If you’re here, you’re probably not looking for traditional engagement photos.
You’re not trying to recreate a Pinterest pose, show up in an outfit that doesn’t make sense for real life, and smile at the camera for an hour while you wonder what to do with your hands.
Because let’s be honest, a lot of engagement sessions don’t feel like you.
They can look beautiful… but the outfits feel random, the posing feels unnatural, and the whole thing can start to feel like you’re performing for the camera instead of actually being together. That’s not what I’m here to create. My engagement sessions are built around scene setting, not stiff posing.
Instead of showing up somewhere pretty and forcing moments that don’t feel natural, I approach your session like a scene from a film. Not staged. Not cheesy. Not overly “styled” just for the sake of it. More like: you two, doing what you actually love… just slightly elevated. The kind of images that don’t just show what you look like but what it felt like to be in that season of your life.
Because the best photos don’t come from pretending.
They come from presence, movement, and connection.
What “Scene Setting” Means
When I say scene setting, I don’t mean turning your session into a production.
I mean we choose a setting that makes sense for your relationship, then build a simple story inside it, something real, relaxed, and true to you.
Like:
• thrift shopping + pizza after
• exploring the city like tourists, stopping wherever feels fun
• a picnic in the bed of your fiancé’s truck
• a champagne toast on the bow of a sailboat
• margaritas in a booth with flash photos that feel like a movie still
• grabbing coffee and walking with it while the world wakes up
• a beach walk that ends with your feet in the water
• wandering a bookstore, picking out records, or splitting fries downtown
• rolling the windows down and driving with your favorite playlist on
The point isn’t to “do something for the camera.”
It’s to choose a setting that feels natural for you and then photograph the story that happens inside it.
This is why I don’t just “pick a location” and call it done.
I help you build a scene and then we capture what it feels like to be together in it.
So… What’s the Difference?
A traditional engagement session usually starts with:
“Where should we take photos?”
A scene-setting session starts with:
“What kind of day feels like us?”
Because once we choose the scene, everything else starts making sense — the location, the timing, the outfits, the movement, the energy.
Instead of showing up and trying to create chemistry for the camera, you’re just being yourselves… and I’ll guide you the entire way.
Outfits That Actually Fit the Story
One of the biggest reasons sessions feel stiff is because the outfits don’t match the environment.
A fancy dress in a muddy field.
A suit on the beach.
Shoes you can’t walk in.
Something that photographs well… but doesn’t feel like you.
And when the outfit doesn’t make sense, the photos start to feel like you’re playing dress-up — instead of living inside a scene that feels natural.
That’s why I don’t style you based on what’s “supposed” to look good in engagement photos.
I style you based on what you’re doing. Because when your outfit matches the story, everything changes:
You move differently. You relax faster. You feel more confident.
And the photos instantly feel more cinematic because the scene actually makes sense.
Here are a few examples of what that looks like:
- If your scene is thrift shopping + pizza after…
- Think: cool, effortless, slightly vintage.
Denim, leather jacket, boots or sneakers, a casual dress, simple layers, hair down and easy. Like you’re on a real Saturday date.
- Think: cool, effortless, slightly vintage.
- If your scene is exploring the city like romcom tourists…
- Think: elevated casual, comfortable shoes, movement-friendly outfits.
- Something you can walk in, laugh in, climb stairs in, and twirl in without feeling restricted.
- If your scene is a picnic in the bed of your fiancé’s truck…
- Think: cozy, playful, warm, nostalgic.
- Jeans, boots, a knit sweater or jacket, a simple dress with a layered blanket moment. This one photographs like a movie because it feels like real life.
- If your scene is champagne on the bow of a sailboat…
- Think: clean, coastal, timeless.
- Linen, soft neutrals, beachy texture, loose hair, effortless elegance. Not “black tie,” but elevated in a way that feels natural on the water.
- If your scene is a sunrise walk on the beach…
- Think: linens and beachy layers you can move in.
- Barefoot, rolled sleeves, flowy fabrics, soft textures, and outfits that look beautiful in the wind. Romantic, simple, and real.
