Congratulations, you’re ENGAGED!! You have a beautiful new ring on your finger and lots of things to plan. You’ve picked your perfect date, chosen the perfect venue and hire the perfect photographer to match your style (wink! Wink!). Now it is time to capture this very special and exciting time in your life before you tie the knot.
Engagement sessions are so much fun and is a great way to get you comfortable in front of the camera for your big day. Your probably thinking “what am I going to wear?” or “how can I take amazing engagement photos?”. Let’s not worry about that right now. The first step should be to find a location for your engagement photos. I have some great news. I have 5 tips to help you find the perfect location for your engagement photos.
HOW TO CHOOSE A LOCATION FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS
THINK ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE PLACES
When I start talking to a couple about their engagement photos before I even suggest a location I ask them 2 questions. The first question I ask is “what are your favorite locations?” and the second question is “what location has a lot of meaning for the both of them?”. These locations could be a favorite spot you go on the weekend, a favorite coffee shop, maybe the location of your 1st date or the spot where the proposal happened.
Maybe you have a dream location that you have not been to yet. Place like Horseshoe Bend, Yosemite or the beach. Whatever location you have stuck in your mind, that is most likely the perfect location for your photos.
THINK ABOUT YOUR PERSONALITIES
Let’s say you have a lot of favorite places and can’t pick one. That is when you look at the personalities of you and your fiancé. If you guys are big into the outdoors, pick an outdoor location like the beach or the mountains. If you guys are people who can’t live without your coffee, maybe pick a cute coffee shop. If you love walking down down the city streets, maybe you choose an urban location.
Are you picking up what I’m putting down?
Think about what you naturally love and enjoy, you will have some many ideas it will be hard to choose one.
THINK ABOUT THE TIME OF DAY
Once you have a couple locations in mind, now it is time to think about what time of day will work best for each location. Depending on what location you choose you will have to deal with some type of crowd (especially if it is a popular location), there is likely going to be people in the background. I bet that is not the kind of engagement photos you are looking for.
You have a couple of chooses you can make. You can choose a different spot to avoid the crowd, or you can choose a time where the crowd is not around like early morning. The great thing about early morning shoots is that there is no crowd and the light is beautiful.
That leads right in to my next tip…
THINK ABOUT THE LIGHT
This is one of the more important tips, THE LIGHT! Light is everything when it comes to photography. The best time to shoot is when the sun in low in the sky. This means 1-2 after sunrise and 1-2 hour before sunsets. This time is called the golden hour because it gives off that beautiful golden light. This light can look different from location to location. The light can be affected by an overcast sky at the beach, trees in the mountains or buildings in the city. It is a good idea to talk to your photographer about the locations and possible times to make sure you get the best quality photos.
Consider the visuals and background
When deciding on the final location make sure you know what will be in the background. If you are going for an urban location watch for things like telephone poles and neon signs. Maybe choose some interesting architecture or brick walls. If you are shooting in the desert or an open field watch out for fences and random buildings. Trying using a dirt trail or road to create some leading lines.
STILL can’t decide?
If you’ve still can’t think of a perfect spot after reading this, I would love to help. I have helped some couples come up with ideas that they loved. I even have some dream locations that I have written down that might fit us both. There are incredible spot everywhere just waiting for the right couple.