How to Photograph Your First Engagement Shoot

An engagement session is a great way to work with new clients to get an idea of how they photograph before their wedding day. As you can imagine, couples are often nervous about getting their photos taken professionally for the first time. You have a chance to make a connection and help them shake off those nerves before their big day. Unlike the wedding day, you will have a lot more control over the engagement session — you will have no firm timeline, be location independent, and it’s only you and the couple. To help give you a leg up before your first engagement photo shoot with new clients, I’ve put together some points that might just help you avoid mistakes and put you ahead of the curve.

1. Get to know your clients before.

Regardless of how you got into contact with your clients, make an effort to meet them in person before the photo shoot. You don’t need your own studio for this, a coffee shop will work just fine. At very least have a phone conversation prior to the engagement shoot. Before you get into any business matters, like pricing or contracts, get to know your clients. Just like any service, the personal connection you create and the way you make them feel during your interactions will be one of the most important parts of what you’re selling. Learn how they met, what their story is, and who they are.

I generally write down a list of questions for my first meeting with any new potential clients. It may look something like this:

• How’d did you two meet?
• What are you looking for in a photographer?
• What are your expectations for our shoot?
• Have you seen my work? What appealed to you?

2. Location. Location. Location.

As a photographer, you will learn that your success is largely dependent on the work you do before the actual photo shoot. Instead of just winging it, ask the couple what specific locations they would like to have their engagement photos taken in. They may choose a place that has sentimental value or perhaps the place they got engaged.

To prepare, drive out the day before to get an idea of the conditions, potential shots, and what the light looks like.

• Make sure there are no shooting restrictions prior to the shoot. The last thing you want on the day of a shoot is to deal with is a park ranger telling you that professional photography is prohibited.
• Try to stay away from busy locations — they can be distracting and may make your clients feel uncomfortable in front of the camera with an audience of strangers present.
• Consider the time of year and weather you will be dealing with. Yes, I believe nice weather does make for better photos and more comfortable shooting conditions for your clients.

3. Provide outfit suggestions for your clients.

Make suggestions on which outfits your clients should wear during the engagement shoot. By no means do you have to be a fashion expert, but making suggestions based upon time of year, location, and color scheme will make your photos stand out, and you can help them avoid patterns and colors that will ultimately detract from their photos.

• Suggest outfits that compliment each other. Obviously this doesn’t mean you want your clients to be in identical red outfits. Instead, suggest neutral, solid colors that will stand out in their environment without being garish.
• Take the location into consideration. If you’re in a casual setting you probably don’t want to be dressed formally. Suggest outfits that are comfortable and fitting for the environment. For example, formal wear probably isn’t suiting for a warm afternoon at the beach.
• Ask them to bring an outfit change.This provides some variety in your photos. Perhaps you select one casual outfit and one more formal.

4. Take advantage of the golden hour.

• If you’re shooting outside, you’re missing out if you’re not taking advantage of the best light of the day. The golden hour refers to the period of time shortly before and after the sunset. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last very long, so I recommend beginning the engagement shoot several hours prior to the sunset to give yourself adequate time.
• What makes this time of the day so special? This time of the day presents the softest, warmest, and most beautiful light to photograph portraits. Unlike the middle of the day, you are not going to experience those harsh unflattering shadows on your subject.

5. Give direction.

Guide your clients through this process. Tell them what to do while you’re taking their photos. Naturally, getting your pictures taken can feel awkward. Giving them direction will put the couple at ease, and make you look in control and more professional as the photographer.

For many new photographers, posing clients can be difficult. When I first starting photographing couples, I remember only having a few poses in mind, and would often struggle to think of unique poses during the actual engagement shoot. It takes time and practice to develop a variety of poses that look natural and represent the unique love that the couple shares.

In order to give yourself strong posing ideas, look up the work of your favorite wedding and portrait photographers. This is a great place to see how they are posing their clients. Try to incorporate some of these poses in your next engagement shoot.

Look, there you have it! Shooting photos of couples is hard, if it were easy, they would do it themselves. You have the tools, now go out there and take the best photos you can. What are some of your best tips for engagement shoots? Share them in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.