Tips from a Wedding + Couple Photographer
If you’re planning your engagement photos session or worried how your engagement photos will turn out, welcome! I’m Trinity, a Colorado-based and destination photographer with a passion for serving couples just like you. With 5 years of experience helping couples plan their sessions, I have so many tips, tricks, and experiences that I’ve used to compile this jam-packed resource. Sit back, relax, and learn all about how to plan the engagement session of your dreams!
Why should you take engagement photos?
As a couples photographer, I might be a little biased! But capturing memories is something I truly believe you should never skip out on. You have a lifetime of memories to remember. One day, when you’re old and grey, your engagement season will just be a thing of the past. Do future you a big favor, and give yourself tangible memories to look back on in the form of photos.
If the engagement photos you often see, ‘cookie cutter’ photos I refer to them lovingly as, aren’t your cup of tea don’t worry! There is an endless opportunity to get creative and let your love story unfold in your engagement photos, You do not by any means have to stick with the typical approach of ‘pretty ring’ haha.
Now that you know why engagement photos are a category you shouldn’t skip over, let’s move on to begin your planning process!
Let’s find the style of engagement photos you connect with the most!
When a couple books an engagement session with me, first thing I do is send over a detailed questionnaire so I can, in a way, get in their brain to get the overall vibe they connect with. I encourage you to do the same.
How do I find the photos I connect with the most? Start by eliminating photos you really don’t connect with. Get those out of the way. Look for things you didn’t like specifically such as the scenery they were in, how they were dressed, were they more stiff/posed or more feel and candid? Once you narrow down what you don’t like, it’ll paint a clearer picture of what you can start looking for for inspiration for your engagement photos.
From there, if you realized you really don’t like stiff/posed engagement photos. Dive into instagram and/or Pinterest and look into the opposite. I’d recommend searching for ‘documentary engagement photos’ or ‘candid engagement photos.’
Your inspiration can even come from different types of sessions. If a photo you love, is just a portrait & not a couple photo, still save it. It will still help give you your vision.
View a Snow Winter Wonderland Engagement Photo Session gallery!
Your engagement photos locations
Whether it’s the great outdoors, a gorgeous city scape or an intimate studio you desire, let’s talk about it. Picking your engagement photos location can be tricky and often is left up to the professional – your photographer. Many photographers like myself, send an extensive questionnaire when booking your engagement photos that gives them the info they need to find the perfect location for you. So you don’t have to lift a finger scouring high and low for choices. And oftentimes they have experience with many of the locations in your desired city and give you the inside scoop.
Your inspiration photos will be really helpful for them in this step. As I mentioned before, I send an extensive location scouting questionnaire after booking. One of the questions I ask is for my couple’s inspiration photos to help give me a visual to go along with their question answers.
Then I send them my location guide specific to them. They’re custom guides for every couple so they aren’t overwhelmed with choices. The location can really set the tone for your photos. This is why it’s such an important step in planning your engagement photos!
Your engagement photos outfits
Planning your engagement photo outfits, if you’re anything like me, can often be the toughest choice. But it can also be the easiest!!
I recommend something comfy, still cute, but something you can sit, jump & run in for the majority of your session. I offer my couples unlimited outfit changes, so if you’re wanting a dressed up look we can do that for more of the classic poses. Then ditch the dress for some free + candid photos that allow you to move & have fun.
My go to recommendation — is jeans & a sweater or simple top with your favorite shoes for the girls. For your man, nice jeans, a plain T-shirt and boots or *clean* sneakers.
You’re ready for your engagement photos!
Congratulations, friend! You have all the tools you need to plan your dream engagement photos. Now, all you have to do is make things official! To get in touch with me, head on over to my contact form and we’ll be in touch with you soon. I can’t wait to chat with you!
You can also take a look at my engagement photo galleries for more inspiration: View Engagement Photo Galleries
Here is a look into this winter wonderland session I did in Salt Lake City, UT. The winter wonderland was such a playground for their engagement photo session.
