You've booked your engagement session. Now what?

You've talked to your photographer, understand when and where you'll be meeting, and hopefully how many images to expect back. But then what? You start thinking of all the smaller details: "what do we wear?", "I don't know how to pose", "Camera's make me nervous." Often times photographers are happy to answer all these questions and more. We want you to feel confident coming to your session and knowing what to expect and also what will be expected of you. However, for those of you who don't like reaching out too much, I have compiled some of the questions and answers I have heard are most helpful for preparing for an engagement session.

"What should we wear?!"

This is probably the number one question I get asked by couples. There are a few different factors that play into this answer. My style, your style, and the location.

Let's start with my style. I assume you have booked me (or your prospective photographer) because you have seen their portfolio and like what you see. For my client's I usually recommend neutrals and earth tones, Blacks, whites, tans, browns, light greens, etc. I also recommend staying away from bright colors specifically purples, oranges, yellows, and reds. These colors can sometimes show up weird in camera and clash with your skin tones. When in doubt, go lighter and more neutral if you can. I also recommend clothing that can flow with movement. As I will talk more about below, my style of posing is primarily prompt based, so clothing that moves with you will add excitement to your final pictures. These are things like skirts and dresses, flowy tops and looser shirts for men.

Next is your style. If skirts and dresses are not your thing, fear not, this is not a mathematical formula for how to take great pictures, and more importantly than what I think will look good in a picture, is what you think will make you feel good and confident. Wear clothes you know fit well and that you like. Your session is not the time to experiment with new styles or pieces. Wear something tried and true that you know you rock. If you are feeling self-conscious about your clothing choice, it will come through in your final photos.

Finally, the location. You should take into account the aesthetic of the location you have chosen. Are you going to be in a city? Cities are bold and give an edgy, modern feel. choose something in your wardrobe that will compliment that. Black and white palettes work really well in city locations as well as bold jewelry, long elegant gowns, or suits for men. Are you going to be in a field, or garden area? Pastel and light earth tones are great here, as well as flowy dresses and khakis with a white button down are a great choice here for guys. Is your session in the fall in a forest? choose darker earth tones like deep burgundies, navies and greens. These will complement or contrast the leaves and earth.

What poses should you expect?

The next most common thing I hear is "we are really bad at posing". That may be true, but that is also your photographer's job. We have spent a lot of time with a lot of people learning what looks good and what doesn't. Do not fear, you will be directed the whole shoot. In my sessions I use a movement and prompt-based style. This means you can expect to hear me say things like "hug her from behind and sway back and forth" or another prompt that is popular between movement-based photographers for getting genuine smiles is "hold hands and drunk walk towards me". These might sound silly on the surface but that is the point. People have begun to shy away from the old look at the camera and say "cheese" formula. They want real emotion and genuine smiles to come through. Especially in an engagement session, you are probably posting these or using them in your save the dates as an announcement to your friends and family that you have finally found your best friend. The person you love most in the world, and your photos should truly represent that. So do not worry about preparing your poses, leave that hard work up to your photographer.

"Camera's make me nervous."

What if you are just uneasy in front of cameras, worried it will be awkward, or self-conscious about some part of your body? That's okay, and it's normal. Take a deep breath. Everybody on this planet is self-conscious about something. There is a good chance no one will notice that one thing except you, and if it is something that really bothers you, let your photographer know. If they know about it ahead of time they can prepare and try to take photos that will accentuate your best features and not those you are worried about. Personally, I do not modify my client's body's in photoshop other than a light skin retouch to get rid of acne spots or flyaway hairs, but some photographers will do extra editing for an extra price, so if you really want that, reach out and ask if it is something they would do. I try my best to make my client's feel comfortable during their session. At the beginning I will usually explain what prompts you might be doing, and if I have a good feel of the location, I will also generally explain my plan of where we will start and the different places we will go to get different shots. My best advice is to be honest with your photographer, we are there to serve you and get the best images for you, so if you are uncomfortable or feeling nervous, let us know so that we can help you get the pictures you truly want and love.

Finally, Have Fun!

This is probably the most important thing in the whole list. Prepare to have fun! Think of your session as a date with your significant other. Do not be afraid to laugh and smile, say silly things, give lots of hugs and kisses. Be your genuine selves and you will get the most genuine photos - I promise!