Engagement sessions are fun. They’re like mini wedding portrait sessions – in that we would spend similar amount of time to do the engagement session and the couple on their wedding day. We usually say that once they’ve done their engagement session, they are ready for their wedding. We consider engagement sessions as an opportunity to get to know each other. Here are our tips to get the best engagement photography.
Outfits
You should plan your outfits to have some cohesion between the two of you – whether it’s color, style, etc. It is best to elevate your style from day-to-day wear. Also, think timeless: a nice polo shirt or sports jacket for the gentleman; a skirt or dress for the lady.
Location and Time
Some couples have a very meaningful location in mind for their engagement session that represents where they met, their first kiss, or their favorite place to go to. Some couples just want a beautiful setting. For such a setting, there’s a lot of places in Boston that we would recommend. We like to start the engagement sessions half hour prior to sunset so that we get the optimal lighting. Ideally, we would plan to be in a location where the sun is setting. For the photo below, we started photographing in Boston Common, being aware of the time, and walked to the Esplanade right before the sun was setting.
Props
A lot of couples want to incorporate their date into the photos. We’ve done chalk on sidewalks and walls. We’ve done scrabble pieces. And we’ve done baseballs (and no, the below picture was NOT photoshopped!). It’s all about what represents you best.
Sometimes, there’s no props and we use what’s available. Fall leaves. Pumpkins. Benches. Banisters. Statues.
Poses
Unless you’re a movie star, you’re probably not used to being photographed. To ease you into it, we start with simple couple shots looking at the camera or walking hand-in-hand. Then when you’re in that pose, we ask to do the next slight change to that pose: kiss, whisper a secret, hand ring on his shoulder, look away, close eyes, him kiss her forehead. Here’s two couples with a variation of a kiss.
Then we try the poses that take a bit more work – like a dip or lifting or spinning her in the air. These are the poses that are definitely our favorites.
Have fun
If you’re up for anything and have fun, that’s when the photos come out the best! The below picture was taken when Melissa and Michael were doing their engagement session in Northeastern University and ran into a group of freshmen students who were frantically doing a scavenger hunt. They asked Melissa and Michael for help, and we in turn asked the students for a minute of their time for this photo.
In the photo below, Samantha and Marco were willing to climb to the outer edge of this cliff on the Newport Cliff Walk.
