Engagement sessions: why get one?

Engagement portraits have gained a lot of popularity in the last decade thanks to social media, sites like Pinterest, and the desire to send out more creative save-the-date/engagement announcements. That begs the question: Do you really need them? Should you book an engagement portrait session? What is the point of these engagement photos, anyway?

Engagement sessions can be held anytime from within the first few weeks after becoming engaged up to a few weeks before your wedding. The session is likely to be your first professional portrait session together as a couple and is a great time to get to know your photographer.

I personally recommend having an engagement session as soon as possible, preferably with a photographer you're considering hiring for your wedding. Many photographers, myself included, give a free engagement session with each booked wedding. This helps the couple and the photographer get to know one another and learn about each other's styles.

But what exactly is the point of an engagement session anyway? I mean, do you REALLY need it? Well, yes! You do! Okay, that's an exaggeration. Nobody NEEDS amazing photos to survive, but the engagement session serves so many purposes. Many couples announce their engagement officially on social media and in their local newspaper with an image from their portrait session. As soon as a wedding date is picked, a save-the-date can be sent with a favorite photo. I had a client that sent save-the-date magnets using one of her engagement photos. Such a clever idea, and because it included a photo of the couple, recipients were more likely to keep the memento.

Engagement portraits are about being yourselves in your comfort zone. A great photographer will be able to capture your personalities and the love you share. Your wedding photos will be gorgeous, but it's also important to have less formal images to share and treasure. The engagement portraits can be used on holiday cards, in your wedding programs, on your wedding website, as port of your custom guest book at your wedding, and a small print can be tucked into each invitation as a small token for each potential guest. Often you can incorporate locations and props that have some kind of sentimental value to you as a couple.

To ensure a successful session, research your photographer and look through their online portfolio. If they have a Facebook business page it is a great resource to see recent work and decide if you like their style. Work with your photographer to choose a location that YOU love. Choose clothes that reflect your personalities and style and bring more than one outfit for a range of options to choose from during your sales session.

When done right, engagement photos provide fond memories to look back on in years to come. You can even hire a photographer to capture your engagement! Speak to your potential photographers to discuss all of the options they offer and create a session perfect just for the two of you.

What to wear

Choosing something to wear for everyday outings and errands is hard enough. Choosing something to wear for photos that will be displayed and shared with future generations can be downright terrifying for some. Where do you start? Should you dress up or be casual? What colors should you choose? Should everyone in the photos match or not?

Any time a client books with me I send them a handy “What to Wear” guide with some basic tips on being portrait ready. I've compiled those tips and more in this post for you. Share with friends, regardless where they are going for their portraits, so they can present themselves in the best way possible.

• Coordinate colors! We've all seen those family portraits where every member is in khaki pants and a white shirt, or jeans and a black shirt. These can be fun and look great on your wall, but even better is to simply coordinate colors and let each member choose an outfit that shows a little of their personality. Color combinations that work well together are jewel tones (emerald green and burgundy), pastels, neutral colors like gray and navy blue (mix in a few pops of yellow for a really great looking combo!), or bright and cheery colors like turquoise and salmon pink. Red, white, and blue are also always winners together, just stay away from starts and stripes to avoid looking like a living flag :) 
• Solid colors are king. Patterns that are too busy can be distracting in a portrait. Steer clear of bold patterns, although small and simple patterns can add a cute element (think small polka dots or a floral skirt.)
• Avoid baggy clothing. It will make you look larger or awkward in your portraits. Form-fitted clothing, such as cocktail/summer dresses (but not too short!) or well-fitted jeans and tailored shirts or vests look best in photos. 
• Accessorize! Wear that statement necklace, bring the chunky bracelets, throw the bright purse on your arm, and grab your new heels. These add personality to your portraits. If you're doing an on-location shoot, be sure to pack a pair of flip flops or flats for walking around. Blisters aren't flattering on anyone!
• Layer, layer, layer! This should be second-nature for my Colorado clients, but it's helpful for everyone to layer their clothing for photo shoots. Layering looks great, but also allows for quick wardrobe changes. The mom-to-be in the image at the top of this page was able to quickly put a dress on over her tank and leggings for a completely different look during her session. 
• Match styles! This is really important. If you are having a couples, sibling, family, or group portrait taken, be sure that everyone sticks to a similar style of clothing. If not all members are in agreement on the look they want, bring more than one set of outfits so everyone gets at least a photo or two wearing their preferred style. This does not mean to NOT be yourself! Make sure your personality shines through, but if everyone is dressing nicely you should refrain from wearing jeans to the shoot and vice versa. 
• Don't wear shirts with logos/writing on them. This is distracting in the final images. 
• Don't wear extremely short and/or snug dresses or skirts. This makes posing harder and, therefore, less natural. 
• Do be yourself and have fun! A portrait session should be a fun experience for everyone, so dress nicely but in something you're comfortable in and would wear on any other day. 

