I had the privilege of shadowing a
brilliant photographer, Renee Brock, during an engagement
session this weekend with two adorable law students. I’m only an amateur photographer, but
the shoot was beautiful and I learned a lot from it.
First of all, choose your photographer well. And I don’t mean choose an expensive
photographer. Make sure it’s someone
whose style you like and whose subjects’ personalities show through their
work. That will make it a lot easier for
you to open up for the camera. Plus, the
engagement session can serve as a test run for a photographer, so even if you
don’t end up liking this one, it will help out in choosing one for the
wedding day.
Don’t be afraid to open up! By all means, let your freak flag fly.
You may not know your photographer very well, but he or she will have a
much easier time of capturing your personality if you come out of your shell a
bit. This is the best way to avoid lame,
cliché photos: just be yourself.
Pick a great location.
It’s best if you’re familiar with the location, and it's magical and golden
if you have history with the place. For
instance, the bride I helped photograph this weekend grew up around
farms, so they chose a friend’s adorable farm for the shoot. It was gorgeous, and the typical, cheesy,
sitting-on-the-tractor shots had no appeal for them because they associated it
with mowing the lawn. Instead, we got
some gorgeous shots of them picking the fruit they knew by name and goofing
around in a crumbly old farm.
Have fun!
This isn’t something to prepare for, really. Just bring a sense of humor (and a change of
boots for walking around a farm property—smart woman!) and your pictures will
turn out great. Don’t worry about fake
smiles and weird poses. If you or your
spouse-to-be can’t smile for real, crack a joke. Shake out the stiffness. If a pose feels weird, don’t hold it. And most of all, keep it spontaneous. Some of the best shots, in my opinion, are
made when couples go rogue and do something unexpected.
Last, use the photos well! You can use your engagement photos for a huge range of things, from guestbooks to framed photos for your new home to
sweet cards. I remember Joanna of
Cup of Jo used
hers for their
save the date, and it turned out adorably (like everything that woman does).
I hope your
engagement shoots go swimmingly! We'd love to hear how they turn out.
Megan
