What is an Engagement Session?

One of my favorite parts of the whole wedding photography experience is our engagement sessions! It’s good quality time that we crave with our clients. It’s a session prior to your wedding that allows us to see how you interact. We also learn about your hopes, dreams, and desires, and allows us to capture some invaluable memories.

Over the years our sessions have evolved from pretty pictures in a park to a more involved and experiential session. Most of our sessions are full of fun exploring new places or doing activities with you while laughing and joking with each other. Sometimes they even and end with a pretty spectacular dinner and drinks. By the end of the whole day we feel like we’ve known our clients for years and we’re better for it.

Why are we so passionate about our engagement sessions?

Well other than the fact that they’re so much fun, it allows us to see into your world for just a small window of time. This little bit of insight allows us to understand what is going to be important to you on your wedding day. It’ll also put you at ease for your wedding day because you’ll trust us even more and you’ll feel completely comfortable being in front of our lenses!

How do we plan for our engagement session?

If you’re feeling a little nervous about your session with us, don’t worry! We gotchu! We’ve put together a few tips and tricks on how to create your dream engagement session! Check out this video!

6 Tips for creating your dream engagement session:

1 – Think about what’s special or exciting to you: Is there a location that means something to you both? Are there activities you enjoy doing together (i.e. going for coffee/drinks, hiking in the mountains, reading comic books together, ect..) Do you want to go on an adventure together to a place you’ve never been? The options are endless & will help ensure your engagement session is more than just pretty pictures at a nice location.

2 – Make a day of it: Use this as an opportunity to “treat youself” and enjoy the entire day. Go out for coffee or brunch. Get a massage, get your hair & makeup done. Get pampered, relax, and then have fun at our session together.

3 – This is not your friends engagement sessions: I’m sure you’ve all seen your friends engagement pictures. They may have a lot of deer in the headlight photos with smiles plastered to their faces. They may have been posed awkwardly and you can’t help but cringe a little when you see them. We all know “those engagement photos.” Don’t worry, this experience will be the complete opposite. My goal during this session is to capture your true dynamic as a couple, not a manufactured one. Who are you as a couple? Are you goofy & love to pick on one another? Are you more introverted and prefer to just hold hands? If you’re ever uncomfortable, you just have to say the word. I’ll also work to pose you in moment making opporunities. So there will be a lot of banter & activites to keep you distracted from the fact that I’ve got a camera in front of my face.

4 – Be yourself!: There’s something about being in front of the camera that makes a lot of people instantly turn into robots who don’t know what to do with their hands! I’ve got you boo! I’ve been posing couples for years and I can tell you the easiest way to know what to do with those awkward hands is to STAY CONNECTED. By holding onto your honey naturally you’ll instantly look like a pro on the camera. Plus I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve to help you kill it no matter what!

5 – Dress comfortably: Be sure to wear clothes that make you feel comortable and confident! I usually recommend bringing 2 outfits and a lot of my couples like to make them contrasting (i.e. formal vs casual). Also by having 2 outfits you’ll have variety and a backup outfit in case one doesn’t photograph quite the way you’d hope. You can also see my blog on how to choose the best outfits for your engagement session here.

6 – Go with the flow: You’ll hear me say this a lot for both your engagement session and your wedding day. Things happen, weather changes, you get a crazy text right before your session. No matter what, if you go with the flow and just enjoy each other you’re going to have a fabulous session and we’ll create some amazing images together!

I hope these tips help you feel more confident and inspire you to dream up an amazing engagement session! I can’t wait to hear all about your plans.
XOXOXO,
Mabyn

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