Engagement sessions are suppose to really showcase your personalities, your love story, and the things you truly love in life! And i get it, it can be hard to think of how you can bring those things out in a photoshoot. So something I like to bring to the table are these 4 ways to personalize your engagement session, so that when you look at the photos it can take you back to the memories you made on that day and not just stiff poses and smiles!

1. Think of an activity that SCREAMS you two!

Whether it’s a date you guys go on often, something you’ve both always wanted to do, or just an activity that makes sense to you both – just choose something that you guys are both going to have fun doing.

Some FUN ideas could be:

• shopping around at a vinyl record store
• going on a hot air balloon ride
• driving around in a fancy old Mercedes
• hiking to waterfalls
• bouldering or climbing together
• drive-in movie theatre
• going camping
• hiking a 14er

Getting your photos taken doesn’t have to be this boring and traditional task. Think outside the box and let’s create memories together that you’ll want to remember for a lifetime!!

2. Make it an adventure!

The fun doesn’t have to stop when the camera goes away! If you’re anything like my couples at all, you are so down for an adventure!! So make a little engagement trip getaway out the whole thing!

If you love to camp, then go camping, if you want to travel to a national park – then do it! Use this time to truly soak in the magic, the memories, and the romance since you guys have just gotten engaged!! It’s so important for you both to invest in one another outside of all the wedding prep, so use the photos as an excuse to get out and make a whole date, day, or weekend adventure out of it all!!

3. Clothing

Okay hear me out on this one. Most engagement photo sessions will allow you to have a couple different clothing options, that way you can kind of diversify your gallery and not every image looks the exact same.

Something I’ve found that is common for people to do is to bring a casual and a more fancier clothing options. I think this is an awesome way to diversify your portfolio for sure!! But dare I say go even more in depth and even more intentional with what you are wearing.

Make sure that you’re going to be comfortable and are obsessed with what you are wearing first. But also, feel free to choose clothes that will create a style or mood of the session you are wanting! If you are wanting a more 70s inspired photoshoot then bring that as an option, if you’re wanting a bit more editorial then bring those as options.

As a photographer we are here to help you create art, to help tell your story, and to also have some fun!! So definitely don’t feel locked down to the typical clothing style you see in most engagement session shoots.

4. Props

Props are a way that you can truly tie in the whole aesthetic, theme, style, and vision you have for your session and it can also help make the session truly unique!! I think sometimes when we think of props, we think of the old school photo booths or green screens where you have nerdy glasses on and are holding a sign saying something like “i’m with stupid” lol

But props don’t have to be cheesy or corny. They can actually really tie the whole look of the session together. So some good prop examples could be:

• disco balls
• skateboards/longboards/surfboards
• cars
• hats
• flowers
• a picnic setting
• ropes and harnesses
• champagne
• pillows + blankets
• a chair/stool
• doggies!

There are so many different things you can bring to the session to truly make it fun and your personalities to come out and shine!! So don’t be intimidated by props, they can make the whole session really come to life!

Okay now that I got those creative juices flowin’, start thinking about what you want for your engagement session and if you’re not for sure, don’t worry about it!! Helping my couples create an intentional photoshoot that really lets their personalities shine is my strong-suit. It’s on of my favorite things about the process actual.

I love to get to know my couples, hear about their jobs, hobbies, love languages, favorite things in life so that way we can create a session that is truly magical!!!

Interested in chatting to create a session of your dreams together?? Let’s chat!