Yesterday I talked about all of the aspects that go into planning an engagement session. Today, we’ll talk more about the actual session itself. The same disclaimer applies: these opinions are from my own experiences and are my personal opinion. I’m not saying any of these pieces of advice are the RIGHT way to do things, only how I prefer to do them.

I’ll admit it- I get nervous before every session, whether it’s portraits, engagements or a wedding. I openly admit this to my clients, too, because I know they’re probably nervous too.

Getting started is always a bit awkward, because we go from walking around, chatting about how dang early it is, to BAM- I need you to stand here and be romantic. Ok, it’s not quite that abrupt, but you get my point. After a few minutes, though, both the couple and myself thaw out and we’re able to relax and have fun.

The way I conduct e-sessions is to lightly pose my couples, and then capture the real emotion that comes as a result. Sometimes I do tell them to “look this way” or “make her laugh!” but I never try to force it. My best images are ones where you can feel the genuine emotion emanating from the couple. Your best bet for amazing engagement photos is to simply be in love! Don’t be afriad to get close, cozy up,  and kiss. A lot! That’s not too much to ask, right?

Like I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I like to shoot locations with several different options for backdrops. What usually happens after we get the first few photos out of the way is that I’ll walk around, chatting with my couples, and once I see an attractive backdrop, we start from there. Sometimes, though, I’ll see lighting so striking that I stop them right where they are and start shooting. It’s not uncommon for me to be walking around with my brides and grooms, turn around and exclaim “stop right where you are look exactly like that!”

If I had to offer one piece of advice to couples hoping to do an e-session, it would be to pick a photographer that makes you comfortable. Choose someone with whom you can relax, someone who makes you feel comfortable being yourself. In my personal opinion, engagement sessions are a really important opportunity for couples to interact with their photographer before the wedding day. The photographer gets a feel for how you as a couple interact (are they comfortable kissing in front of me? does she have a side she prefers to be photographed from?), and you as a couple get a chance as a “dry run” of portraits before your wedding, which helps you to relax on your wedding day so that your photographer can capture genuine images  with real emotion (I apologize for that run-on sentence).

SO sorry this post has gone on for so long, but I hope this helps, for anyone out there who’s apprehensive about their e-sessions. As always, feel free to shoot me e-mails with specific questions!