Yesterday I was convinced that my bum was taking on a new shape–the shape of FLAT–from sitting on it all day. I was scared and whisper-asked Jared to look and tell me if my worst flat-butt fears were coming true. But he just laughed, and he was nice and said nice things about me and my bum.
Guys, I’m tired of being pregnant. I want this baby girl to come so I can run again and walk around for extended periods of time without feeling like I am carrying an achy bowling ball on my belly.
But Jared and other nice people tell me, you look so good! I’m trying to accept compliments and not be a crazy lady about the changes my body is going through to make another human, especially with something so trivial as how I look while my body is workin hard to make these amazing things happen.
The point is: while I’m gonna give you some tips about looking your best during your engagement session, the most important thing is that you remember why we’re taking these pictures in the first place. We’re celebrating the giddy joy and excitement of being in love and freshly engaged and on the verge of being married for the rest of your lives. We might have some time during our session taking a deep breath and remembering how much love we’re trying to fit inside these photographs.
And now, some tips about how to prepare for your engagement session.
1. Get a manicure.
Your hands are going to be in these photos, and it makes a big difference if they look good. Plus it just makes you feel fab and you need to show off your gorgeous ring, so it’s official. Manicure for you, m’dear. No scary acrylics, just healthy hands prettily polished up.
2. Get your hair and makeup done. I heard that eyeroll– just lemme tell you.
I’m usually a low-maintenance lady, but when you’re investing in photos that you’re going to enjoy for the rest of ever, a professional is going to help you look your best. More importantly, this is a great time to trial run your makeup and hair for your wedding day–you’ll have a chance to see how it translates to photos and be able to make adjustments.
At the very least, a professional blow-out will do wonders. Besides, you’re going to send these photos out to oodles of people–and these photos will live on their fridge for all to see. Make sure you love and trust the professional you hire–the last thing you want is to blindly throw down your cash and have to scrub your face five minutes before our session. (And yes, this has happened.) I recommend Alex Crabtree.
3. Bring two outfits–but only if you lovelovelove them both.
My clients receive a packet with a whole buncha tips about what to wear for photos–we go through all the nitty gritty deets about what works well and what doesn’t. Be sure to be in communication with your photographer about when and where you’ll change. The best idea is to bring accessories that can be added and subtracted lickety split. And really, if you have one outfit you just love–why on earth bring another one? Just because it’s what people do? Nahh.
4. Think about your relationship and how we could best tell your love story; go for meaningful details instead of silly props.
Each love story is unique and I love showing who you are in photographs. Props for engagement sessions are silly to me, so if you’re interested in an authentic capturing of your love think meaningful details instead, like love letters you’ve written to each other or the necklace he gave you for your birthday. Let your photographer in on these elements and she’ll squeal in delight. One of my goals at each session is to connect with couples and personalize their photographs–this ain’t paint-by-numbers canned one-size-fits-all photography. We really are creating custom art together. Let your imagination run wild and we’ll make incredible photos–because they’ll be uniquely you.
Well, hey! Are you freshly engaged and in need of some fabulous photos? Brooke Schultz is a Utah-based wedding photographer crazy about her soon-to-be-born baby girl, homemade raspberry jam, and summertime picnics. She thinks chick flicks are mostly ridiculous and is inspired by the ocean and late-night pillow talk. She’d love to photograph your beautiful self. Contact her to chat about it.
