Let’s talk engagement sessions.  Generally, there are two different camps of people who either can’t wait to have their engagement photos taken and then there are the people who honestly don’t see the value in having them taken.  I’ve actually been there – when Stosch and I got married, I had always dreamed of being a photographer, but actually wasn’t a professional yet!  I knew I wanted to have an engagement session since I hadn’t taken any professional photos with Stosch before, but I honestly had no idea the value it would add more than just having the photos!

If you’ve inquired with me before, you know that I include an engagement session in all of my Wedding Packages!  Why do I do this?  Here’s why:

1. The obvious: you end up with beautiful photos of you and your soon-to-be-spouse that are more casual and can grace the walls of your house in a more casual way!  Many people also use their engagement photos for a save-the-date and/or a guest book!  Stosch and I bought an album with our engagement photos in so we can remember our little baby faces and remember that time of life in a very natural sort of way!  It’s fun to have laying around for guests to look over!

2. Let’s be honest, you probably haven’t had any professional photos taken of you since high school senior photos.  While you might be a pro at selfies, it’s quite different when a person you may not know very well has their big fancy camera out and you are wanting to look your absolute best!  Having an engagement session with me gets you more comfortable being in front of my camera!  You’ll get to know both Stosch and I at your engagement session and feel more at ease with us when we show up on your wedding day!  You’ll get to know our flow, how we interact with you, and what types of things we might have you do on your wedding day!  This is one of the biggest factors in calming your nerves for photos on your wedding day, which translates into more relaxed, natural photos when we show up on the big day!

3. Along the same vein, Stosch and I also have the chance to get to know you and your fiance before your wedding day!  This helps us understand how you two work together, what your best poses are, and how you interact with each other!  We can go into your wedding day knowing what interactions/poses we should and shouldn’t have you do based on your personalities, body types, and relationship!  For example, if you two are silly together, we know we should focus on being more playful rather than a bunch of romantic portraits, and vice versa!  We love both of these things, but we want to make sure we are representing your specific relationship well!  We want your friends and family to be able to look at your photos and say, “Yep, that’s totally you two!”.

4. This one can be touchy!  We all have angles/poses/facial expressions we either love or hate in photos.  We all have little insecurities we’d just love to have disappear, you know him: that sneaky double chin that loves to make his appearance at all the wrong times.  Having an engagement session helps me understand what you’d love to have “hidden” and what you’d love to emphasize.  As a professional, I know the most common ones and can make little suggestions as we are taking your engagement photos, but it’s also helpful once the engagement session is over!  If there’s a specific pose you aren’t a fan of and would prefer not to do on your wedding day, now we know because of your engagement session!

5. It’s fun!  I know, I know, everyone is always skeptical up-front!  My hope is that once we get those nerves at the beginning out of the way, that our session together would feel more like hanging out with friends than an hour that you just have to get through to get the end result – the photos!  I hear over and over that not only was it not as bad as they expected, but it was actually fun – like a double date with us and their fiance!  Now who doesn’t like dates with their fiance?!  I know I love any date I get with Stosch! <3

Engagement sessions are one of my most favorite types of photo sessions!  We have at least a dedicated hour of golden sunlight to have fun, get to know each other, and be at beautiful locations with gorgeous light to get some of the best photos you’ll ever have taken!  I could photograph in-love couples all day, every day! 🙂  Now let’s get your engagement session booked and let the fun begin! 😀

(…and who can resist having their sweet pup join in on the fun?!?)