St John's College
4 Ways We Prepare for Engagement Sessions
Tips & Tricks
The more days with perfect weather we have, the more and more I'm itching to get outside for some of this years engagement sessions. I am so excited for all of the couples that Shawn and I get to photograph, and all this sunshine is making it hard to wait for next month when everything fully kicks into gear.
I wanted to do tonight's blog on how Shawn and I prepare for engagement sessions after a few months of not being behind the camera regularly. For future brides and grooms who are reading this: you are not the only ones who get nervous before photos. I'm not going to lie, it can be difficult getting back into the groove, and when I feel an ounce of jitters I become a tongue tied mess, haha. However, after doing this for awhile, I've been able to come up with a process that has knocked out a lot of pre-session butterflies. My steps help me, and whether you are a couple preparing for your own engagement photos or a photographer gearing up for a crazy awesome season, I hope these will be useful!
My first step toward calming nerves is always getting to know the clients.
Shawn and I meet with our couples, we send them welcome gifts, and I try to be in almost constant communication leading up to the session. The main motivation behind doing all of that is for everyone to feel very comfortable with each other...
5 Reasons to Take Advantage of an Engagement Session
Tips and Tricks
Since I've been stuck indoors for the past 4 days, I've done a lot of thinking about engagement sessions. Weird? Maybe. But engagement season is here and, soon enough, the weather will be gorgeous, the sun will be warm, and the snow will be not trapping everyone to their house. Ahhh, a beautiful day-dream, haha. The main thing on my mind is getting clients to recognize the benefit of a professional engagement session.
It may be tempting to overlook engagement photos. The benefits of these sessions are amazing, not just for you as the couple, but also for Shawn and I as the photographers. I've taken note of the 5 main reasons to do an engagement session with your wedding photographer and I'm really looking forward to going over them:
1.) The biggest benefit is getting to know your photographer and their style.
Every photographer is different between their shooting and editing style. My shooting style is relaxed, romantic, and fun with a huge focus on your natural interactions rather than looking at me and cheesy smiling. That's not something that couples can necessarily see just by looking at photos on my blog.
2.) You get to have real and true stress-free fun!
There are so many things when it comes to wedding planning that get you into a hectic mood, but when you prepare for your session with your photographer you should feel at ease with the images from their portfolio and know that...
Kati & Chris
A Stunning Engagement in Annapolis, Maryland
We met up with Kati and Chris on a cool November morning at St. John's College in Annapolis. Though it was a sunrise session, these two showed up with bright smiles and a wonderful positive glow around them. They also brought along their sweet goldendoodle, Dempsey, who is so goofy and charming that you cannot help but laugh when you see him. We were just into the first few minutes of the session when the cops came and hauled us off to campus jail... Just kidding! Although we did have to take Dempsey off campus grounds, the security guard was totally nice about it and even hung around for a little to talk to us about how adorable dogs are. (Shout out to that awesome guy!) Once we stepped off campus, Dempsey he made his triumphantly adorable return for the rest of the session :).
Shawn and I loved wandering around downtown with these three, chatting about how nice of a day it was and about their proposal. Kati and Chris showed us just how crazy their height difference with a reenactment of Chris on one knee (so funny!). We made stops at the State House, Ego Alley, and then the William Paca House and Gardens. There was some construction going on out front of the house, which meant that the workers on this fall day got a nice little glimpse of romance, haha. Kati and Chris are so cute and fit together so well that they look...
Kristy & Jonathan
An Annapolis Waterfront Engagement
I had been looking forward to Kristy and Jonathan's engagement session since we first started planning it in June. We had some trouble finding a date that worked for everyone, but when we finally were able to meet, it ended up being one of the most beautiful days of the summer. Their session kicked off at St. John's College, which was an amazing location with tons of intimate and romantic spots. From there, we wandered around the streets of Annapolis taking advantage of the gardens and all the cute side streets.
Kristy and Jonathan are a really amazing couple. They are so laid back and - as everyone will see - adorable together! They have such fun personalities, which became really apparent when Jonathan changed into a button-up taco shirt. How fantastic is that? Their engagement session got Shawn and I even more pumped for their September wedding. They were discussing some of the details with us during our downtown stroll and I just know it's going to be a wonderful day!
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