From the moment a couple gets engaged there’s nothing more important than sharing a photo of the proposal (pics or it didn’t happen)! My now husband and I reveled in engagement bliss for approximately 20 minutes laughing, kissing, and popping champagne before FaceTiming everyone in our inner circle to share the amazing news. In this day and age, it’s become common practice – almost obligatory – to post a #ringselfie to social media within hours of the proposal. Who doesn’t want to show the world “WE’RE ENGAGED!”
During the wedding planning process, each special event is documented through photos. Say yes to the dress? Post it! Visit your venue for a food tasting? Post it AND check-in! Bachelorette party? Post a very blurry, very hilarious video to your IG story. However, one special event that is often overlooked is an engagement session.
Out of all the important pre-wedding adventures you’ll have between ‘Will you marry me?’ and ‘I do,’ an engagement shoot should rank high on your to-do list. In fact, we here at Twisted Oaks think it’s so important that we include it in our packages at no additional charge! Why would we do that? Well, I’m going to explain why in a minute but let’s just say there are benefits for both you as the client and us as the photographer.
Some may view them as just an opportunity to capture pretty pictures, without fully grasping their significance. However, engagement shoots offer so much more than just aesthetically pleasing images. In this blog post, I aim to shed light on the importance of getting engagement photos done by your wedding photographer. Beyond the artistic and storytelling elements, engagement shoots provide an invaluable chance for couples to work with their photographer, establish a connection, and ensure that their love story is beautifully captured on their big day.
Let’s get to it, here are a few big reasons why you should consider an engagement shoot:
Engagement shoots provide an invaluable chance for couples to build a relationship with their wedding photographer before the big day. These sessions offer a relaxed and informal environment where the couple and the photographer can get to know each other, establish trust, and foster a sense of comfort. This connection helps create a rapport that allows the couple to feel more at ease in front of the camera on their wedding day. Moreover, it enables the photographer to understand the couple’s personalities, preferences, and style, ensuring a more personalized and tailored experience.
It gives you the chance to ask them questions and pick their brains a little about things to help your wedding planning go smoother. Questions like why and how they got involved in photography, what inspires them, or what their favorite part of the wedding day is. Although they are providing a professional service, photographers are in the unique position of capturing the most special, most intimate moments of your life and I can assure you that the best ones take the time to get to know you as best they can. You just have to be willing to let them.
Every couple has a unique love story, and engagement shoots allow the photographer to delve deeper into that narrative. By spending time with the couple and listening to their stories, interests, and aspirations, the photographer gains valuable insights that can be reflected in the final wedding photographs. Understanding the couple’s journey enables the photographer to capture the little moments, gestures, and details that hold significance for them. This personalized touch adds depth and authenticity to the photographs, creating a visual chronicle of their love story. Building a relationship also helps you feel like you have someone in your corner that you can trust to deliver. A friend with a camera rather than just another vendor showing up on your wedding day that you’re meeting for the first time.
My husband and I chose a beach engagement shoot in July – peak summer storm season. The day wasn’t as sunny as I had hoped, in fact, it was the exact opposite. It was cloudy with storms rolling through just a couple hours before we were supposed to leave for the shore.
Our photographers, Jay and Sandi were more than accommodating, offering to reschedule so we didn’t have to get soaked, while simultaneously being up for the challenge if we wanted to carry on. Being the adventurous souls we are, we decided to gamble and the weather was on our side. Jay and Sandi were in the water with us, hanging their zillion dollar cameras over the waves, giving gentle suggestions and running with our ideas. That experience showed us that we picked photographers who had only our best interests at heart while also doing whatever it would take to get amazing photos. Without an engagement shoot, we might have never known just how badass they are! From then on, it was like we were one big happy family and it helped make our wedding day was a breeze. Having that opportunity to get to know the two of them before the wedding was one of the smartest decisions we could have made.
Jay & Sandi have always made building relationships with their clients a priority and it’s a big reason for the massive success they experienced so quickly in this industry. As the studio grew and they added more photographers, they made sure that Twisted Oaks clients always felt that they were getting that same experience no matter who the photographer was. It’s pretty common for clients to not only become good friends with their photographers but continue the friendship long after their wedding day.
