An Engagement Session Can Make or Break or Wedding Day
My number one suggestion to anyone hiring a wedding photographer – schedule an engagement session with them. You are with this person 8+ hours on your wedding day. You need to make sure you mesh well with him/her and that you feel totally comfortable when they arrive.
I take engagement sessions as a chance to really get to know my clients. I get to know them personally, learn all about their love story, feel out their personalities, and even evaluate them as a client. Not only do my clients get a chance to change their minds after a session, I have the option to turn them down too! If I feel anything is off, that they just don't want to put their trust in my ideas and worth WITH me, I know the wedding day could be a thousand times harder on everyone. Getting the chance to work with my couples before the big day is just as important for them as it is for me. This also helps relax everyone so when we arrive on the big day, everyone seems more like a friend than a random stranger shoving a camera in your faces. Trust me, it's just as unsettling for us to walk into a suite where we don't even know who anyone is, compared to having a session with couple and coming in to see old friends!
During Your Engagement Session, I Teach You How to Pose
Meet Mike & Kathleen, married in 2022. They took me up on the suggestion of an engagement session, and we had an absolute BLAST.
I make my sessions FUN for my couples. I give you prompts to make you laugh, get genuine reactions, and most importantly, GET YOU COMFORTABLE BEING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA.
No one walks into my sessions knowing how to stand, where to put their hands, or even where to start when I begin explaining the core poses used in your session. By the end of the 90 minutes, my couples walk away feeling better about their skills, they no longer look like deer in headlights, and they truly feel comfortable with me directing them.
Want to see their session behind the scenes? Watch it over on Instagram here!
Learning to Pose in Advance, Translates to Time Saved on Your Wedding Day
Fast forward to Kathleen & Mike's wedding day, I needed to steal them away from their reception for golden hour photos. We made it outside just in time for a beautiful sunset glow, and without hesitation, I gave them the prompts they learned during their engagement and they started moving just the right way without needing any help from me at all.
By doing an engagement, we spent a total of 18 minutes outside during their reception for formals, and got them back inside to the party faster than even I imagined! They KILLED it on their wedding day, and got back to the party! Time saved, and beautiful photos to boot!
