What to Consider Prior to Your Engagement Photos
As we celebrate our own wedding anniversary today, it seems like an obvious time to look back on photos commemorating that time period in our lives together.
If you want to learn a little bit more about our love story, you can check out this post from Real Maine Weddings. While we loved our wedding photos (as evidence by framed pictures all over the house!), our engagement session "upta camp" holds a truly special place in our hearts. We were beyond grateful to have wedding photographers (Bethany and Dan Photography) that understood that this location was deeply important to us, and thus, agreed to voyage down miles of logging roads to capture these moments!
As I look through the pictures, there a few points that I would recommend other couples consider prior to their own engagement photos.
Pick a Place that Means Something
As I mentioned before, our camp up north holds a special place in our hearts. There's no need to pick a place just because it's listed on some top ten list of most beautiful spots. Looking back a couple years later, I could have chosen the most beautiful rocky coast in Maine, but it just wouldn't have been as sentimental. Did you get engaged in the bed of a truck at the local drive-in? Do you have brunch at the same hole-in-the-wall every Sunday? Did you meet playing in a rec league on an old, torn up field? I bet the right photographers could make that spot look spectacular in an engagement shoot!
Think About Activities You Enjoy as a Couple
...and then try to bring them into the shoot. Do you and your fiancee spend every weekend on the beach playing bocce ball? Then consider starting a game during your photo session. For instance, carrying the canoe down to the lake and paddling around are some of my favorite photos (see below). Since it's something we'd do at camp anyways - minus the dress! - it felt natural. I hate having a camera in my face but doing something that felt routine made it much more comfortable.
Don't Play By the Rules, and Just Be You!
Just like considering a meaningful spot over the standard beautiful one, or considering a fun activity over perfectly posed photos, also keep in mind that there is no right or wrong way to do an engagement shoot. I could be upset that my wet, black dog was crawling all over me in a cream sweater, but realistically, that's my life - why would I want photos to reflect anything else?