If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times…. I absolutely LOVE engagement sessions! They are potentially my favorite part of the entire wedding planning process as a photographer, and admittedly, are some of my favorite images EVER of Jesse & I from my time as a bride. 

Engagement sessions with your wedding photographer can make or break your wedding photography experience. I truly believe they are SO important and could go on for days why. I’m going to try and keep this short, but I make no promises. 

(Because, seriously, when was the last time I kept annnnnything short?)

10 Ways Your Engagement Session Can Transform the Entire Wedding Photography Experience:

1.You learn how to pose. 

Every photographer is different. Their shooting-style, editing, process and most importantly in this instance… posing! Some photographers incorporate prompts that allow for natural, candid photos, while others will tell you EXACTLY what to do with your arms, hands, legs, feet, face, eyes… (ok, you get the point)! Either way, it’s important to feel comfortable posing with your wedding photographer and learn how their process works!

2. You get to know your photographer on a personal level. 

You know how much time there is to socialize and get to know each other on a wedding day? Little to none. And that is the least of your worries going into your wedding. The truth of the matter is, you will spend just as much time with your photographer as you will with anyone else on your wedding day. So with that being said, you better freaking like them! 

I LOVE getting to know my couple’s before the wedding day rolls around. I want to show up and feel like another one of the guests! (& if I’m being extra honest, an honorary bridesmaid would be even better ???? HAHA! ) I will fluff your dress, fix your hair, help instruct your mama on how to button that gown, and so much more. So if I have to follow you around all day and play paparazzi for 8+ hours straight, I want you to feel comfortable with me doing so!

3. You learn to be comfortable being photographed together. 

How often do you go out in the middle of a field and snuggle together while someone takes your picture? Unless you are total weirdos, the answer is probably never. Being photographed as a couple isn’t normal, everyday kind of stuff! It takes getting used to!

4. You find your favorite, most flattering poses beforehand.

Without an engagement session, you don’t have the opportunity to learn or see your favorite type of photos in advance! If you had images that you absolutely LOVED from the engagement session, you can easily bring them up at your wedding and do the same type of pose again! It’s a trial run for the most important day of your life. Who wouldn’t want that?!

5. Engagement sessions help save time on the big day, especially during time crunches! 

My shooting style, especially, is based off a few core poses and a very distinct workflow. Learning this in advance allows us to take pictures quickly on a wedding day, rather than wasting time instructing or teaching you how to pose! I have run into scenarios where I only have TEN minutes with a couple on their wedding day, due to running late and the timelines getting behind schedule. Thanks to the engagement session, we were still able to capture TONS of images with variation, because the couple was prepared and familiar with how having their images works! It’s been a lifesaver in SO many instances! (Hence why I started gifting these engagement sessions to my clients. That’s how much I believe in the process!)

6. You’re able to document an incredible season of life. 

You are only each others’ fiancés for so long! This season of planning and anticipation can be entirely overwhelming some days, but you will look back and wonder where the time went! It flies by SO quickly.

(Sidenote: I also believe the engagement ring is worthy of an entire photo session of its own… but I guess I’ll allow you all to be part of it, too.)

7. You can use the engagement session images in Save-The-Dates or as part of your wedding day decor. 

There is something really tacky about using a smartphone selfie on a Save-The-Date, right? That beauty deserves a professional photograph. As does your wedding website, the newspaper announcement of your engagement, wedding decor, or Grandmother’s mantel!

When we got our engagement pictures back, I made sure the back side of our Christmas card that year was a plain 5X7 picture (with no writing on it!) that our loved ones could add to a frame or their fridge if they so chose! It always makes my heart smile walking into someone’s house and seeing that photo of us on display. 

8. You have images in any clothing that you so choose, at any location that you choose!

As much as I LOVE wedding photography, I truly believe the limit does exist on the number of photos you can hang in your home from that one day. The white dress and tux are gorgeous, but at some point, it starts to look like a wedding-day shrine if those are the only images you have of the two of you hanging everywhere! Engagement photographs give you the opportunity to style outfits in “every-day” clothes! This definitely adds variety to the images you can display. We can adventure anywhere you’d like and spend our time together capturing photographs at your dream location. (Unless you’re eloping, very few couples have the opportunity to do this on a wedding day!) And one of my favorite parts of all that I almost forgot to mention… you can bring your dog.

Pro tip: If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the images you have to display from your engagement session, or especially your wedding day… albums are a great way to keep all your photos in one place! I highly suggest printing photos for your walls, while also keeping albums on your shelf or coffee table to flip through every now and then! 

9. Engagement sessions help eliminate nerves about being photographed! 

This one is for the grooms especially! I would say 9/10 men I photograph make a comment about how they don’t enjoy having their picture taken or that they aren’t photogenic. As much as they pretend to dread the engagement session, they always walk away, in the end, saying, “That wasn’t so bad!” (I dare say some even enjoy the process a little bit!) When the wedding day rolls around, you will know exactly what you’re getting into when it comes to portraits. No surprises and no reason in the world to be nervous!

10. They’re so freakin’ fun. 

Engagement sessions are fun. It’s fun to dress up for them. It’s fun to get to know your photographer. It’s fun to love on each other and be all giddy and in love. It’s fun to laugh together. It’s fun to enjoy this season of life. It’s fun to have a professional follow you around with a fancy camera, rather than your mom with an iPhone taking a picture on Christmas in front of the tree. (Don’t lie, you’ve freaking been there) 

SERIOUSLY. These things are FUN. And I get to be the squeaky third wheel who climbs on things I probably shouldn’t, lays down on the ground and gets covered in mud, trudges knee deep into a lake, or almost falls off a dock…all for the sake of really pretty images. So if nothing else, I will be your entertainment for the evening. And you will probably get something really great to eat afterward, because you’ll be all dressed up and need to utilize that opportunity for a date night. Who doesn’t love good food?

And when you get the pictures back… Goodness. I promise that alone will make it all seem so worth it!