A good example of one of the closest friendships that Jay and Sandi built with their clients is Matt & Amy Mahoney. After Jay wrote a blog post (click HERE to read) about their wedding, Matt (the groom) wrote a blog guest blog post about his experience working with Jay & Sandi which you can read HERE.
The majority of people have limited experience with having their photo taken by a professional. You worry about everything from being awkward in front of the camera to not knowing the slightest bit of what to expect. Imagine if your first interaction with your photographer is on your wedding day. Imagine having those same worries in the back of your head wrapped into one big stress package along with everything else you have to worry about on your wedding day.
A wedding is so lively, so full of noise and excitement that it’s hard to listen, take direction, and convey emotion without feeling overwhelmed. An engagement shoot gets you and your fiance comfortable in front of the camera helping to ease those concerns. It also allows the photographer to work with their personal style, comfort level, and sense of adventure to get the very best photos possible. You’ll get to see if the photographer gives good direction that allows your true personalities to come out as well as the love you have for each other at such an important part of your life. If they don’t do a good job of this then you know that it might be time to consider finding a new photographer.
By investing time in an engagement shoot, couples can ensure that their photographer understands their vision, preferences, and priorities. This allows the photographer to plan and execute the wedding day coverage with precision, focusing on the moments and details that truly matter to the couple. Additionally, the familiarity gained through the engagement shoot fosters trust and eases any potential anxieties or camera shyness, resulting in more natural and candid photographs.
In addition, engagement photos help give an idea of the finished product. Photography is a huge investment, but one that also lasts forever with a tangible representation of your love. Engagement sessions show the quality of work you should expect to receive, which is very reassuring and calming. By the time the wedding rolls around, you and your fiancé will be cool, calm, collected, and totally camera ready.
You’re getting married! This is an EXCITING and FUN time in your life! Although the wedding is regarded as the ‘BIG DAY’, your engagement is something that should be celebrated as well. This time period is very fleeting and short-lived compared to marriage. It’s a transitional stage, which is why it’s nice to slow down, hit pause, and capture the little moments from this phase of life. Engagement sessions are the perfect excuse to capture this time of your life with fun photos that come out very different than the ones on your wedding day. It gives your photographer a chance to stretch their creativity and show your personalities.
Although wedding dresses and tuxedos are beautiful and elegant, it’s probably unlikely that you wear a ballgown on the weekends or a three-piece suit to watch the game. Engagement sessions give you a chance to incorporate something you both love or a special location that resonates with you. If you’re outdoorsy, pick a great park with interesting trails and foliage. If you’re homebodies, rent a unique AirBnB and capture an epic cuddle session. Aspiring homebrewers? Schedule your engagement shoot at your favorite local brewery. Your love story is unique and your shoot should reflect that!
It’s also a great bonding experience that reinforces your partnership and allows you to focus solely on one another for a bit instead of juggling all of life’s daily distractions. And finally, one of the best things to come from an engagement shoot is obviously the photos! They’re meant to be shared and shown off, so let them serve double duty! Add them to your save-the-dates, get your favorite shot printed on a canvas or in a guestbook, or just share them 100 times on Instagram (and make sure you tag your photographer of course!)
If you were on the fence about an engagement shoot before and have stuck with us to this point, I hope we managed to sway you. By investing in engagement photos, couples provide their photographer with insights and context that enable them to deliver personalized and meaningful photographs on the wedding day. Embrace the opportunity to create stunning visuals, build relationships, and enhance the storytelling aspect of your wedding day through engaging and heartfelt engagement photos.
My name is Alex and I’m the Twisted Oaks studio manager who was also a Twisted Oaks client. I hope you enjoyed this as I’ll be posting more like it going forward. To wrap this article up, here’s an IG post from one of Jay & Sandi’s 2020 clients who had their engagement session at an AirBnB earlier this year in New Hope, PA. The soon-to-be bride and groom were initially not interested in having engagement photos done. Jay talked them into it and you can read below what she had to say about her experience.
Thank you for reading!
