5 Reasons why you should do an Engagement Session
Yay, engagement season is here! As many of you (especially you soon to be brides) are researching photography and debating, “do I really need an engagement session”… well here are the top reasons why you need an engagement session!! In fact, I think it's so important, I include an engagement session in all my wedding photography packages for FREE!
1. Get to know you time
One of the most important parts in making sure you have beautiful wedding photos is being comfortable with your photographer. The more you know each other and become friends the better the photos will be. Not only is this the perfect time for you to get to know your photographer in a relaxed environment but its also a time for her to get to know you! Your photographer will be able to use this time to notice if you favor a certain side or if your husband-to-be tends to blink.
2. Practice Makes Perfect
Many couples (especially soon to be grooms) get incredibly nervous about their wedding photos. Will they be painful? Will I have to smile for hours on end? Will they take too long? Well, not if you know what it's like before hand. An engagement shoot is the perfect opportunity to get comfortable in front of the camera and learn to relax and have fun with your photographer. Often times your photographer will do similar poses or use similar cues with you at your engagement shoot as the wedding.
3. Multi-Tiered Investment
You might wonder, can I use these photos for anything at the wedding? YES OF COURSE, just look all over instagram, pinterest and many blogs. There are tons of ways you can re-purpose these amazing images. The most common are the guest book and the save the dates but there are many other fun and unique ways to use them.
Here’s a few more ideas:
- Thank you gift for parents who helped make your wedding dreams possible!
- Create Customized Postage stamps
- Personalized Table Numbers
- A collaged wall mural at the wedding
4. The Memory Keeper
As with all photos, these are a way to capture a special milestone in your lives forever. This is especially true for the engagement photos. When you look around your home do you imagine it being filled with photos showcasing different chapters of your life? The time prior to your wedding is a unique moment that will only happen once. Of course you want your wedding photos prominently displayed. Imagine a handful of gorgeous artistic wedding photos being hung on the wall but you still want photos of you and your love framed around the house… right? So now, imagine your home with photos of the two of you… professionally taken, having fun, beautifully framed. They represent the real you! The two of you in your most natural comfortable environment, be that at home, or in a park, or the place you first met or had your first date.
5. It's FUN!!
And the best part ITS FUN! Come on … imagine photos of you just having fun… doing whatever you want to do, no stress, just capturing the essence of the two of you… whether its playing in the park, throwing a baseball, walking down your favorite street with your pup, or just hanging out in your house!! The ideas are endless…
Next time someone (probably your fiancé) asks “what’s the purpose of an engagement shoot?” this is what you can say… tell him… it’ll be fun… we can even end the shoot at his favorite restaurant or with a beer at the bar!!