I know that wedding planning can be stressful and your engagement session might even feel like just one more thing that you have to do. Do your best to put everything that’s going on aside, relax, and get excited about your photo shoot. It’s normal to feel a little bit nervous or camera shy before the shoot but take a deep breath and let it go. Engagement sessions can be fun and your photos will be better if you relax, have fun and trust that your photographer has the skills to make you look your very best!

I highly recommend choosing a location that’s meaningful to you and your fiance, not just a pretty place. An experienced photographer can make almost any location look great. Rather than focusing on having a pretty background, choose a location that tells your story. Years from now when you look back on this time, you’ll want it to be about more than just frolicking in the park.

You’ll get the best results from your engagement session when you style your wardrobe in a way that fits your personalities. If you normally wouldn’t be caught dead in a sundress, don’t wear one to your session. Embrace your ripped jeans and leather jacket or whatever clothes make you feel your best. Forcing yourself into an outfit that doesn’t feel “you” will only make you uncomfortable and hate the way you look! Let’s stylize a session that allows you to BE YOURSELF and tell a story.

I can’t stress this one enough! DO SOMETHING fun, something that you love doing together. Something that will allow you to actually hold each other close, smile, laugh, and playfully kiss. You can’t fake natural chemistry and there’s nothing quite like a genuine smile and capturing pure happiness. If you’re in an environment and doing something that you really enjoy, those emotions & chemistry will flow naturally and the photos will be more authentic.

Most couples approach the engagement session with the mindset that they need “just a few good photos for the save the date” but the truth is, the engagement session is SO much more than that. It’s a time when you will embark on one of the biggest adventures of your life. There will be times of extreme joy, times where the stress level is through the roof, and times when you just want to hold each other and never let go. These little moments (and how well you deal with them) will define your marriage. One day you’ll look back on these photos and think “remember the euphoric feeling right after we got engaged, we were so happy and excited, so in love.” Your love will surely only grow stronger and deeper, but the love you feel at this moment in your engagement will forever make you smile as you remember the energetic love you have for one another. Think about how you really want to remember this time. Budget for things like framed prints and engagement albums because if we’ve planned the session appropriately you will fall in love with WAY more than “just a few images” and you’ll want to keep them all.

One of my favorite things about engagement sessions is that they give me the chance to get to know my clients as individuals and a couple, before their wedding day. It also gives you a chance to get to know your photographer and to get a feel for the way that they work. I’ve found that engagement sessions build trust, and trust is important. When you trust your photographer, you will be more relaxed on your wedding day and that will show in your pictures.