7 Tips for Fabulous Engagement Photos

Bride-Day Friday is back!

So for today's post I'm going to talk engagement photos. I did quite a bit of my own research (thank you Pinterest and Google) before my Fiance and I set out to get our own engagement photos taken. In this post I share with you my tips and suggestions to make your own photos unique, timeless, and oh-so fab. 

7. Dress it Up.. and Down

We went with three different themes for our photos and we did an outfit change for each one. This kept each mini session short and sweet, and gave us variety in our final collection of photos. If you decide to do multiple themes/ outfit changes, I do suggest having a formal change of clothes, in which you can engage in more conventional poses and get some of those traditional engagement shots in. Then switch it up and have some fun! Dress a little more casual and let your hair down (so to speak) while you engage in more relaxed poses. In the end you'll get some really nice, sophisticated shots of the two of you, as well as the lighthearted, natural shots, too.

6. Involve Your Four-Legged Friends

What's more adorable than pictures of you and your future spouse? Pictures of you, your future spouse, and your beloved pup(s).This is a growing trend in engagement pics, and I'm so glad I jumped on the bandwagon. Our pups made the perfect little props in our engagement photos and I just love having these professional shots for our album. Us choosing to involve our dogs kind of goes with one of the other tips on this list, in that the pictures really showed our personalities and portrayed not only our love for one another, but for our fur babies as well. We are a little family and that truly came across in the shots. If you and your man, or woman, have a close bond with your own dog-- get them involved!

5. Use Props 

Not every couple decides to send out Save the Dates, but if you do, your engagement photos are a great opportunity to stage them. Sports fans? Use a football, basketball, baseball-- pretty much any type of ball, and inscribe your date on it, and perhaps even the words 'Save the Date' on another one. I've saw balloons, marquees, banners, scrabble tiles, signs, etc.-- get creative! This is a great way to incorporate your personalities into the photos, as well. I suggest DIY for the props, as you'll find ordering them customized with your date can be quite pricy. I wanted to order 'Save the Date' signs for my dogs online and couldn't believe the asking price. I ended up making them myself for less than $10 altogether-- tutorial on that later. 

4. Show Your Personalities 

I keep coming back to this, but for me, it's what truly made our pictures special. Sure, your engagement photos are supposed to be all about you and your partner's love and upcoming nuptials, but what is special to the two of you? How do you bond? What are your common interests, or even disinterests? I stumbled across a photo session on Pinterest where the couple wore two opposing team jerseys and they did a ticket-like Save the Date with the teams versus one another-- so cute! Luckily, Eric and I root for the same team, so we decided to incorporate that into our pics. We're both hardcore MSU Basketball fans, so when I suggested the idea he was all in. I emailed the Event Coordinator at the Breslin Center (MSU's home court) months in advance and stayed in contact with her until we had figured out a date to get the pictures taken. We were given access to the entire court at no cost at all and the pictures really captured our love in a fun and creative way. You'd be surprised how easy it is to get access to the venue of your favorite team-- you just have to ask the right person. Oh, and GO GREEN. ;)

3. Dare to be Different

As mentioned earlier, I did a lot of Pinterest research before choosing what I wanted our engagement pictures to look like, and the shots that stood out to me the most were the ones that were unique and different. Of course there's the traditional kissing shot, or the one of the couple holding hands with an emphasis on her ring, but what else? That's what I was interested in. I loved the ones that incorporated a special aspect of the couple; something unique to them. Keep that in mind when choosing what direction you want to go with your pictures. Love to bowl? Go bowling! Are you Wine-o's? Go to a vineyard! The sky is the limit. Don't be scared to go in a different direction than the average engagement photo session-- that's what will make your photos stand out.

2. Get the Other Party Involved

While it seems to be standard procedure for the feminine counterpart of the relationship to take control of most of the wedding planning, including the engagement photos, you should always ask for your other half's input. Rather than forcing them to reinact the beach scene from 'The Notebook', ask if they're into it first. I've mentioned sports a couple times in this post and I think that's a great way to spark some interest on his end, after all these are his photos, too. Maybe sports aren't his things-- so what is? Ask him, or better yet show him different ideas and get his feedback. He might have more to say than you think. He'll also be much more cooperative in the shoot as a whole if he feels like he had a say in it, rather than feeling like a prop himself.

1. Have Fun With It!

Of all the tips I share with you, this is the most important. If you aren't having fun, nothing else matters because it will show in your pictures, and let's be honest-- who wants to see pictures of boring people? Nobody. This is one of the greatest times of your life, let that come through in your photos. Loosen up and relax. While posed pictures are really nice, my personal favorites are the natural shots of the couple in their element. So laugh with one another, kiss, be silly, be real. It will come across in your photos and be infectious.

Thank you to the lovely Whitney Roberts who photographed our fabulous engagement shoot, the rest of which can be seen here. And best of luck with your own! 

xox Danielle