Why You Need an Engagement Session | Pro-Tips
You might not know this, but engagement sessions were very different than they are today. It used to be that an engaged couple would go to a studio to have just a few formal portraits taken, then they would select one to announce their engagement in the newspaper. Yes, announcing your engagement in the newspaper was a thing, but with social media and wedding websites like The Knot, it’s becoming a thing of the past.
You’re probably thinking, “If announcing your engagement in the newspaper is a thing of the past, do you even need an engagement session? The answer is YES! Let me tell you why you need an engagement session. It’s more than just having pretty pictures!
Here are my reasons why you need an engagement session”
You might not know this, but engagement sessions were very different than they are today. It used to be that an engaged couple would go to a studio to have just a few formal portraits taken, then they would select one to announce their engagement in the newspaper. Yes, announcing your engagement in the newspaper was a thing, but with social media and wedding websites like The Knot, it’s becoming a thing of the past.
1. GET TO KNOW YOUR EACH OTHER!
An engagement session is the perfect chance for you and your photographer to get to know each other. Some of my favorite memories with my clients are during their engagement session. It’s so incredibly relaxed. We have 2 hours to get to know each other!
I can’t imagine arriving on a wedding day having NEVER met the bride, or knowing their story beforehand, and trying to get genuine, natural images. An engagement sessions allows everyone to get COMFORTABLE with one another, which is why it is number one on my list. In my opinion it is the most important reason for an engagement session!
I run my business relationally! When I KNOW my clients, I know how they interact with each other, and I can capture their true personalities!! It’s hard to capture emotive portraits, when you have no connection to your subject. By being intentionally involved with my clients, I can create emotional and powerful images that you can FEEL!
I wouldn’t be able to achieve those images if I didn’t have time to get to know my couples! Again, another reason the engagement shoot is a MUST!!!
2. Your engagement session is a dry run for your wedding portraits.
An engagement session is your no-pressure practice time in front of my camera! My clients are just everyday people with no modeling experience whatsoever. Without the pressure of the wedding day timeline and all the nerves that come-along-with a wedding day, an engagement session allows my couples to get super comfortable in front of the camera. Posing may not be natural for them, which is why an engagement session is AWESOME. They learn my posing process while I learn which poses work best for them. By the time the wedding day rolls around, they have MASTERED posing and feel confident in front of the camera instead of timid and shy.
It takes about 20 minutes for a couple to warm up to the camera 100%. On a wedding day, we don’t have 20 minutes to spare. The bride and groom need to be ready to rock and roll their portraits. Since they had an engagement session included in their package, they already know what to expect and how to pose, so we get through portraits quickly so they can enjoy their party!
3. Confidence is key!
Tying into number 2, You gain confidence when you feel comfortable in front of the camera and know what to do. Your confidence shows in your images. After my couples have completed their engagement session and see their gorgeous images on the blog, they have sense of confidence moving forward to their wedding day. Confidence is not something you can MAKE someone feel instantly. You have to instill confidence BEFORE the wedding day! And that is reason number three of why you need an engagement session!
4. Extra Decor, books, and more!
Your engagement portraits can be used in more ways than just posting on Instagram and Twitter! So many of my couples mention that their engagement portraits are the ONLY professional images they have of the two of them. Engagement portraits are great for decorating because they are casual and reflect how the couple looks on an average day. You aren’t wearing your wedding attire with your hair professionally done in a way you don’t typically wear it. You can fill the walls and shelves in your home with your portraits without looking obsessed with your wedding (even though some couples have their wedding photos displayed on an entire wall in their home)!
Not only do engagement portraits allow you to have images to decorate your home, you can also use these images to display at the reception as well! Some of my couples asked me to make a guest book for them using their engagement photos.
So there you have it! I hope this information helped explain why you need an engagement session!
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