Engagement sessions are something that I hold near and dear to my heart. But lets be honest, its not always easy figuring out what to wear for your engagement photos. You are preparing yourselves to be married for 50 + years, but you only get to be engaged for this short time. I am so humbled to be able to capture the only time in your life that you get to be each others fiancés! I created this guide as a way to share all my secrets on how to get the most out of your engagement session.
My goal is to capture your relationship as it is right now, your style, your humor, your love. When your thinking of what to wear for your engagement photos, keep that in mind. As a disclaimer, this is definitely not a rule book! At the end of the day, the location props and outfits won’t matter nearly as much as the memories you make with your significant other during this time. I want you to relax, have fun, and laugh a lot! Ill take care of the rest.
INTRODUCTION
Engagement sessions are something that I hold near and dear to my heart. But lets be honest, its not always easy figuring out what to wear for your engagement photos. You are preparing yourselves to be married for 50 + years, but you only get to be engaged for this short time. I am so humbled to be able to capture the only time in your life that you get to be each others fiancés! I created this guide as a way to share all my secrets on how to get the most out of your engagement session.
My goal is to capture your relationship as it is right now, your style, your humor, your love.
When your thinking of what to wear for your engagement photos, keep that in mind. As a disclaimer, this is definitely not a rule book! At the end of the day, the location props and outfits won’t matter nearly as much as the memories you make with your significant other during this time. I want you to relax, have fun, and laugh a lot! Ill take care of the rest.
BEFORE YOUR SESSION
Preparing for your engagement session starts a few weeks before your shoot. The better prepared you feel, the more likely you are to relax and simply be present. Tension and stress have a sneaky way of showing up in photos so looking and feeling your best really does matter. Here’s what you should be doing prior to your session:
Schedule an appointment to have your hair cut and/or colored one to two weeks prior to your session.
Treat yourself to a manicure the day before your session! There will be lots of up close and personal photos of your engagement ring!
Speaking of engagement rings – consider getting your ring cleaned before the day before or morning of your engagement shoot. It takes just about 10 minutes. Most jewelry stores will do them for free, and it will make a difference in the photos.
A few days before the shoot, both of you should try on your clothes to make sure that they fit. If they don’t, return them for a better fitting size or find a different outfit. (Refer to the “what to wear for your engagement photos” section below)
Ladies, an engagement shoot is also the perfect time for your wedding hair and make-up trial. Give yourself a couple of hours buffer when scheduling the appointment. This way if anything runs late, you won’t feel stressed or frazzled worrying about time and we won’t miss some potential perfect light.
The night before your engagement shoot, gather all of your outfits and any props together in one location so that nothing gets forgotten.
Have a light but filling meal before your session and grab a snack or two to take along. We’ll be doing lots of walking, laughing, giggling, etc… snack breaks are key!
LOCATION + TIME
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Before thinking about what to wear for your engagement photos, you have to think about timing and location. I’m obsessed with natural light. The sun and all the crazy awesome things that it can do in a camera never fails to make amazing photographs. I like all of my sessions to end with the sunset, so I suggest starting about 2 hours before the sun goes down to get that perfect “golden hour” lighting. **Remember, the sun sets much earlier during the colder months of the year and much later during the warmer months, so make sure to factor that in when choosing your engagement session date, especially if you’re taking time off work or have evening plans afterward.
If you’re wearing two different outfits, save your favorite one for the second half of the session, so we can capture it with the sunset!
CHOOSING A LOCATION
Your location should be a reflection of you two and your relationship! If you have a location in mind already, let me know and we can talk about it! If not, I can always suggest locations. I am constantly scouting and searching for new locations to use for my shoots!
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX
Is there a place that you love to go to on date nights? Sometimes this can be the best location! Love going hiking on the weekends? Lets shoot at your favorite hiking spot. Where did he pop the question? Lets go there! I encourage you to brainstorm some places that are near and dear to your heart, and let me know what they are so we can talk it out!
OUTDOOR LOCATIONS
If we settle on a location in nature, be sure to come prepared for that location! Don’t forget bug spray and a change of shoes that are comfortable for walking! (Walking in grass in heels isn’t fun for anyone!!)
PICK SOMEWHERE YOUR’E COMFORTABLE IN!
If this is your first professional shoot, it is likely that you will be nervous, AND THATS OK! Just make sure that your location doesn’t make those nerves act up more than they usually would. For example, the coffee shop where your ex boyfriend loves to hang out might not be the best place for your senior pictures. (It sounds crazy, but you would be surprised…)
TRAVEL
I love to travel and be on the road! Let’s make a trip out of your engagement shoot! Destination engagement sessions are unique and fun and make for the best of memories! If you want to shoot somewhere that isn’t local, let me know and we can discuss travel info! Keep in mind that travel fees will apply!
WHAT TO WEAR
When it comes to engagement photos, my biggest tip on what to wear is to dress like yourself! Don’t copy an outfit you find on pinterest just because you thinks it looks cool. Dress like you would dress on a normal. In 20 years when you look back on these photos with your kids, you want to remember who you two were as a couple, not what the trends of the times were!
COLORS + PATTERNS
NEUTRALS
I am a huge fan of neutral colors! They go great with any location we shoot in, and they aren’t distracting! Think outside of the typical tan, gray, and white colors. EVER COLOR HAS A NEUTRAL!! For example, the neutral of blue is navy, the neutral of red is maroon, the neutral of green is olive, and so on and so forth! Below are some examples of neutral colors that photograph well!
When you’re looking for what to wear to your engagement photos, don’t go for overly bright colors. They tend to distract and draw attention away from your face! These colors also have the tendency to reflect color onto your skin. For example, a bright red shirt will make you look pink in all of your photos, and no one wants that!
If your’e like me, and most of your closet is black grey and white, don’t be afraid to add a pop of color! Maybe a green jacket! Try something new and fun!
PATTERNS
Don’t wear overly distracting patterns! We want your engagement session to be about you and your relationship, not about the clothes you wear!
PROPS
BAD PROPS
I always suggest that my clients leave any chunky jewelry, massive earrings, heavy scarves, sunglasses, confetti, and patterned blankets at home.
PROPS THAT PHOTOGRAPH WELL
Dainty jewelry, cardigans/kimonos, hats, umbrellas, your favorite snack, ice-cream, flowers, your pup (Can limit location options, but would be super fun!), or anything else that is special to you (bible, your favorite board game, something related to how you two met).
MATCHING VS. COORDINATING
I can’t even tell you how many times Ive heard people say “white shirts and dark jeans” before a shoot. THIS DOES NOT GIVE YOU THE BEST PHOTOS! Wearing colors that complement each other rather than matching is a much better solution.
Instead of giving your family a strict uniform for your shoot, select a color pallet of 4-5 colors and let your family members dress with those colors in mind. Look at the color pallets below for some of my favorite outfit colors!
