For most people the idea of engagement photography (or pre-wedding photography), and spending more than an hour having a camera pointed at them, is a bit intimidating at best and full on terrifying at worst. Almost all of my couples tell me they’re “not good in front of the camera” or they’re “a bit camera shy”.
Of course you want authentic pictures of you on your wedding day, having an awesome time, but why on earth would you want to prolong the agony and spend more time having photographs, away from the wedding?
There are loads of reasons why having an engagement shoot is a good idea but the main one, if you’re a little bit nervous about being photographed, is fear or the removal of it.
Many people are apprehensive about having their photograph taken by a professional photographer for one reason and one reason alone: fear of the unknown. They don’t know what to expect. Will they be made to put themselves into cheesy poses? Will they feel silly and self consious? Will they have to pull their fake-it-for-the-camera smile for so long that they feel like their face might fall off?
I don’t do any of these things with my clients and, without fail, after I’ve spent time getting you to interact with each other naturally you relax. We usually laugh a lot. You’ll even enjoy yourselves, I promise.
Couples who have an engagement shoot know exactly what to expect on their wedding day and can focus their attention on actually getting married, instead of worrying about the pictures.
Of course there are other benefits to having an engagement shoot. Being engaged is an incredibly special time and it’s really, really lovely to have a photographic record of that period. You might want to do something different and really romantic (like taking me to Paris or Berlin or Venice to photograph you – please?!) or you might just want to visit some places that mean something to you as a couple.
My couples that have an engagement shoot tell me it’s one of the few parts of the wedding planning process that they can just relax and enjoy. It also gives me an opportunity to get to know you a little better too, which really makes my involvement in your wedding a whole lot more rewarding.
If you’d like to find out a little more about your engagement shoot will work, check out my engagement photography: what to expect post.