THE DETAILS

Scheduling

Engagement photos are all about you and your love - capturing your story & your personality! It’s important to pick a location where you both feel comfortable, and can reflect who you are as a couple.

In general, outdoor engagement photos are my favorite setting to shoot in, because regardless of whether you choose an urban downtown feel or out in nature, the backdrop is guaranteed to be gorgeous! That being said, I’ve seen so many cute locations that aren’t necessarily fully outdoors. Breweries and coffeeshops offer intimate settings that can enhance your personality through images! As long as there’s an abundance of natural light, we can capture gorgeous images to tell your story.

Location

Engagement photos typically occur with a few purposes in mind:

1. Celebrate this huge milestone with photos to capture you & your love’s personality!
2. Save the Dates and/or invitations
3. Wedding website
4. Bonus: Holiday gifts for family

Unless you know you want a long engagement, make sure you’re scheduling your engagement photos almost immediately after getting engaged! This way, you’ll have the photos to use on your Save the Dates, wedding website, and other materials that have more of a strict deadline in the wedding planning process. As much as you’re able, use the weather/seasons in your favor - winter is tough mostly due to the sun setting so early in the day. Spring and fall are ideal times of year for photos!

Coordinating & Colors

As you’re coordinating your outfit with your fiancé’s, keep in mind that your outfits will look the most cohesive on camera when the color palettes coordinate, but don’t necessarily “match.” Choose a color palette of mostly neutrals with 0-2 accent colors, aiming to keep at least half of these colors lighter shades. Keep in mind that ultra-bright, bold colors will bring attention away from your faces! Khaki, denim, white, gray, black, and navy all count as neutrals. Within your chosen color palette, you should each aim to wear a different main color (no family-holiday-card-style-matching please!)

The camera loves white/tan/beige/cream, softer blues, and pinks particularly, with basics of gray and leather brown mixed in. This gentler color palette fits beautifully into any natural outdoor environment.

AN EXAMPLE:

Navy suit jacket
White dress shirt
Khakis
Brown shoes

Soft light blue dress
Nude heels
Tan overcoat

Outfits: Femme

FEELING FEMININE?

COMFORT IS KEY
The absolute key to engagement photos that let your personality shine through is that you’re comfortable. If you’re not a high-heel person, then skip them! (Or bring your sneaks for after we take a handful of photos in the heels). I want you to wear something that is easy to move in, and most importantly, that you feel fantastic in. Think of your favorite outfit that you always grab in your closet - that’s perfect. Jeans and a white tee? Love it. Leggings and a comfy cute sweater? Heck yeah. You don’t need to go all out for incredible photos - in fact, the more comfortable you are, the easier it will be for you to act like yourself with your honey.

WEAR THE GLAM HONEY
On the flip side: when will you have the excuse to wear an over-the-top fancy dress again (besides maybe your wedding day)? If you’ve always wanted an epic dress moment, a flower crown, or anything else you’ve never had the occasion for, this is your time to do it! There is no such thing as “too much” when it comes to your engagement photos. And remember - you can always do one casual look and one glam outfit! (Cue the Hannah Montana: You get the bestttttt of both worldssss…)

ACCESSORIZE
Pairing an accessory or two with your outfit can really help bring some extra dimension to your images. But remember - the main focus is that bling on your finger! Choose accessories that complement your ring but don’t outshine it.

HAIR & MAKEUP
You don’t necessarily need professional hair and makeup for your engagement session - but some sort of ‘do and makeup is recommended! If you’ve got a friend who’s a pro with a curler and/or makeup, have them help you glamorize before the shoot. If you do decide to go pro, your engagement photos are a great trial run with your hair and makeup artist for the wedding day! Either way, getting dolled up will give you an extra boost of confidence in front of the camera, and always photographs beautifully.

Outfits: Masc

FEELING MASCULINE?

THE BASICS
The same rules above apply! Comfort is key. If you’re going for a more casual look, khakis and a plain t-shirt is totally fine! But make sure it’s plain - no graphics, no logos, nothing distracting - because we want the focus to be on you & your boo!

DON’T BE AFRAID TO DAPPER IT UP
If your partner is going the fancier route, then don’t be afraid to follow suit - maybe literally! A well tailored suit turns anyone into immediate eye candy, and is a piece that becomes a closet staple long after your engagement shoot. If you’re lucky, you may even to be able to find an off-the-rack option at your local department store that fits like a glove! Solid shades of gray or navy are my favorite colors to complement almost anything your partner wears, whereas pinstripes or plaid patterns tend to distract the eye. But if that’s you, then go for it!

LAYERED LOOKS
Next time you walk by a store like J. Crew, you’ll notice the mannequins and models are usually wearing several layers at once. Layers look great on camera, and can offer so many different “outfits” in one! Consider layering with blazers, a trendy coat, even a sweater over a shirt and tie. Even when it’s hot outside, it’s worth an hour or two of discomfort for photos that will last you a lifetime.

WHAT NOT TO WEAR
Sorry I’m picking on my masculine friends here, but I find ya’ll are the most prone to fashion faux pas during engagement photos! So here’s my gentle guidelines for you: Stick to long pants and close-toed shoes. Unless we’re doing photos on the beach, or a blazing hot summer setting and your partner approves of some tasteful khaki shorts, long pants always look best. I don’t want to be distracted by your knees or toes when we’re supposed to be looking at that beautiful face your partner fell in love with!

A note: the advice below is completely subjective to what I feel looks best in engagement photos. That being said, the main priority is that you and your partner look and feel like YOU. If that means throwing my guidelines about colors, pants, etc. out the window - so be it!