Wedding Wednesday: Preparing for Engagement Photos

I mentioned that our original engagement photo session got postponed due to threat of bad weather.  We were pretty bummed that day but it all worked out for the best in the end.  We ended up with gorgeous weather.  We scheduled our shoot to take place on IU's campus (where we met, got engaged and where we will get married) because it's so special to us.  On the first date the chances for rain and storms was higher than we would like and at the suggestion of our photographer we postponed for a week and half. Fast forward to our rain date and we were in the same boat again! Ugh, we both worked part of the day and stressed out as we watched the radar and weather.  We decided to risk it and keep the session after watching the showers dissipate and the chances for rain/storms diminish as the hours went by that day.  We were rewarded with the most gorgeous golden hour and campus, albeit very humid (my hair definitely did not hold up perfectly and let's just say there was a lot of sweat....but totally worth it).  After talking to our photographer, reading blog posts, etc. on how to prepare for your engagement session, here are some tips I found to be prudent.  

But seriously...look how gorgeous it was the evening of our session!

1. Wear Comfortable Clothes

Make sure you choose clothes you'll both feel comfortable in for your session.  Make sure your clothes fit well and don't cause and discomfort or make you self-conscious. Chances are if you are uncomfortable, it will show in your pictures.  We had three outfits so I tried to keep this in mind as we selected each of them.  We wanted a dressy and more casual look so we made sure to pick the dress that wasn't too tight or the shirt that looked good tucked in with a sport coat.  And due to our locations on campus, we threw in a third outfit.  We had pictures taken in Assembly Hall so we opted for a red and white casual outfit to represent our beloved Hoosiers!

2. Coordinate Not Match

You don't have to be matchy matchy.  In fact, it looks best if you are coordinating and not matching.  For our casual look on campus, I wore a Lilly Pulitzer maxi dress that had pastel colors.  Wyatt chose to wear a pair of khaki shorts with a darker blue button down for this look.  It wasn't an exact match but they really complimented each other and it coordinate well.  

3. No Drastic Physical Changes Prior to Session

You'll look back at your engagement pictures for years.  If you get the desire to chop 10 inches off your hair, wait until after your pictures.  Don't do anything that would give a drastically different appearance than you are used to just before your session unless you are certain that you will be happy with your appearance for the shoot and for years to come. 

4. Take a Little Extra Time

Spend a little extra time getting ready the day of your shoot.  Schedule a hair/makeup appointment if you want to pamper yourself before the session.  For me, I took extra time in curling my hair and doing my makeup.  On a typical day I wear a tinted BB cream and powder but due to our pictures, I did a full face of makeup included primer, foundation, etc.  

5. Consider the Location

Think about your location.  Will you be shooting in doors or outdoors?  Will you have multiple locations to travel to or just one?  I suggest you consider your lighting to plan out what locations you shoot at when.  We knew we were meeting our photographer at 6:30 so we planned to save our indoor photos at Assembly Hall last.  I also packed our clothes in a garment bag and hung them together by outfit and order to help with outfit changes.  I also suggest taking extra makeup, wipes, bug spray, etc if you plan to shoot outside just in case you need touch ups.  I didn't take any extra makeup or blotting wipes and after being outside for a while I definitely could have used both!

6. Find Inspiration

I suggest looking at your photographer's portfolio to get an idea of the poses they has done with other couples.  Bonus, if they have shot in the location you chose, you can see what poses might work well there.  You can also go online and search Pinterest and blogs for tons and tons of photo ideas.  I created a secret pin board with tons of ideas for poses and outfits alike.  

7. Don't Stress

Don't sweat the small stuff.  I admittedly am such a planner and control freak that the postponement of our first date really threw me for a loop.  With the added stress of the day of our second session date being so up in the air for a while, I was a worried wreck.  By the time we arrive to campus (early might I add) I found a way to let it all go.  We just rolled with it from there on out and you know what? We had fun and our photographer was amazing! 

8. Start with Fancy

My suggestion is start with your nicest outfit first.  This ensures you look your best with your best outfit.  Remember the sweat and frizz I mentioned earlier in this post.  I was happy that our first outfit was the dressiest and nicest because it meant that my hair and makeup still looked great.  Also, Wyatt had on pants, a button down shirt, and a sport coat so it was also his hottest outfit.

9. Plan Something Fun 

Make fun plans after your session is over.  We had dinner at a pizza place we had been wanting to try in Bloomington to cap off our night.  If you are like we are, we don't love getting pictures taken.I want to say it is to celebrate your accomplishment.