Something that doesn't get talked about too often, but that is super unique and helpful about engagement sessions, is that engagement photos are your chance to have a trial run of many of the things that will happen on your wedding day! It's a time for you to calm your nerves and to have a practice run so you can feel confident on your big day!
Get Comfortable
Odds are that you don't get photographed professionally on a daily basis and it can be intimidating and nerve wracking to be in front of a camera. You don't know what to do or where to look. Luckily having an engagement session is your opportunity to work with your photographer and experience what it's like to be photographed. As a photographer I make sure my couples know exactly what to expect at our session. I send them a guide with lots of information and tips from what to wear and bring, to how to prepare. When they get to the session I also do my best to settle their nerves a bit and get them to act natural by making them feel comfortable and helping them out with prompts or poses when they get flustered and don't know what to do. Any great wedding/portrait photographer will do this, but by going through this process you will not only get awesome and meaningful photos, but you'll have an understanding of what to expect from your photos and photographer on your wedding day.
Find the Photos You Like
During an engagement session I will take a wide variety of photos. I'll take close up images, full body images, creative images, detail images, and many other images. When you get your photos back you'll be able to see which ones are your favorite. Your favorites may surprise you, but can also give you an indicator as to what photos you'll probably want the most of from your wedding photos.
LET YOUR PHOTOGRAPHER KNOW WHICH ONES ARE YOUR FAVORITES!
With my clients, there's a heart icon that they can tap in their gallery to let me know if it's one of their favorites, similar to when you like something on Instagram or Facebook. By letting your photographer know which ones you like the most you are allowing them to be aware of that and capture even more of those images on your big day. Also let your photographer know if there were images that weren't a favorite of yours so the photographer can keep that in mind and either get less images like that or change the way they go about getting those images. It's much better to go into your wedding with clear expectations and by doing engagement photos with your photographer you'll have gone through that experience of taking photos and then receiving photos with that photographer which will make the process for you wedding much less overwhelming!
Practice Test
There are so many details in your wedding that happen on the day of your wedding and there's no chance for a re-do. That's a scary thought, but you can use your engagement session as a trial run for all of those things! For example, it's a good idea to practice your hair and makeup before your wedding day if you're doing it yourself, but it's even better if you practice it for your engagement photos because then you can see how it looks on camera and make any adjustments as necessary. If you plan on hiring someone to do your hair and makeup for your wedding, I highly suggest having them do your hair and makeup for your engagement photos. That way you'll be able to work with them before your wedding. They'll get to know your face and hair and what works best for you, and you'll already know how the process will work with them on your wedding day! One less thing to worry about! You can take this same concept of using your engagement session as a trial run for your wedding and apply it to almost any aspect of your wedding that you want to or feel the need to. You can have your florist create a special bouquet of flowers for your engagement photos. You can wear a fancy long dress and get used to moving around it (you can rent fancy dresses if you don't want to spend money to buy another fancy dress). You can bring along some decorations and ask your photographer to take photos. You can even bring some champagne or other beverage and "practice" all the fun you'll have at your wedding reception. The possibilities are really endless and the peace of mind you can get by having a trial run at your engagement photos is so worth it!
Take advantage of your engagement session! Have a great time, but also get the most out of it!