The Golden Means: Challenge 8: Engagement Photos (Maggie)

For our first challenge of the year, we decided on a Valentine’s Day theme. It was very open ended and I had a lot of ideas and a lot of different directions I wanted to go. But it occurred to me that this is the only Valentine’s day that I will carry the label “fiancée” so I better make it count.

I was really unsure of this “engagement photography shoot” idea that seems to be a must-do lately. I loved the idea of having these photos, but I was stressed out about a lot of things—what to wear, who to take the photos, where to take the photos, etc. So for this challenge, I’ve assembled a list of of how to minimize the stress and maximize the bliss.

5 Steps to Perfect Engagement Photos

5. Find a photographer who fits your vision.

Lately, I have had lots of friends and family that have gotten married. Each set of engagement photos are so different—some are modern, some are classic, some are edgy, some are relaxed… I knew I wanted something in the middle. I didn’t want too modern (have you seen those photos where you are left wondering if the couple even loves each other because throughout the entire shoot they are scowling the entire time…?) I didn’t want too classic, because sometimes that seems too safe. So I sought to find a photographer who had a balanced vision. Someone with an artistic eye but also someone who truly wanted to capture our love.
I had the great fortune that my uncle is friends with an extremely talented photographer. After glancing through his portfolio, I knew he had that balance I was looking for. If you’re in the Denver metro area, I would recommend him to anyone. In the photo on the left, you can see that he has a unique eye for incorporating art into his photography. On the right, he was able to capture how entirely enamored I am with my fiancé. The absolute perfect balance.

4. Wear clothes that make you feel confident.

This is fantastic advice I received from a friend who recently took her own engagement photos. So I sought to find clothes of colors that I love. I would also suggest pops of color, We were al little more monochromatic than I originally planned for, but that was a little out of my hands (see #3 below). But there were a couple of pictures that included the small pops of colors and they are lovely.

3. Some things are out of your control, but sometimes those things make for unique photo opportunities.
Somehow, we booked our engagement photo session on a day that Colorado decided to dump about 2 feet of snow. I figured the photographer would cancel and we’d reschedule for another day. To my surprise, he wanted to go ahead and go for it. I’m so glad we did. I love, love, love the snow.
But on occasion, I did have to tell myself that it was going to be ok that I wasted a week planning an outfit that would be mostly covered by a jacket. Or that I wasted an hour straightening my hair. The snow certainly did frizz it out, but bygones. So be it rain, snow, or shine (or wind, or clouds or whatever mother nature chooses for your day), confront it with a smile. If the pictures don’t turn out exactly how you want, at the very least you and your fiancé will have a good story about it. But my guess is it will provide for photo ops that will set your photos apart from all others.

Frizzy hair? Yep. Am I mad about it? Nope.

2. Bring your ideas, be open to others.

I spent a good amount of time on Pinterest looking for my favorite engagement photos to try to capture similar moments. Our photographer was open to all of our ideas. I returned the favor by being open minded to his as well. Especially when I heard him say, “Hey, you should kick snow in her face.” Wait, what? Is this really happening? Yep. Or “Hey, run down this sidewalk and then I want you to tackle Maggie.” I could have fought it and said “Thanks, but not thanks.” But that would have been a shame--they turned out great. It’s like Andrew (the photographer) knew us at our core—that we are goofs and are playful and ridiculous.

1. Pretend the photographer isn’t even there.

The greatest moments happened when Andrew told us to go about as if he wasn’t even there. We had real conversations, we made jokes, and we loved every moment. It was perfect.