Preparing for Your Engagement Session

For most couples, the engagement session is their first foray into the world of professional portrait photography. Most people are a ball of nerves leading up to the session, with no idea how to prepare, what to wear, how to pose, or even where to hold their session. Fear not, as we have all the best tips in making your session a smashing success!

Girl Guides Motto: Be Prepared

Coming to your session prepared is going to be one of the biggest factors in ending up with images you love (aside from choice of photographer and location!). We suggest brainstorming in advance and looking for inspiration online as a first step. Ask yourself these question: “What type of emotion do I want to convey in my images?”, or “what colours, textures, or background am I looking for?”. This is a great starting point. Once you have nailed down a general idea of what you want to capture, you can move on to collecting props and choosing your outfit. We suggest choosing colours that compliment your personality. A quiet, shy person won’t want to wear hot pink, and a energetic person will steer clear of nude colours. Clothing should fit well, and we recommend taking some selfies (yes we just gave you an excuse to take them!) to see how the clothes looks in a digital capacity and from different angles. Your BFF or fiance can help with this if needed. 1-2 outfits is plenty (one casual and one more dressy makes for a nice contrast during the session). Clothes should be ironed and lint free for the best outcome.

Be sure not to forget about shoes and what will match your outfit. Shoes should be stylish and clean. If you love your 6 inch stilettos, be sure to have a pair of flats handy so walking isn’t painful as we cover a bit of ground during our engagement sessions.

Props can also make your photos stand out, and better reflect your individual personalities. The engagement session is a time to have fun, be playful and really show your dynamic in a relaxed atmosphere. Puzzle pieces, scrabble letters, picnic baskets, balloons, skates, books, bicycles, etc can add dimension and energy to a still image and help tell your story.

In addition to knowing what you want, another way to be prepared is to get plenty of sleep, drink plenty of water and relax before your session. If you aren’t feeling well, or if you are tired during your session, it will show in your images. We want to ensure we capture your genuine energy and natural, relaxed moments. If it takes a spa day (another prescription you won’t mind!) to get in the right mindset before your session, so be it. We also like to photograph your hands, so be sure to take a peek at your nails and do any grooming as necessary the day before. Makeup is encouraged, and although you mail feel overdone with heavier makeup, your eyes will pop and your images will look that much cleaner with a polished look.

Knowing what to expect can make a world of difference in curbing anxiousness. We strive to make every session fun and casual, so there is no reason to stress over posing, your smile being too fake, or how you are ever going to look ok in front of the camera. We work through a series of motions and natural posing which encourage intimacy and “real” moments between you both. If you like cheesy photos, we can play to achieve this. If you are serious people, we will capture those subtleties that make you both unique. Let us handle the stress of posing and try and come with an open mind, and a goofy smile on your face. We shoot during posing, and during the candid moments in between. Everything is fair game during the engagement session, and we won’t show those images that are unflattering, so this takes immense pressure off you both. Shoots usually last 45-90 minutes, so bringing a snack and some water, as well as some layers in case weather is moody are also a good idea to ensure you remain comfortable and happy. An umbrella never hurts either!

Having everything ready the night before your session will take the pressure off on the day of. Having these tools to plan ahead with make things run smoothly and make your chances for success in your images a million times better. Be yourselves and let your personalities shine through. We will handle the rest 🙂 We can’t wait to meet you! We are a full service wedding photography and portrait photography company serving Edmonton, Alberta and destinations worldwide!

Check out some of these previous engagement photos we love for inspiration!