The 5 Most Important Tips for Engagement Sessions
Being in front of the camera doesn’t have to feel foreign! Here are a photographer’s 5 best pieces of advice for those planning an engagement session.
Getting engaged is a really cool thing. You and your person are in love AND are ready to take that next step! Awesome!
But... you're kind of nervous about the session. You've never had real photos taken together, and your boyfriend/girlfriend has told you, "Just... let's not do any of those awkward pictures."
So, what do you do? How do you prepare? Never fear! Here are the 5 most important things to remember for your upcoming engagement session.
1. Wear simple, comfortable clothes
It may feel weird at first, and may even be weird to accept, but your engagement session is about you and your relationship with this other person. It's about the joy, the tension, and the nuance of your specific love for each other.
The more simple and comfortable your outfits are, the more comfortable you will both be, and the more REAL your photos will turn out.
2. The first 15 minutes are a wash
There isn't a sprinter in the world that can roll out of bed and set an Olympic record. By the same token, it's very likely that you're not going to come away with jaw-dropping moments straight out the gate.
Hopefully, by this point, you've spoken to your photographer, gotten to know each other, and hung out for at least a little bit. But there was one thing missing from all that interaction. A camera. Throwing that bit of metal and plastic into the mix adds a whole new element to the engagement session that a lot of people aren't used to.
Just relax, chat for a bit, and focus on the person next to you. All good!
3. Do what you and your person are comfortable with
This one is pretty simple. Your photographer should be the professional, and should know a ton about photographing couples. You know the most about your relationship with this other person. It's a partnership! Maybe you are uncomfortable kissing in front of the camera, or maybe your left ankle is sprained and that pose is killing you! Just let the photographer know so that they can adapt.
4. Communicate!
Not just with the photographers. With each other! Talk to each other during the session, recount great memories, or make fart jokes. Whatever your style is, let all parties involved with the engagement session know!
5. Trust Your Photographer
The person you entrust to take the photos at your wedding and engagement session is more than your uncle Gary who has a nice camera and a couple of lenses. This is an artist, whose work drew you to them in some way. You resonated with the way that they saw the world.
Trust that feeling, and that initial pull to that person. You are making an investment in them, and they are chomping at the bit to make you happy and comfortable every step of the way. So get comfy and get weird! You may just make some really cool art.
Interested in creating some cool stuff?
The Top 5 Best Wedding Reception Send-Offs
Easy, memorable, and affordable, these wedding send offs are a great way to end your big day without breaking the bank!
So, you got engaged. Not only that, you planned a wedding. Not only that, you invited all your friends, family, and some other random people that your mom knows to that wedding. Then you HAD the wedding. Then you partied.
Now what?
How do you end the day with a bang and make some beautiful memories without having to sell an arm, leg, wedding dress, or best man?
The send off.
The best way to finish out an amazing wedding reception is to have all of your loved ones gather around you and maybe fling some stuff at you! Check out my top 5 favorite, affordable wedding send offs (in no particular order)!
1. The Arm-Tunnel of Victory
This one is just an instant classic. I urge you to try and run through a tunnel of your loved ones, with arms outstretched, without laughing like a crazy person. Seriously, grab your mom, your dad, your sister, your grandma, and your dog, and sprint through a huge arm tunnel. Plus, it's completely free!
Bonus points: Deal out high-fives and don't slap any of your wedding guests on the way out the door!
2. The Sparklers of Eternity
Humans learned to control fire tens of thousands of years ago. Now, on the evening of your wedding, you and your beloved will run through a path of white-hot magnesium to wrap up your amazing wedding day. It also signifies the burning love you have for each other, and how hot 🔥 you both look.
In all seriousness, this one is so much fun for you and your guests, and makes for some amazing pics. Just make sure you have a couple of buckets of sand to deposit the sparklers once they are all burnt out.
Bonus points: Stop and kiss mid-way through your exit. Your photographer will love you even more!
3. The Paper Airplanes of Limitless Fun
This one is insane. You literally just fold paper airplanes and let your guests throw them at you. It's more fun than laundry and it's for your wedding.
Just make sure you have the planes' tips folded in so no pokey-bits get into peoples' peepers. Learn how here.
EXTRA BONUS POINTS: Add silly string. To any of these suggestions. Just do it! (except for maybe the sparkler one. Silly string may be flammable. Dunno, it just seems like the kind of thing that could possibly be flammable).
