This is THE most important thing we communicate about engagement sessions. Being yourself is more important than location, outfits, seasons, etc.

Do you want to know a little secret?

If you start off planning for your engagement session with the idea of “being yourself” and really making it about your love story, everything else will fall into place. The location will become a spot from one of your favorite memories together. The outfits will enhance the location. And the season will compliment everything.

It seems obvious, right? Of course, you would make your engagement session tie in nicely to your love story. But, honestly, so often we see photos of couples smiling stiffly or in a pose that is so clearly uncomfortable for who they are. The best way to avoid finding yourself in this exact situation is by letting your photographer in on the details of your story. What do you like to do together? How did you meet? What’s guaranteed to make you laugh? These little tidbits can really help your photographer plan your engagement session out to capture it perfectly for your unique story.

When you book your engagement session with us, you’ll get the full experience. We help you with preparing for your engagement session by sending out a questionnaire beforehand to get all the little details we need. You can always count on resources for planning what to wear for your engagement session. We’ll recommend our favorite locations and the best time of day to take photos depending on the season. All of our recommendations will be tied to your story to help you be more comfortable and yourself in front of the camera.

Our goal is to make you feel as comfortable as possible because we want you to act like we aren’t even there! We want you to show us the real you. We’ll give you guidance and prompts but we aren’t going to put you in pose after pose. Our approach is all about timelessly capturing your true love story.

One of the best ways to feel comfortable at your engagement session comes down to the clothing. If you both typically wear classy, fancy clothes, then you should flaunt that at your engagement session. If you’re more of a jeans and a t-shirt type, then rock that laid back style!

We will often recommend choosing two outfits. One that is laid back and one that is classier. What that means comes down to who you are. My go to outfit would be yoga pants, a t-shirt, Chacos, and a messy bun. Meanwhile, Adam feels most relaxed in business casual. When we are planning a session for ourselves, we’ll typically meet in the middle. We’ll do some photos in classier clothes, and then I’ll trade out my heels for Chacos or just go barefoot. I was barefoot in probably half of my wedding photos.

If you’re dressed like yourself, you’re already one step closer to feeling comfortable and releasing those jaw-dropping, love filled, candid images you’ll love!

2. Make It A Date

Don’t just carve out 30 minutes or 2 hours for your engagement session–instead make it a fun daylong event!

If you have the freedom and flexibility to spend the day together, do it!

Take the day off from wedding and future planning conversations. Instead, grab a coffee and go for a walk. Spend the day doing something that you both love.

If you can, give yourself some time before the engagement session to have your hair and makeup professionally done. How fun is that? Pamper yourself! This is a great time to do your bridal hair and make-up trial! You’ll be glammed up and feeling confident.

Then, when it’s time for the engagement session, it will feel like a natural point in your day. You’ve been celebrating each other all day and taking a step back from the planning and to do lists. Your engagement session will be at the perfect time of day to give off golden light – we’ll help with timing! – and then you can finish off the evening by grabbing dinner afterwards!

3. Go to Your Favorite Spot

We already hinted at this earlier, but it is so important!

Take us to your space.

We’ve had engagement sessions on college campuses. We’ve traveled to different wineries and beautiful outdoor parks. We have also been able to find an urban vibe in downtown Indianapolis, Columbus, and Bloomington.

As part of the preparation for the engagement session, we’ll ask you for some of your favorite spots, or if there are any specific locations you’d love to have engagement photos taken. If we haven’t been there before, no worries! We easily adjust to new surroundings and will make sure to arrive early to prepare or check it out in advance.

Your engagement session location can play a big role in how comfortable you feel. If you’re familiar with your surroundings, it will be one less thing you have to have on your mind during the actual engagement session.

4. Less Is More

Don’t get me wrong, I love Pinterest. I find great inspiration there for anything from outfits to food to décor and even photography. However, when it comes to your engagement session, remember that less is more. If you’ve seen a couple ideas on Pinterest for props to include in your engagement session, be sure to talk through them with us before the session. Some ideas work better than others, and if you have a big bag to tote around full of props, then we won’t be as free to take candid, in-the-moment photos throughout the engagement session.

Your pets, blankets, and a little décor with your wedding date are props that we love.

5. Laugh Your Heart Out!

Your engagement session is part of my practice for my future stand-up career.

Not really, but we will be laughing! We use the session to get to know you, so imagine it as a conversation. We promise you’re going to enjoy it. Our goal is to make you feel at home with us and our cameras, so that by wedding day, it’s going to feel comfortable and fun.