Couple’s often ask me why they should do an engagement session and even more often ask me “what should I wear? “where will we do the shoot?” “what time of day?”  This entry of FAQ Friday is to answer all those questions.

Who’s involved?

Why you two of course!  But you are welcome to bring your pet’s as well.

What to wear?

Business casual, dressed up, dressed down… you can do it all!  Dress in a way that fit’s the feel of what your going for in a shoot.  If you want a shoot that’s fun and relaxed, dress down.  Smart and sophistimaedumacated? Dress up!

As far as color, anything goes but please stay away from fabrics with really small intricate patterns.  Those tiny little things do bizarre things to pixels.  Match, but don’t get silly with it… ie matching shirts with matching pants… soooo 1990′s.

When can we schedule a shoot?

We can book your engagement session all the way up to the day before you wedding, although I’d never recommend that to anyone.  The absolute latest I’ve ever done a session was 5 days before the wedding day.  I try to avoid booking session on weekends as those days are typically reserved for weddings.  However, if it’s early or late in the wedding season (Jan-Apr and Nov-Dec) we can probably make an exception.  Wednesday’s and Thursday’s are usually reserved for on location engagement sessions so book yours soon.  Most of our couples usually take a day off to come out for there engagement sessions and others usually leave a little early to make it just in time for a late afternoon shoot.

The best times for outdoor photography are early in the morning (summers are hella, crazy early) or late afternoon, usually 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset.  These times make for magical light and AMAZING photo’s.

Where do you suggest we go?

Where ever you want.  However we ask that you keep the location within 50 miles of our studio.  Not usually a problem for most of our couples as they are all well within that radius.  My suggestions include beaches, cute downtown areas, state parks, places that have a significance to you both.

Why should we do an engagement session?

An engagement session is your first introduction to wedding photography.  It’s your chance to get your proverbial feet wet in front of the camera, so you don’t look like a deer in the headlight on your wedding day when my team and I go all paparazzi on you.

Your engagement session is also chance for me to get to know you and for you two to get to know me.  I find that making an emotional connection with a couple helps me envision the story I want to tell on their wedding day.  Conversely, it allows you to become more comfortable around me.  Fact of the matter is, your wedding photographer is the one vendor other than the videographer that will be with you from start to finish so it’s probably best to establish some sort of connection beforehand… see deer in the headlight reference above.