If you’re recently engaged and in the midst of planning your engagement session, you’ve landed in the right spot. Not only do we give some useful tips below about preparing for your engagement session but several links below will lead you to even more engagement session planning. After 15 years as an engagement and wedding photographer, I believe preparation is key!
Tips for planning a personal portrait experience
I strongly urge you to schedule an engagement session with your wedding photographer because I believe it is that important to get in front of the camera, with your wedding photographer, before your wedding day. This is one reason we include a free engagement session with every wedding collection. The time we spend together is relationship building blocks that will ensure your wedding day is flawless. A few things below are what we call engagement session homework and tips and recommend it to all couples embarking on this wedding planning journey for a perfect engagement photography session.
1. Practice makes perfect
Practice posing and smiling in your mirror. I know, this sounds silly but what’s even more silly would be getting in front of a professional camera without preparing yourself. I give plenty of posing direction during your engagement session but a little practice goes a long way to warming up and providing images that you’ll love. Pay attention to posing when you’re pinning those images! We check out your Pinterest page to have an insight into your preferences of poses and light. Feel free to send me a link to your saved galleries too.
2. Plan ahead
When choosing your wardrobe, we suggest starting with a favorite outfit or accessory, yours or his, and planning the rest around it. This is a wonderful opportunity to show off your personalities. Layering works well for providing several different looks without having to take time out of your session to change entirely. I’ve also written a full post on What to Wear to your engagement session for your reading (and planning) pleasure.
3. Location research
Research your engagement session location. Don’t simply choose what’s popular. Make it personal. If you don’t have a location, let me know what style or scene you prefer and I can easily recommend a few to you. I still suggest you check out that location in advance. I location scout as well to make sure the lighting is best. You can dive deeper into choosing your engagement session location on this blog post. I provide my clients a fun and short questionnaire to help us choose a personal and meaningful engagement session location together.
4. Timing is everything
Light is to photography as location is to real estate. When I suggest a location, I am also taking into consideration the time of day we’ll be there and how the lighting will be at that time. We generally schedule all Kansas City engagement sessions around sunrise or 60-90 minutes before sunset for those golden hours of light and twilight.
Bonus tip. Need a Redbull?
Have fun and be energetic during your engagement session. We’re going to have more fun than you realize so don’t be too tired to participate! We’re also going to try several poses and experiment a little. This is what an engagement session is truly designed for. We have fun, get more acquainted, and see what works for you both before your wedding day. If possible, take a day off work, get your hair and make-up professionally done and call it a dress rehearsal!
Our most popular wedding planner is still available with a free printable checklist! If you have any questions or would like to schedule an engagement session, call Heather at 913-948-3918 or email: heather@heatherbrulez.com
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Heather Brulez,
