Couples have been taking engagement photos for years. The photos used to be much stiffer, and mainly for the sake of the family announcing the engagement of their children. Today’s engagement shoots are really fun. They are a great way to get to know your photographer, to see yourself in images, and to use for guestbooks or save-the-date cards. Engagement photos give you the perfect opportunity to splurge on yourself and spend some quality time with your fiancée—get dressed up and enjoy it!
Choosing an engagement location is important. The more creative the location, the more interesting the photos. The location also gives you an opportunity to let your identity as a new couple shine. An engagement photo session also lets you take portraits in places where you won’t be able to on your wedding day.
Some tips:
- Think of places the two of you like to hang out, where you got engaged, or even think of things you like doing together.
- Go out at a time of day when the light is beautiful, either early in the morning or just before the sun dips in the evening.
- Play around! Make sure that it is a location in which you can swing each other around or actively engage with each other, like eating ice cream for example.
- Make it a date. Pretend it’s your first date when you get ready and get all dolled up. He is excited to marry you and he might even find the picture thing isn’t so bad.
- Wear fun clothing that you feel comfortable in. You can coordinate outfits, or have him wear a tie that you can playfully tug on while shooting the session. When you think of showing these images off in your house what colors would look best on your wall? That is one way to choose outfits.
- Go into it with the idea that this is going to be a piece of art, get dressed up to show what you two like to do, be silly if your personalities are silly, each photo should be a representation of the two of you together.
- Choose a location with a variety of backgrounds to shoot with so that not only can you have a bunch of different poses but you can also have a bunch of different settings.
- Props and details really add variety to your shoot—they help you interact with each other and forget that the camera is there.
- If you are getting married out of state or in a destination location, use one of your trips out there for planning as an opportunity to shoot an engagement session with your photographer. You can also use one of the days before the wedding if you are at a destination. Those photos will help to tell your story.
- Be sure to talk everything over with your photographer, and remember, they know the lighting best. Relax and have fun!