Some other examples of clients that chose outfits that coordinated and avoided being "matchy." Notice the patterns some clients wore. They were adorable and SMALL. They added personality to the photo without taking attention away from the subjects! 

Taking better photos...with your cell phone!

Someone once told me, "The best camera is the one you always have with you." For many of us, that comes in the form of a cell phone. Smart phones these days have very capable cameras in them. They produce images with decent enough quality for printing, and the newest smart phones produce images worthy of enlarging! What happens to most of those photos, though? They sit, taking up space. Some of them get tweeted or posted to Facebook, but most of them languish on our phones never to be seen again. It's time to start printing those photos! In several years the phone you have now will be long gone and, with it, the photos. If you have foresight, you'll save the images to your computer at home where they will sit until the computer crashes....In the end, the best way to SAVE your photos for the future is to print them! So, how do you take a photo with your phone that is good enough to print? Well, let's talk about that!

(Note: All photos in this post were taken with a Samsung Galaxy S3.)

1. Change your perspective.
I see so many photos from friends taken of their children from a standing position. This leads to a lot of images of tops of heads or children straining to look up at their parent that is begging them to smile. Instead, crouch down and meet the child at their level. The photo will be more intimate and you'll be able to capture a natural moment from within the moment. Try capturing flowers from ground level, or trees from a laying position under them. Find something to stand on if you're trying to capture a crowd or a scene with a large scope.

This is my daughter watching a hail storm out our back window. There are dog toys strewn about and the camera couldn't expose properly for the outside, meaning a lot of lost detail in the bright white spots. 

This image was taken right after the above image. Notice how I placed the window frames equal distances from the edge of the image, adding interest. The clutter on the floor is no longer distracting and the viewer can feel more like they are a participant in the moment. 

2. Compose! Be aware of what's in the image.
Sometimes we take photos of moments to keep a memento of a birthday party or talent show or a pond full of baby geese, but when we look at them later they are full of clutter. When a photo isn't composed properly it's hard for the viewer to figure out what the subject of the image is. Composition goes hand in hand with changing your perspective. If you're taking photos of your child opening their birthday gifts, get in close and take photos that don't include all the chaos going on around you. Take photos of only your child. Like taking photos of food? Don't just snap away. Move stray forks, cups, napkins, and other distractions away from your plate, then shoot from directly above so the viewer can see the whole dish.

This was at a fundraising event. There were several children using hula hoops in this small area. I didn't want the focus of the image on the group, though, so I got low and close to my daughter to snap a more interesting image. Had I stepped back and snapped the whole group, there would have been a lot of distracting colors and objects in the photo. 

 3. Get genuine smiles.
I rarely ask a child to smile (and sometimes won't even ask adults!) It's sure way to get an awkward, forced look. Instead, I ask questions or tell jokes. For babies I make noises and give little tickles, sometimes I play peakaboo. Use tactics like these rather than saying, "SMILE!" It works much better!

I have been putting a camera in my daughter's face since she was born, so she instantly does "giggle smiles" when the camera is raised. She just makes herself giggle and I get a photo of a sweet smile and sparkly eyes!

4. Don't zoom! 
Smart phones use digital zooming, which degrades the quality of your photos. Instead of zooming, get as close as you can to your subject. Take the photo, and then use free editing apps to crop the image how you like. Cropping will give you a higher quality image than zooming in.

5. Stop using flash.
The flash on a smart phone is harsh and doesn't work the same way the flash on an SLR will work. it doesn't speed up the shutter on the camera, it just adds light. So instead of freezing the action you want to freeze, it just makes the blurred image brighter! Find a better light source if you can. I very, very rarely turn on my phone's flash because there just aren't many images it will improve. However, any picture is better than no picture! If it comes down to it, using the flash may be your only option.

And that's it! There are many more tips for taking better photos, but I'll discuss those at greater length on a later post. These five will get you on your way to taking better photos of your daily memories right now! Once a month, go through your images and decide which ones you'd like to print. I just printed dozens of my Instagram photos using Foxgram and I was really happy with the price and service. There are several apps to print photos straight from your phone, including an app from Walgreens that I've heard great things about.

Happy snapping!

I'm back!

Hello, friends! I haven't blogged in far too long. To be honest, I lost direction in my past blogs and just needed a break to reorganize my thoughts and decide what exactly I wanted to convey in my little corner of the internet. After a lot of thought and a lot of desire to get back to typing out a few words here and there, I've decided to start blogging again and focus almost exclusively on photography. I'm certain I'll get personal from time to time, but this blog is meant as a way to discuss all things photography (including the goings on of my own business.)

I hope you'll stick around and ask questions when you think of them. Tomorrow I'll be putting together a post on improving your own snap shots, no matter what camera you use! In fact, the photos I post will be cell phone snaps. Until then, thanks for stopping by! Enjoy a photo of my lovely little family.