Congratulations! You’re getting married and you have received an engagement session as part of your wedding package. Wonderful! Today I’m going to share with you some tips to help you prepare for your engagement session.
Before I start with the tips, I’d like to answer one very important question that you might have.
Why should I have an engagement portrait session?
It’s a very good question, especially if you consider that, in the not so distant future, you’ll be getting your portraits taken on your wedding day.
As this is not the focus of today’s article, I’ll keep my answer brief: It’s your training run for your wedding portrait session. Your engagement session is your chance to learn what positions look good on you, to get comfortable being in front of the camera, to get to know your photographer who will be with you on your wedding day and it’s a great opportunity to get beautiful portraits that you can use in your wedding save the date cards, your invitation or on your big day. If you want to know more about the reasons why it’s important to have an engagement session, please check out my dedicated blog article.
Ok now that you know why it’s important to have an engagement session, here are a few tips on how to prepare for it:
1. Choose your location
Engagement portraits generally take place outdoors as this is where wedding portraits are also held. As your engagement session is a trial run for your wedding day, it makes sense to also hold your session outdoors.
When choosing your location have a think about if you want to hold your engagement session at the same location as your wedding portraits or hold them somewhere different.
Think about if there’s any spots that you love, that speak to you as a couple. You may love nature and want to hold your photos in a natural setting or you may love the hustle and bustle of the city and would prefer to have your portraits taken in town.
Make sure that you get your photographer involved in the chat as they’re likely to know of some great spots that you may wish to consider and will be able to advise you on the best time of the day to hold your session (as this can vary depending on the location you choose).
2. What to wear
It’s not every day that you have the opportunity to have your portrait taken. Sure, you may be the queen (or king) of selfies but it’s not the same as having a beautiful portrait taken of you as a couple.
When deciding what to wear, the most important thing to consider is to ensure that the outfits that you choose make you look good together and that you are comfortable. If I had to sum it up in one sentence it would be this: Dress like you were going out on a date night.
For you date night may be really dressed up or it may be casual. The important thing is for both of you to be dressed in the same style (so you coordinate but aren’t dressed as twins) and you are dressed in the nicest version of you. If you’re a laid-back couple and want to keep it casual, that’s totally fine, just make sure that you’re dressed in nice casual clothes – no tracksuits or ratty t-shirts please.
Don’t hesitate to try on your outfits before the day of your shoot and discuss with your fiancé (and with your photographer if you wish) to see what works best for you two.
We want you to be as comfortable as possible during your session so if you’re wearing new shoes or are going to have to walk a bit during the shoot, don’t hesitate to bring a pair of walking shoes to wear when you’re not being photographed.
3. Use this as an opportunity to trial your hair and makeup
Most hairdressers and makeup artists will include a trial run in your wedding package so you can give them (and the look you’ve chosen) a go before the big day. This enables you to test your look beforehand and have the opportunity to make changes if necessary.
Why not schedule your trial run for the day of your engagement shoot? You will look fantastic and will have the added advantage of being able to see how the look photographs.
While we’re talking about getting ready, make sure your hands and feet (if you’re going to be wearing open toed shoes) are photo ready. Ideally this means getting a manicure before your shoot but if you don’t have time to do this ensure, at the very least, that your nails are clean, neatly trimmed and your nail polish isn’t chipped.
4. Share ideas that you like with your photographer
Your engagement session is the moment to experiment with ideas that you or your photographer may have. If you have seen photos that you love and you’re curious to see if this would work for you, your engagement session is the perfect moment try it out.
Bring your ideas with you when you have a chat to your photographer, letting them know what you like about those photos, so that they can see if they can adapt the idea to suit you.
5. Chat to your photographer about what you want to do with your photos
It’s important to have a think about what you want to do with your photos before they’re taken so that you can plan your session at the right moment and your photographer can adapt their shooting style (if needed) to give you the photos you need.
For example, if you want to use one of the photos for your save-the-date card or on your invitations, you’ll need to have your photos taken and delivered to you 5-7 months before your wedding day as save the date cards usually go out 4-6 months before your big day. Knowing this information beforehand will help you know when you need to plan your shoot to ensure you get your photos in time.
Here's another example – you may wish to have a nice closeup of the two of you to have on display at the wedding. It’s important to communicate this with your photographer as, if you forget to do so, you might not get the shot you need.
I hope you’ve found this article useful and feel that you have the information you need to start preparing your engagement session. Don’t forget to have a chat with your photographer as they’re there to give you tailored advice on how to prepare for your engagement session.
Next blog
Come back in a couple of weeks to discover the portrait session of a magnificent couple in
Grenoble.
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