Many couples worry about how they should prepare for their engagement session. I get it! Especially if you haven’t really been photographed before, you might not know what you should do or how you should dress. The good news is that it’s all about what makes you feel comfortable and good in front of the camera. That being said, here is some of the engagement session advice I give my couples.
Make sure you and your significant other match
My best advice for finding and picking your outfits for your engagement session is to make sure the two of you look like you’re going to the same event! For example, if you wear a floor-length, floral dress with heels, it would be super weird if your partner just wore jeans, a t-shirt, and running shoes. You’d look silly next to each other!
If the two of you want to do casual outfits, I recommend, at a minimum, no logos on the shirt. Graphic tees aren’t the best unless it is something significant to you two that you want to be highlighted in your engagement photos. Otherwise, I suggest keeping it neutral! Neutral colors just photograph better and are more timeless for displaying in your home.
Wear complementary colors
Don’t get too worried about matching your colors perfectly. I think it is better to complement each other with your colors. For instance, if your significant other is wearing khaki pants with a navy jacket and white button-up shirt, you could wear a color that looks nicely with that. Maybe that’s a pink floral dress or a pale pink pleated skirt with a white top. Maybe you want to wear a red lacy dress! You have lots of options! Don’t feel like you have to match a blue shirt perfectly with a blue dress.
When choosing colors for your outfits, I recommend selecting lighter tones and more muted shades. By avoiding ultra-bright colors, it will help bring all the attention to your faces and let the eye focus on the way you feel about each other. Soft pinks, muted blues, and light neutrals like heather grey, creams, leather brown, and white all work wonderfully.
Clean your ring before the engagement session
This doesn’t have to be immediately before the session. You can do it the night before. A little recipe I have is mixing 1-2 pumps of Dawn dish soap with a splash of Windex and a splash of water.
Microwave the mixture in a dish (WITHOUT THE RING) for twenty seconds. After taking the mixture out of the microwave, put your ring in it, and let it soak as the water cools down. Once it has cooled, take your ring out and lightly brush it with a toothbrush or paintbrush. Pat dry. Then, you can use this Diamond Dazzle stick on it too!
Skip the spray tan
Even though this might seem counter-intuitive, I highly recommend skipping a spray tan altogether, even if it’s a few days out from your session. Spray tans tend to photograph more orange, so you’ll appear more orange than tan!
Get your hair and makeup done
This will ease the stress of you doing it yourself. If you do your wedding hair and makeup trial before the engagement session, you’ll even get to see how the hair and makeup you want for the big day look in photos. But I completely understand maybe wanting lighter makeup for your engagement photos. I am not a big makeup person, so having someone else do it for me is so nice! Same with my hair!
Typically, my couples choose two different outfits for their engagement session: one semi-casual and the other formal! I always encourage at least one formal outfit simply because it is so much fun to get dressed up and do something like this. For most people, it’s not too often that you get your photos taken! So, go all out!
These are absolutely your photos, and I want you to be happy with your appearance! I’m always happy to give my clients further assistance when they ask. All you have to do is reach out, and we can get started!
