I’d like to to talk a bit more about engagement sessions.  Many couples feel the engagement session is not a necessary part of planning a wedding, and is an expendable part of wedding packages when they’re on a budget.  To this point alone, I completely understand – many of us are on a budget and to find any way to save some money is like finding a bit of gold underneath a stone.  However, the engagement session is so much more than simply taking photos of you both as a couple…. it’s time spent with your photographer before the wedding day.  It’s a chance to bond with someone who will be there all day taking images of some of the most important moments in your lives.  It makes sense, especially in the case of most grooms who don’t meet the photographer until the day of the wedding, to spend some quality time with this person before they show up and photograph you for hours at at time.  In order for you to feel completely at ease with this individual, you need to bond with them, get to know how they work, get to know their personality a bit, as well as getting comfortable in front of the camera as a couple.  In return, they get the opportunity to learn your preferences with angles and compositions.  They also get to learn your personalities as a couple, learn how to anticipate your wishes, learn how far you are willing to push the envelope for creativity or if you are more traditional…. everything they find out during the engagement session will only enhance what they can accomplish on the wedding day. 

Yes, I know many of you have friends and family that are photographers, and it might make sense to have them take some engagement photos, or you may feel obligated.  However, obligation is not a good reason to cut out the engagement session with the photographer you’ve hired for your wedding day.  This is the person who needs to know how you act in front of the camera, this is the person you’ve hired to take the best images possible, but part of the that formula is having some sort of connection their subject.  As a photographer, it’s very difficult to show up on the wedding day and meet either, or both, the bride and groom for the first time.  It’s like meeting a new friend for the first time…. there is a bit of awkwardness if there is not opportunity to talk and get to know one another.  A wedding photographer needs to know a bit about their couple before the big day so they know what to expect and how to shoot the images:  traditional vs artistic? lots of black & white or more color? focus mainly on the couple or make sure to get lots of the guests? are there any angles or body features they don’t like?  are one or both of them shy in front of the camera? does one need to be prompted to laugh to get genuine smiles? do either of them have problems with any family members or friends? And so on….  These sorts of questions can be talked about during the engagement session – it’s a time to put forth all your concerns or bits of trivia you think the wedding photographer will need.

So, please rethink the engagement session if you are contemplating cutting it from your wedding package.  Even if you already have many great photos as a couple, I don’t think you’ll regret spending time with your photographer once the big day arrives and it’s like seeing a friend walk in the room.  I can personally testify that the weddings I photograph where I did an engagement session with the couple prior to the big day were much more relaxed, and I was viewed as more of a friend or acquaintance rather than just a photographer.