WARDROBE & WEAR
The secret behind great photos is to wear what you love, pick clothing you feel comfortable and confident in. It is a great idea to even take your outfit out for a spin before your session day! (Talk about a perfect excuse for a date night!) Prepare both your outfits ahead of time and try to find colors, tones and patterns that are complimentary, rather than matching. Complimentary and contrasting colors are great ideas, especially neutral and earth tones. Try to avoid logos, neon colors and pinstripes.
Watch out for wrinkles! Take the time to iron and smooth out your clothing the night before your session. Be sure to take your phone and wallet out of your pockets, and remove any hair ties or bands from your wrists. I'll be carrying a bag for us during your session to hold your items. Also during our session I’ll take a ring shot, which is going to mean lots of close up details of your hands and rings, so it’s a great idea to clean your ring and manicure your nails!
MULTIPLE LOOKS & GLAM
Consider if you would like to have multiple looks and pack an outfit change! This is a great way to capture the different sides to your personalities and your relationship. I recommend having a more formal outfit (think dressy date night!) and a casual day wear outfit - don’t forget to style the shoes! This will give you more variety in your photos and lots of options for when it comes to selecting prints or your new phone background.
Now, when it comes to hair and makeup there are two schools of thought.
- The first, is to invest in having your hair and makeup done professionally. These photos will last a lifetime and you deserve to feel your best! During our time together it might be worth the peace of mind knowing that your hair is in place and your eyes are popping!
- Alternatively, this is such a special time in your life and you may want to make sure that you look like you! Some brides prefer to do their own hair and makeup for their engagement session because it is how they style themselves everyday and is who their fiancé fell in love with! Either way - you do YOU! I recommend doing what you are most comfortable with and besides, your smiles will steal the show anyway.
STYLING & COLOR PAIRING
As you plan your coordinating (but not matching) outfits, consider these styling tips!
- Pick a color that compliments the season and your skin tone! Here are some great color pairings:
- Neutral + a color (Grey & light blue/pink/soft green)
- Neutral + neutral (Taupe & cream or ivory)
- Solid color + a pattern
- Neutral + a pattern
- Pale/pastel color + a rich/saturated color
- If you decide to wear a pattern, I recommend only one partner wears a print and the other partner wears a solid color pulled from the pattern. A medium size pattern is a safe choice, a print that is too small can be very busy on camera, and a print that is too large is not very flattering.
- Here are some popular shops for engagement dresses, and there are lots of great finds on Amazon!
- Baltic Born
- Lulus
- Rent the Runway
POSING & PERSONALITY
I treat all my clients with tremendous care, I want you to genuinely feel comfortable and confident in my hands. I will take the time to get to know you and discover what is important to you and your partner for your photos. No need to worry about modeling and posing, I'll will give you an easy crash course on posing and throughout our session I will give you direction and fun prompts to get you acting natural. All you need to do is smile and let the day be about you and your love!
MOOD & Mindset
If the most important advice I can give you is to wear what you love, the next best advice I can share is to have a date night mindset. On the date of your engagement session, make a day out of it! Make a dinner reservation (or curbside plans) to follow our session, get a good night’s sleep the night before and treat yourself by sleeping in! Come into your engagement session feeling well rested, excited and focused on your love! This day and your photos are about you and your love, which deserves to be honored! This mindset will produce some of the most authentic and stunning photos.
