Things you might not expect from an engagement photo session (and the importance of bug spray)
I talked my fiancé into doing engagement pictures basically because I believed the posts on Offbeat Bride that suggested engagement pics are a great way to get comfortable being photographed… and they are a nice memento. My guy felt completely un-photogenic and had no interest in paying someone to follow us around a forest taking pictures of us making out. I actually struggle with low self-esteem, and am currently in therapy about it. So the idea of spending money on a photo shoot made me uncomfortable. But here’s what happened, and what I learned from the experience…
This engagement session reinterprets all those oh-so-familiar couple poses
When my fiancé Elliot and I got engaged, we didn’t have any plans to take engagement photos. But when we started our wedding research, we had a bit of a chuckle seeing the same series of photos again and again. As a joke, we started talking about doing spoofs of the photos… and then we did it for real.
5 ways you can rock your engagement photos AND save the dates
As a wedding photographer I pretty much love engagement sessions — for me, they’re a great way for me to get to know the couple I’m working with and for the couple to get to know me. For couples, they’re a fun way to capture a period in your life that DOESN’T directly involve the wedding — it’s just you and yours, doing your thing. Engagement photos also often serve a second purpose: you can make really amazing save the date cards using the photos from your session. That is, assuming you like the photos in the first place! So how can you make sure you love your engagement photos?
Why you should absolutely do engagement photos if they’re included in your wedding package
“I didn’t think we wanted engagement photos. My partner hates being the center of attention and has requested we try to find a wedding photographer who won’t act like paparazzi. But a lot of the photographers I’m seeing have packages that include an engagement session. I don’t think we want to do them, even if they’re free. What do people even use them for? Is there any reason to do them?”
Yep. Because it’s really not about what you *do* with actual photos, it’s mostly just about practicing. Lemme explain…