How to Have an Awesome Engagement Session

What to wear for engagement/portrait sessions, and how to prepare for them are questions I get all the time from my clients.  I thought it would be a good idea to expand on my What to Wear post, and go through the process of coming up with a unique portrait session that will completely express who you are as individuals and as a couple.  The concepts below can also apply to anyone doing solo sessions, family sessions, just because sessions . . . basically any type of portrait session!

A session that resonates is all about Personality, Nostalgia and Emotional Connection.  Now, I have honestly had clients who thought they couldn’t come up with anything of significance that would help us a create a session that spoke to who they were.  I’ve had people say they didn’t have any hobbies, or special locations or much of a story even!  After a little digging though, wonderful things started coming to the surface.  Everybody has a story.

PERSONALITY

Who are you as an individual?  What are the colors that make you happiest?  If you have free time, what do you do?  What makes you laugh?  If you could go anywhere tomorrow, where would you go?

Who are you as a couple?  What do you love about the other?  What was the first thing you noticed about them (be honest now!)?  If you had to pick your favorite trait about the other (kindness, humor, etc.), what would it be?

NOSTALGIA

Where, and how did you first meet?  What did you do for your first date?  What place/s do you call home?  Are there any places you enjoy going to frequently (certain movie theater, hiking trail, coffee shop)?

EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

I think some of the most powerful photographs are ones that just completely encapsulate someone.  In engagement sessions, it’s important to be comfortable so you can be yourselves, and your photographer can capture your true relationship.  Relaxing during a session is, of course, one of the most difficult things to do for many people.  But answering questions about your personalities, and places that are special to you, help to create an environment in which it’s EASIER for you to relax and be yourself.  And a good photographer will help bring out the real you.

And because this post would be boring and dry if it was just me talking, here are a whole bunch of pictures that I feel demonstrate what I’m talking about.

Below: Here’s Kate and Evan. Evan’s a DJ. They both heart records and thumping music.  Also comedic relief.  And they spend a lot of time in this very record store, which is where we began their session. . . [you can click HERE to see their engagement session, and HERE to see their wedding].

Below: and here is Fred and Martine.  We did their engagement session on Martine’s family’s farm (nostalgia), and had fun playing with this old Ford truck and an ancient (still running!) tractor.  They are both engineers, so it seemed appropriate.  You can see their full engagement session HERE. Below: Stephanie and Nathan.  Stephanie, as you can see, loves to dance and Nathan is a firefighter.  So we had a blast making the most of their passions.  You can see their full engagement session HERE, and their wedding HERE. Below: This is David and Emily.  They’re both incredibly creative individuals, with a passion for vintage style.  They had fun putting together their outfits and a little picnic for their pre-partnership celebration photos.  You can see the full session HERE, and their Partnership Celebration HERE. Below: This is Jo and Janelle.  Janelle is colorful and creative, and loves old books.  Jo is quiet and kind, and loves fishing.  Put those together, and voila!  You can see their full engagement session HERE and their casual beach-cabin wedding HERE and HERE. Below: Meet Zach and Jennifer.  Among other things, they like cupcakes.  Really, it’s hard to go wrong with cupcakes in pictures.  You can see their full Portland engagement session HERE.

Below: Jordan and Rachel were my most recent engagement session, and they love just spending time together and enjoying walks and good food.  We took that and ran with it under the cherry trees in downtown Salem OR.  You can see the full session HERE.

I hope this helps!

With Joy,

Heather España