Everyone wants their engagement photos to feel effortless, natural and timeless. You don’t have to be supermodels to have amazing looking engagement photos, you just need to pay attention to a few aspects and, most importantly, have fun! Here are four tips for couples to use to get stunning engagement pictures that will last a lifetime.
1. Pay Attention to Location & Lighting //
Finding the right location for your engagement session plays a huge part in how the final set of images will come out. I’ve found that some of my favorite images aren’t overly cluttered with a busy background. A simple natural landscape is all it takes to place the focus back on the couple and give the photo a more timeless feel.
As a photographer, I’m always looking at how the light is playing in to the particular scene. I want soft light landing on my subject either from behind them or from the side. This gives photos a more romantic feel and really elevates an image to have that indescribable quality that is hard to put your finger on.
When you’re looking for the right photographer, look for this in their images. You want them as an artist to understand lighting and know how to read a location so they can place you in the perfect spot for you to shine.
2. Natural Interaction //
If you want your photos to feel natural and effortless, you simply can’t fake it. It’s easy to spot a photo that feels overly posed and forced, and nobody wants that! After shooting countless couples over many years, I’ve found that the best way to get images that feel true to life and relatable is for me to interact with my couples in a way that puts them at ease and allows them to just enjoy the moment.
It’s my job as a photographer to press the camera shutter at just the right moment to capture that natural laughter or that intimate interaction between the two of you. When I attempt to pose it, it usually falls a little flat.
So, my advice to couples is to come ready to just enjoy hanging out. If we are able to grab a drink beforehand and start things out on a chill note, usually the rest of the session flows really naturally, and I’m able to capture real moments between couples that have that effortless feel to them.
3. Don’t Over-Dress //
The most common stressor for couples planning their engagement session is trying to figure out what to wear. I believe there is a sweet spot where coordination meets casual and relatable… and that’s usually the spot I like to land.
My goal for an engagement session is to capture my couples in a natural way, so that they will be able to use these photos to look back on this season of their life and remember how they felt around each other. Overly styled outfits may look stunning, but they don’t typically feel relatable, and they sure won’t transport you back to that season of life! But, wearing whatever you rolled out of bed that morning in (even if that’s how you typically dress on a normal day), probably won’t be the best approach either!
So, we can work together to land on an outfit that feels comfortable, feels like you, and will look great from a style perspective.
4. Pay Attention to the Details //
No, I’m not talking about your jewelry or that awesome hat you saw another girl wearing! The details that make an engagement photo feel more effortless and natural are the human elements that just feel right. These aren’t necessarily things that you need to stress about or over-think… but, as a photographer, these are the things that I’m looking for and may suggest a slight tweak as we settle into a pose.
For instance, the difference between “holding hands” and you lightly hanging on to one of his fingers as you snuggle in tight can make a world of difference! One shot looks like you are standing in the middle of a field so an awkward photographer can take your picture. The other feels like you are all alone snuggled in close, having one of those private talks that made you fall in love.
So, if I ask you to do something slightly different, it’s not because you are doing something wrong… it may just be so that I can make the shot feel more effortless and natural. Again, I’m wanting you to be able to walk away with a set of images that you’ll love looking back on in 40 years, because you instantly feel that young love that you felt in that moment!
