5 Great Tips for a Stress-Free Engagement Session

Feeling a little stressed about your engagement session?

That’s okay! Most people haven’t had professional photos taken since their high school senior portraits. To ease your nerves and make the process as stress-free as possible, I have these 5 fantastic engagement session tips for you.

Engagement Session Tip #1: Find an outfit you love and feel fantastic in.

Make sure it fits well and doesn’t have a distracting pattern. Move around in it and make sure nothing pops out and that you don’t have to constantly adjust and readjust any part of it. If you don’t love what you’re wearing, you won’t love your photos. If you’re uncomfortable in what you’re wearing, it’ll show in the photos, and then whenever you look at your engagement photos, all you’ll think about is how uncomfortable you were in your outfit.

Tip #2: Find the perfect engagement session location.

Whether it’s where you went on your first date, where you got engaged, or a park by your house you enjoy, try to choose a location that has meaning to the two of you. Don’t select a location at random. If you’re not sure about a location, ask me! I have tons of incredible suggestions. Decide what type of background you’d like (woodsy, park-like, architectural, grungy/textural, open field, etc.) and I’ll give location suggestions.

Tip #3: If including a pet, enlist the help of a friend.

I love getting to meet my couples’ pets! It’s the highlight of my week when I get to meet a new animal friend. I suggest including your pet at the beginning of your session. Have a friend come along to help redirect your pet’s attention, and take your pet back home when we’re done with their part of the photoshoot. You don’t want to be stressed the whole time because your dog is freaking out being separated from you or chasing squirrels or people down! As much as I love doggos, it’s really difficult to hold a leash while shooting.

Tip #4: Skip the extras and props.

We’ll be walking and moving around a lot during your engagement session. Only bring the necessities with you (aka your car keys) so you don’t have any weird bulges in your pockets. Skip bringing a purse or bag with you don’t have to keep setting it down. The same goes for props! You can’t relax and get into it if you’re trying to remember to keep track of a million things!

Engagement Session Tip #5: Make it a date!

Take a half day off (or even the whole day off) and spend the afternoon together! Grab a drink together before your session, and then make reservations for dinner after your session (no one wants to be stuffed during photos!) By spending the afternoon together, you’ll be relaxed and enjoying each other’s company. You’ll be in a much better mood than you would be if you both rushed to your engagement session right after work. Making it a date will give you an automatic stress-free engagement session because you’ll be having fun.

I love photographing engagement sessions! If you’d like to schedule a stress-free engagement session with me, fill out my contact form!

If you’re planning a wedding, be sure to sign up for my Wedding Timeline Planning Guide . There’s tons of great tips to help you plan out your timeline, as well as sample timelines!