Congratulations! You're engaged!

Now that you've found your wedding photographer, it's time to start planning.

Here are six things you should think about before your engagement session.

First, your engagement session is like a trial before your wedding.  You can get to know how well you work with your photographer, and what images you can expect from them. You will get to know their personal style, rather than just seeing their images on their website. Do they make you feel comfortable and relaxed? 

Most wedding packages include an engagement session. This allows your photographer to get to know you.  But you can book just the engagement session, and later decide whether you want this particular photographer to photograph your wedding.

Engagement-Session-at-Tawas-Point-Tawas
 
 

2.​  Consider some of your favorite activities and locations.

 

engagement-session-at-tawas-point-tawas  Make a pinterest board of some of your favorite image ideas. Let your photographer know, so they can check out your board ahead of time.  Some photographers would rather just shoot from the hip, but I like to have your input.  (Just keep in mind that those pinterest boards can't be duplicated exactly.  They are just for inspiration.)  These images were taken out at Tawas State Park in Tawas, Michigan.  There is a  nice variety of beautiful backdrops there.​

Engagement-session-tawas-state-park-tawas-michigan

3.  You will want to choose your photographer carefully. 

 
 
Word of mouth referrals are nice, but check out their reviews and website and make sure that you like their style of images.  Some photographers shoot dark and moody, while others shoot light and airy. Others use natural light and some use off camera flash.  Some shoot editorial style (not posed) and some want every pose to be directed, where there might not be as much spontaneity.  ​
Engagement-session-tawas-state-park-tawas-michigan
 
 

4.  Time of day is very important.

 
 
 
High noon with totally blue skies might seem
like a good idea, but will look totally different
from sunset images. 
Some think that the time of day doesn't really matter,
but if you compare images of different times of day,
there is a totally different look.  ​
​​Engagement-session-tawas-state-park-tawas-michigan
 

5. An hour session is all you should need to get lot's of nice images.

 
 
 
 
  Some like to use them for their social media or  for their save-the-date cards.  If you are using them for save-the-date cards, schedule your session early enough for sending them out in the mail.
 

6.  Schedule a consultation beforehand

 
 
Consultations are free and you can get a good vibe on your photographer's personality.  Even if you can't meet in person, usually you can facetime or have a zoom meeting.

Just relax, have fun and enjoy the time with your fiancé, and everything will go smoothly and you'll get some beautiful images to look back on over the years, maybe even your 50 year anniversary! 

​If there were some questions that you have that I haven't answered, please leave them in the comments!

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