4. The Bubbles of Gratuitous Love
Kids love 'em. Adults love 'em. Puppies love 'em. It's a win win win. Choosing bubbles as your preferred method of reception send-off is such a solid choice. Just look at the results below!
You can create such a magical and vibrant environment with just a little bit of soapy water.
Bonus points: Smile and laugh, but don't eat one.
5. The Glitter of Intense Fabulousness
Science is right: Glitter is the most party-infused material known to humans. It only makes sense to give a little bit of it out to your wedding guests so you can be sent out in style!
Bonus points: Get the larger glitter pieces. The small dust-like ones may still be found in all the nooks AND crannies after the honeymoon.....
So there ya have it! As a photographer, these wedding reception send-offs are the ones that I've found to be the most fun, exciting, and budget-conscious options to wrap up what will become one of your most treasured days!
Interested in having pictures of your very own send-off? Hit me up!
Emma + Kurt - Hillsboro, Illinois Engagement Session
Emma and Kurt’s Hillsboro, Illinois engagement session!
Summary of my evening with Emma and Kurt:
Saw some puppies. They barked at me.
Saw some goats. The did NOT bark at me.
Made some really beautiful photographs with the people below.
I met Emma at this wedding that I recently shot. Turns out, it was a great connection because she and Kurt are two really fantastic and kind people, and that just shines through in the photos below. Scroll to see some of my favorites!
If you're needing some wedding or engagement photos, get in touch!
Mary + Austin - St. Louis, Missouri Engagement Session
Beautiful people and a gorgeous city in bloom make Austin and Mary’s engagement session one for the books. Click to see more!
Austin and Mary were absolutely stunning! They last-minute wanted to do an engagement session (their wedding is in less than a month) and I couldn't have been more excited, even more so when I saw the cool stuff we made.
We took Lafayette Square by storm and made some art that is as beautifully unique as they are. Some of my favorites can be found below.
If you're needing some beautiful wedding or engagement photos, click here and let's chat!
David + Gianna - St. Louis, Missouri Wedding
David and Gianna's wedding day is one for the books. I'm honored that I got to watch it through my lens! Check out some of my favorites from the day!
Let me hit you all with a couple of cold, hard FACTS.
1) This wedding was downright awesome. Goofy moments and belly laughs and tears abound.
B) The cake at this wedding was very good. The dancing was also very good (see below, it's worth the scrolling)
3) David and Gianna are basically perfect together and it showed through every moment of the day. Some parts of the day were a bit cold, and they just snuggled down and were troopers for it all. Awesome.
Video: Sean Mac Media Venue: The Jewel Box Reception: Villa Marie Winery
Warning: Cool people below
Katie + Kyle - Ballwin, Missouri Engagement Session
Katie+Kyle+Puppy = a great time. It's just simple math, guys.
So excited to share this session! Katie and Kyle are a fantastic couple and so much fun to hike with/photograph/hang out with. Yes, it was a bit chilly, and yes I am really bad at remembering how long the trails are, but I had a blast with them (and Jax, their puppy with boundless energy).
Kailey + Joe - St. Charles, Missouri Engagement Session
See more of Kailey and Joe's lovely Old St. Charles engagement session!
Kailey and Joe affirmed in me the validity of morning engagement sessions. It was so fun to get some coffee, and walk around as the town of St. Charles was waking up! We had so much fun exploring all the little corners of this late-fall wonderland!
Ellie + Austin - St. Louis, Missouri Engagement Session
Check out Ellie and Austin's St. Louis engagement session!
Literally could not have asked for cooler people to take pictures of. An absolute dream of an evening with Ellie and Austin!
Grant + Mikhaela - Edwardsville, Illinois Wedding Photography
One of the longest, goofiest, most tear-filled, joy-filled weddings that I've had the pleasure of capturing. Check out a few of my favorite pictures from Grant and Mikhaela's laugh-filled wedding day!
On a hot and sunny Friday in southern Illinois, two beautiful goofballs got nervous, got teary-eyed, got married, and got to partying. Grant and Mikhaela are absolutely hilarious, and absolutely in love. Check out some of my favorite images from that day!
The ceremony was at Newsong Fellowship and the reception was at the Leclaire Room.
P.S. - Also watch out for a mustache selfie hidden within this post...
