THE ENGAGEMENT SESSION
(and why it's so important!)
Many couples want an engagement session; not all of them realize how much it will help them prepare for their wedding day.
We LOVE engagement sessions. While we sometimes have already met our clients, they typically haven’t been in front of our lenses for an extended period of time. With so many destination weddings in both Vermont and Florida, we often don't meet until the engagement session. While that can make some people nervous in front of the camera, it’s definitely preferable to being nervous in front of the camera on your wedding day!
Our engagement sessions are painless. We encourage dressing naturally... and whether that’s a suit and tie, a swishy sundress, or jeans and running shoes, we want you to feel like you. If you would never-in-a-million-years dress up and wear heels, we definitely don’t want to pressure you into doing so for your engagement session! On the other hand, if you love dressing up and can strut your stuff in five inch stilettos... definitely go for it. As you can see in the images in this article, our clients wear a wide variety of clothes, ranging from ultra casual to urban and chic.
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While we love having the luxury of lots of time for a portrait session (something that isn’t always readily available on the average wedding day), that isn’t the main reason we love engagement sessions. The main reason is that it allows us to get to know you. At the same time, we’re able to discover how you feel and behave when you’re in front of our lenses; whether you are shy, or serious, or dissolve into fits of giggles. These are actually really important things for us to know— on your wedding day we’ll remember how you felt in front of the camera during your engagement session, and will know if your serious face means, “I’m just being me” or if it means, “Help, I’m gonna have a meltdown!”
For many couples, the engagement session is the first time in front of a professional photographer since childhood, and quite possibly their first experience with “lifestyle photography,” which is less posed and more natural than the “say cheese!” studio photography many people are familiar with. We put you in beautiful light, help position you to your best advantage, and then let you be naturally in love with each other. (And don’t worry— we do get some straightforward smiling shots for your parents and Facebook!) All of our couples end up having a great experience and many report that they felt like we were just hanging out— nearly forgetting about the big cameras. When the wedding day rolls around you'll be able to relax and enjoy yourselves, which is the best possible result for your wedding photos.
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ENGAGEMENT FAQ
Q: I’m awful in front of the camera! Should I just skip the engagement session?
A: Definitely not! One of the best things about this session is that you’ll be able to start feeling comfortable in front of the camera. This will make photography on your wedding day sooo much easier. (There's a reason this is the first question; it's a really common concern!)
Q: I’m SUPER EXCITED about engagement portraits and can’t wait to get started! I have a million ideas... how many locations can we have? And how many outfits? Can we travel??
A: Yay! We love that you’re so excited and can’t wait to hear your ideas! We recommend keeping locations to a minimum, as we don’t want to waste beautiful light by getting from place to place. Multiple outfits can work as long as you can be flexible about where you change, but we prefer to keep things simple. Picking one outfit and one general location means you can leave your hands free to cuddle and enjoy each other. We can definitely travel— travel fees will apply, but we keep them reasonable. Let us know what you’re thinking!
Q: Where can I see examples of engagement sessions you've done?
A: While we don't always blog engagement or portrait sessions, there are still plenty to check out! Click here to see a list of popular posts.
Q: We already had engagement portraits taken by another photographer. Should we still schedule a session with you?
A: We highly recommend it! Our style of photography is very personal, and while we will absolutely create beautiful wedding portraits without having met you in person prior to the big day, the connection we develop with our engagement session clients does tend to enhance our wedding images. Thinking of having your engagement photos somewhere particularly interesting? Do tell. :-)
