Planning Your Engagement Shoot

You said yes to marrying the love of your life. You have butterflies, you’re excited and you are ready to start planning your engagement shoot, but you have no idea where to start…

There are a few ideas i’ve accumulated overtime that might be able to help you out. The big areas of focus should be on the location, the outfits & the photographer.

The Location

One of the biggest impacts on your photos will be the location. There is no wrong choice, however each choice will bring a different feeling to your photos. The location affects is the color palette, for example a beach will offer a lot of blue and yellow tones, where a forrest will have a majority of green tones. And remember, neither of these is better than the other, it’s all what you prefer.

The location can also help encourage the overall feeling you want to emote. If you are looking for a flowy and carefree vibe, you might lean towards a field of grass during sunset or a barefoot walk down the beach. Keeping “man-made” structures out of photos that are supposed to feel organic will help. Nature is the perfect catalyst for peace and love! On the other side of the spectrum if you are looking for a fancy date night vibe, a city setting might be best, where you could grab some ice cream or a pizza and walk around the streets.

The Outfits

What you wear also has a huge impact on how your photos come out! I ALWAYS recommend wearing bright, neutral and simple outfits. Sticking to bright neutral colors will help the two of you glow. I always advise my couples in this direction because the majority love that bright and airy style of photography. You can find a cheap sundress to wear on lulus.com or grab an old pair of jeans with a simple sweater. Another option could be a long skirt with a spaghetti strap tank top. (these are the simplest of ideas, but simple can be very beautiful) For him, you could get dress him with fitted khakis and a loss button up shirt or a simple t-shirt with rolled up jeans.

The more patterned or dark your outfits are, the more you will blend into the photos. This could be a great idea if this fits your personalities. If you want a more dramatic engagement shoot, maybe more photos that are developed in black/white and have a more serious or passionate emotion to them, then dark colors might be the perfect choice. For an outfit like this, you could think of a black leather jacket, black jeans with boots or a dark long dress! For him, maybe some tight dress pants with a tucked in button down dark shirt with suspenders and a bow tie.

The Photographer

When searching for a photographer, you want to make sure you work with someone who listens to your ideas, needs and wants. I believe this first piece comes before the second piece, which is making sure they can fit the style you are going for. In the sea of photographers to choose from, this can be tough, which is why I recommend making sure you connect with them as a person as well as the style you love.

The photographer you pick should be able to take in all the information you give and help you turn it into the magic you imagine for yourself. The photographer can offer location ideas you might not have thought of yet, a certain style choice to fit the mood or fun date ideas like grabbing a scoop of ice cream or going to a carnival.



Thank you for taking the time to read this post! If you have any questions about the wedding process at all, don’t hesitate to reach out!