5 Tips to Nail Your Engagement Pictures
Hi friends! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! B and I took our engagement pictures at the end of last month and to be honest I stressed over them quite a bit. I'm a picture person...I LOVE pictures. The way they capture a moment and the people in them; so much sentiment in a little piece of glossy paper. With that mentality, a lot can end up going into something special like engagement pictures. You'll most likely be using them at some point in the wedding planning process whether you put them on your save the dates or display them on the big day or in your home! Having just gone through the whole process, I wanted to share my top 5 tips to achieving your engagement picture vision!!
1) Pick a theme: this may seem obvious and most brides are most likely going to want their engagement pics to match the overall wedding theme or style. We purposely waited until Spring came to Kansas City so that the season, our attire, and the overall look and feel of our photos complimented the overall theme of our wedding next April. I understand that not everyone has a long engagement and may have to work within a certain season but when you have the opportunity, matching your seasons and overall look to your wedding plans really helps integrate your theme from start to finish!
2) Communicate your vision ahead of time: I had contacted our wonderful photographer Aubrey at Love Tree Studios a few weeks prior to our engagement session to get her input on great locations and also share what I had planned for us to wear and my overall vision. The day of, she showed up with shooting locations she had scouted the day before and really helped create the elevated and romantic look I was going for!
3) Plan ahead: this goes beyond just picking a day and location. If you're trying to accomplish a particular look, figure out not only what you plan on wearing but also what your future spouse will wear to compliment one another. Now this does not mean matchy-matchy (unless thats your thing, then go for it!) but just make sure that he's not wearing jeans and a tee shirt to match your floor length gown. And then there's the accessories; be sure to pick what shoes, jewelry, layers, etc you want to wear with each outfit prior to the day of. This will help keep the stress down and leaves little room for something being left behind or forgotten.
4) Be conscious of the little details: get your engagement ring cleaned the day before. Get your nails done (your hands will be featured a lot). Consider getting your hair trimmed or styled prior to pictures. Remind your S.O. if they need a haircut/shave/etc. Pack the extras ahead of time (such as extra undergarments if needed for outfit changes, your makeup bag for touch ups, a hairbrush just in case). If you are taking multiple outfits, plan ahead for somewhere to change! I ended up buying a super easy popup changing tent on Amazon for around $30 to take along since we were shooting outdoors and it was AWESOME!
5) Eat something before you go: Our pictures were at 4:30 in the afternoon but we had a bit of a drive to the location we picked. Thankfully we ate not long before we hit the road and were absolutely starving by the time we were done with our pictures! A sign of a great photographer is someone who will take as much time as is needed to capture beautiful moments and take the time to get to know you both through out the shoot. I can't wait to work with Aubrey and the rest of her team on our wedding day. She went above and beyond to capture not only beautiful images but also each of our personalities.
