You just booked your photographer, now what?! Now that you’ve picked a date, a photographer, and a venue, you can celebrate! You’ve checked off the major things, now you can move on to the fun stuff…like engagement sessions!
Engagement sessions are a great way for couples to get comfortable in front of the camera, and it’s also an opportunity for them to explore some of their favorite locations together. We’ve been photographing engagements since 2012 and have seen trends come and go, but there are always FIVE questions that seem to be on every couple’s mind: What should we wear? How do we pose? How long is the session? Where should we do it? When should we schedule it?
Here’s our guide to walk you through those frequently asked questions.
1. What should we wear?
We love to tell our clients to stick to their personal style. We want you to feel as comfortable and as natural as possible. BUT this is also your chance to dress it up! Don’t be afraid to wear accessories, different textures, and patterns. Lighter tones and muted shades always look great, but sometimes our favorite looks end up being with a BOLD color. To coordinate colors with your fiancé, look up a color wheel and choose colors that are opposite each other.
PRO TIP: Long, flowy dresses and skirts look amazing on camera!
2. How do we pose?
A lot of times, awkward moments come when you don’t know what to do. We have a unique posing philosophy that creates MOMENTS, not poses. Although it all starts with a pose, we work to make sure it ends with a perfect moment. Honestly, it’s all about having fun together.
Plus, we’ll arrive on your wedding day already knowing how you two interact, what your best poses are, and how to photograph you in an authentic way!
3. How long is the session?
The session usually lasts one to two hours, depending on how many outfit changes you do (we suggest 2 outfits). Since we like to use natural light, we usually schedule the session around golden hour to give us PERFECT lighting!
4. Where should we do it?
We LOVE it when couples pick a location that is special or sentimental to them in some way! As long as the light is great, we can make ANY location look awesome! We have shot on farms, in homes, campuses, downtown rooftops and even in alleyways. Don’t shy away from crazy ideas! The more creative, the better!
If you can’t think of anywhere specific that you’d like to go, we can recommend plenty of awesome places.
5. When should we schedule it?
Most couples choose to do their engagement sessions about 9 months before the BIG DAY, so the Save The Dates can be out in the mail around the 6-month mark! Because our weekends are filled with weddings, we shoot engagements on weekday evenings, normally from 5-7pm depending on the light and the time of the year. In the winter months, 3-5pm is a normal time frame for engagement sessions!
We hope the answers to these frequently asked questions helps you prep for your very own engagement session! Check out our other blog posts for even more tips:
8 Tips for Getting AMAZING Engagement Photos
3 Tips on Including Your Pet in Your Engagement Session
Until Next Time
-Anchor & Veil
