Congratulations! You are engaged and you have picked a date, a venue and a wedding photographer! These are some of the biggest decisions of the wedding planning process and you can check them off of your list! Woohoo! Now, its time for the fun stuff….like your engagement session. I believe engagement sessions are SO important when it comes to making your wedding day an amazing experience. During the engagement session, you will get a chance to know me, experience how I shoot and handle posing and lighting scenarios. The session will have a huge impact on the wedding day flow. I will arrive on your wedding day, camera in hand, with the knowledge of how you two interact, what poses suit you best as a couple and how to photograph you to bring out your personalities! You won’t have to worry about posing or how I handle light because you will have already had plenty of practice during your engagement session.
Engagement sessions be scheduled any time before your wedding day. I typically shoot them 3 to 6 months in advance to avoid too much stress. I shoot engagement sessions on weekday evenings because my weekends are filled with weddings, and sports leagues shoots. The best lighting is typically 2 hours before sunset and 2 hours after sunrise, but since I use off camera flash, I can shoot at any time of day. E-sessions last between 1 and 2 hours. We take our time, explore different poses and capture some fun candids. We have plenty of time to explore. This prepares us for the wedding day in which sometimes we only have 15 minutes to get all of the couple photos in.
Now its time to brainstorm locations. It is nice when a couple chooses a location that is sentimental to them in some way. I also love using tried and trued locations that I know have fantastic light. As long as the light is great, I can make any location work. Foggy or rainy day? Even better! We can play with off camera flash to create some magical and enchanting images! I shoot at farms, ranches, beaches, parks and redwoods. The Benbow Inn is a favorite location of mine! I am more familiar with light and location in Southern Humboldt where the weather is ALWAYS nicer than Northern Humboldt. I love unique and outside of the box ideas, so please don’t shy away from crazy ideas! The more creative and silly, the better!