don’t need to follow all of these tips to have a successful engagement session, but implementing 2 or 3 can make a huge difference. The most important thing is to be yourselves and HAVE FUN!
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I did a combination portrait session for this beautiful family last month. We did some family portraits and birthday portraits for the little one. They’re also expecting baby number 2 (due any day now!) and we did a couple of maternity shots to wrap it up. The light was golden coming in through Hobble Creek Canyon and I love the results!
Natural Bourne Photography 