- If your scene is hiking and exploring together…
- Think: outfits you’d actually adventure in, just the best version of them.
- Neutral hiking layers, great boots, a beanie, a cozy jacket. The goal is “we go outside together,” not “we showed up overdressed in the wilderness.”
- If your scene is farm life feeding chickens at golden hour…
- Think: overalls, a cute sunhat, boots, denim, cotton, simple textures.
- It’s playful and nostalgic, and it photographs so well because it’s honest and full of movement.
- If your scene is margaritas in a booth with flash photos…
- Think: a fun night-out outfit.
- Something flirty, something sleek, something you’d actually wear to grab drinks together.
The goal is never to costume you.
It’s to help you look like yourselves in a scene that feels true to your life and the way you love each other.
And don’t worry: you don’t have to figure this out alone. Once you choose your scene, I’ll guide you through outfits that make sense for it so the whole session feels cohesive, cinematic, and natural.
What You Can Expect From Your Session
You don’t need modeling experience. You don’t need to know how to pose. You don’t need to worry about being awkward.
My job is to give you direction that feels easy and natural, prompts that create real movement, real connection, and real emotion.
You can expect:
• a session that feels like a date, not a photoshoot
• scene-setting based prompts so nothing feels stiff
• plenty of space to relax and be yourselves
• a mix of playful moments + timeless portraits
• images that feel lived-in, emotional, and true to you
• digital + film storytelling if you choose both
This is more than “taking engagement photos.”
It’s documenting what your relationship feels like: honestly, beautifully, and intentionally.
Before You Fill Out Your Location Questionnaire… How to Prepare (and Unlearn Everything You Think a Photo Session Has to Be)
Don’t think: “Where should we take engagement photos?”
Think: “What kind of scene do we want to step into?”
Because the goal isn’t to fake something for photos. It’s to create something that feels real like your life, your love, your energy, your phase of life being engaged and in love.
If you’ve had photos taken before — engagement photos, family photos, senior photos, anything — I want you to forget everything you think you know about how this is supposed to go.
Seriously. We’re going to start fresh. Because around here, we do it differently.
Not more complicated. Not more “posed.” Just more authentic.
You’re not showing up to perform for the camera. You’re showing up to be with each other and I’ll take care of the rest.
This experience is built to feel like real life: the way you naturally laugh together, the way you move, the way you reach for each other without thinking. The little moments that aren’t planned but end up meaning the most.
So here’s what I want you to do to prepare:
- Choose a scene you’d actually live inside
Don’t pick something just because it “looks good in photos.”
Pick something that feels like you.
A beach sunrise walk. A thrift date. A hike. Margaritas. A truck-bed picnic. A slow morning with coffee. A city wander like tourists in your own town. If it fits your relationship, it’ll photograph beautifully.
- Wear something that makes sense for the story
The most cinematic photos don’t come from the fanciest outfits. They come from outfits that fit the environment and let you move naturally.
You should be able to walk, sit, laugh, hug, spin, climb in and out of a truck bed, kick off your shoes at the beach… whatever your scene requires.
When you feel comfortable, you look confident.
When you look confident, the photos feel effortless.
- Show up ready to move a little (not pose a lot)
If you’re worried you’ll feel awkward, you’re normal and you’re not alone.
But you don’t have to “know what to do.”
I’ll guide you with prompts that feel natural, not performative.
Less: “stand here and smile.”
More: “walk with me, talk to each other, be close, be playful, be real.”
- Give yourselves permission to be present
The best photos happen when you stop thinking about how you look and start feeling what’s happening.
You don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t have to be serious.
You don’t have to “act romantic.”
Just show up as you and trust me to turn that into something cinematic.
This isn’t about faking a moment for the sake of a photo. A session that feels like a date is always going to look better than a session that feels like a photoshoot. And the more you treat it like a real day together, the more natural the images will be. It’s about capturing something real: honestly, beautifully, and in a way that feels like you’ll want to relive it forever.
If that sounds like your kind of experience, I cannot wait to build your scene.
