session details, tips, and answers
Engagement Session
I adore engagement sessions for so many reasons! Capturing two people deeply in love inspires me to create romantic and beautiful photos. An engagement session with me is a great way to get to know my style and personality while feeling comfortable in front of the camera. Plus, they’re a lot of fun—you can personalize the session to reflect your unique love story. To help you prepare, I’ve put together this guide so you know exactly what to expect during your shoot!
When first dreaming up your engagement session, think about your love story that you want to tell. What are some of your favourite activities to do? Is there a special or sentimental location you both love? What is the way you want to forever remember you both in this incredible time in your life? You can get as creative or as simple as you like - and you can be as dressed up & formal or casual as you like too! I recommend choosing an activity that you can both do together to help create movement, variety and all those beautiful moments.
It’s easier to forget that there’s a camera around when you have something to do. Go for a stroll around the neighbourhood, play your favourite table games, prepare breakfast or a beach-side picnic, even go apple picking! I love it when engagement photos are full of natural movement, spontaneous laughter, and genuine emotions. Nothing makes it easier to achieve that kind of candidness when you come up with some sort of activity! It also helps to bring out the best in you: your sincere laughter, loving gazes, and playfulness, everything you do that shows off the connection between the two of you. I do like to describe it like we're making a mini-photo movie about you two, and I think choosing a cohesive story concept really makes for a compelling and beautiful engagement session!
This is also the first step because it will help you narrow down the season and start narrowing down dates!
creating YOUR story
01.
We will be shooting at sunset, and for us to get the most out of this beautiful golden light, we will meet about 1 hour before sunset. Please check your email for the meeting location address and time!
Please be on time! I'm a natural light photographer and so the sun dictates how long I can photograph you. Please make proper considerations for traffic, hair delays, and fashion emergencies. If you show up 30 minutes late, the session is not extended, but rather ends when there is no more natural light left.
Golden Hour
02.
don't forget the weather
no bright or neon colors, and distracting prints
think timeless & CLASSIC
when in doubt, go neutral
think about movement to add fun
use complimentary colors
Your engagement photos should reflect who you are as a couple and showcase your personal style. The key is to wear something that makes you feel confident and comfortable, especially since the weather can be unpredictable. What you wear directly impacts how you feel, move, and carry yourself, so choosing outfits that complement your energy is essential.
Clothing with a bit of movement—like a flowy dress or loose waves instead of a tight updo—can add a playful, adventurous feel and bring extra dimension to your photos. I always recommend opting for classic, timeless pieces without big logos or distracting prints. A well-fitted outfit with a touch of style will keep your photos looking effortlessly elegant for years to come.
Need inspiration? Pinterest is a great resource to help you decide how dressy or casual you’d like to go. Most importantly, choose outfits that make you feel amazing! And if you’re picking up something new, why not take it for a spin on a date night first?
WHAT TO WEAR
03.
FUN PLACES TO GET AN OUTFIT
The biggest tip I can give you is to keep flow + movement, and try to forget that I'm there. If you hold a static pose, you'll feel stiff and it will also translate into the photo. But if you do little micromovements you'll get a lot more variety in your photos that will also feel natural because they won't feel prompted or forced, they'll just feel like YOU. Little head tilts, foreheads touching, eyes closed, gentle smiles, warm embraces, lots of laughter and sweet kisses - it's capturing the subtleties of your incredibly deep connection that will really make this session work.
Feel liberated to know that we are here to have fun, capture love and that I will never judge you and I would never deliver a photo that doesn't meet my standards where you both look incredible. It is also very often those in-between moments that are the most magical ones, because it is in those moments that you are truly present and truly you.
I want the whole feeling of the shoot to be like documenting a lovely, romantic sunset stroll, so it will be less looking into the lens and more capturing the amazing energy that you two have.
I approach engagement sessions like any budding relationship, you grow more intimate over time. For the start of the session, I like to start with snapping photographs from a simple distance and with a wide lens, which captures the beauty of the scenery and really sets the start of the story. This helps to create beautiful silhouettes and impactful photos, while allowing you both to warm up to the whole experience + walk around exploring the scenery. It's perfectly normal to feel a bit nervous at the start, and I promise after a few minutes you'll get cosy and sink right into it!
As you both become more comfortable and the initial jitters wears off, I'll move in a little closer and we'll start to play around with more warm embraces, sweet kisses and candid moments in between. I'll help bring out a bit of silliness, sweetness, and we can also try more traditionally romantic poses... keeping a consistent flow and giving you feedback along the way. I'll be moving around and finding interesting angles, thinking like a cinematographer on the whole picture.
The Session
04.
One of the greatest tips is to make your engagement shoot part of your day-long date. Take a day off of work if you’re shooting a weekday and enjoy your time together while getting ready for the shoot. Starting the day off with this mindset helps you to feel romantic when you head into the photo shoot. Plus, you’re already dressed to the nines and look your best – why not finish the day with a delicious meal at a restaurant after the shoot? Sounds like a million dollar idea to me!
And most importantly, gentlemen: you have found the love of your life, so my #1 tip for you is to keep checking out your partner, gaze at each other lovingly. Immediate butterflies!
If you haven’t spent a lot of time in front of a camera (totally normal!), you may be pretty nervous or become stiff during your shoot. A quick way to loosen up while still getting great photos is to go in for a kiss! This can help you connect with your partner and forget the camera is even around, which makes for more natural photos anyway.
Don't focus on each shot being perfect. Movement is sometimes all a photo needs to go from basic to breathtaking.
Have touch points. If two people standing part, they visually look like they are in the friend zone. BUT, as soon as they hold hands, it gets interesting. Pull them in and wrap in each others arms? Even more romantic - and out of the friend zone for sure. The more touch points you two have, the more visually connected you appear in photographs. Hip, belly buttons, hands, arms, foreheads, lips... be playful - it all looks good!
I want your engagement session to be a reflection of your love story—told through your body language. The goal is to move beyond the “Friend Zone” and into a space that feels cozy, romantic, playful, and full of adventure. This, to me, is the essence of modern romance.
Don’t worry—I’ll be guiding you every step of the way! But to help you feel natural and connected in front of the camera, here are some tried-and-true tips I share with all my couples.
My Best Tips
05.
Movement is everything. Instead of being static or holding a pose, movement will create soft, natural looking joints and comfortable cozy arms and legs. Even if you're standing in an embrace, gently sway, be playful, be bold, move your hands softly all around. There truly is no wrong way to enjoy each others company, don't overthink any of it - just have fun and I'll guide you along the way! I promise, all of it is good!
Be sure to check out my best wedding day posing tips!
After the session is complete, I will be doing a lot of work behind-the-scenes. Preselecting the most powerful and emotional images that tells the complete story is probably the most time-consuming because each of them are special in their own right. From there editing and retouching each hand-selected image takes typically 2-3 hours per image.
Please allow up to 72 hours for sneak peeks, and 3-5 weeks for the final collection.
THE FINAL PRODUCTS
06.
