Reasons you need to have an engagement session with your photographer

Grace + Jason at Kestrel Park in Santa Ynez, CA

Brides, can you imagine getting your hair and makeup done on your wedding morning without having done a trial, and then you hate how it turns out but there just isn’t time to redo it? There’s a good reason (well, many reasons) wedding photography packages often include complimentary engagement sessions. I believe it is SO important to have an e-shoot with YOUR wedding photographer, and here’s why:

1) Clearing the air

I’ve actually seen this issue come up from brides in forums before—they see a certain kind of photo in the photographer’s portfolio, but after the engagement session, they don’t feel like the photos represent the portfolio. Or maybe they didn’t realize that the photographer does heavy posing while the client prefers a more candid style. Whatever the issue, it’s best to learn these things before taking the ever-important wedding photos. You can redo engagement sessions, but you can’t really go back and do your wedding photos all over again.

2) You get the most flattering wedding portraits

I always ask my clients if they have a “good side” when I’m taking portraits of them. Some people have never thought about it before that, so I photograph them from both sides. Then let’s say they get their gallery back and realize they really DO have a good side. This is great for me to know so that I can give their good side preference for the wedding portraits! If we don’t know that ahead of time, you’re risking a lot of your wedding portraits being less flattering for you (just in your mind, because I never deliver photos that are truly unflattering!)

3) The opportunity to hire someone “better”

(Honestly, we’d rather you let us know about your concerns than you go through with us anyway and hate your wedding photos!!)

While I’ve never personally had a client cancel their wedding contract after the engagement photos, I have photographer friends who’ve had that happen to them. Of course it’d be super disappointing to be unhappy with your engagement photos, but you can always take those again!! I repeat, you cannot redo your wedding photos. We photographers truly want our clients to LOVE their photos, and nothing hurts worse than somebody being unhappy with their wedding photos. If you have concerns about how your engagement photos turned out, just let us know! If it’s too big of an issue, it’s honestly just better you hire a different photographer who fits your needs and style better.

4) Consistency

Sure, some people don’t care about the cohesiveness of their wall decor, but a lot of people do! By using the same photographer for both your wedding and engagement photos, all the photos will look great together, even in a hod-podge gallery wall. Also, if you get albums for both your engagement & wedding photos, it won’t feel jarring to have the photos switch creative styles between books.

5) Portrait variety

By having an engagement session, you get more portraits together that aren’t just in a bridal gown and tux. Yay for variety! Of course some people don’t even care to hang their engagement photos on the wall and only want to hang nice, formal wedding portraits, but think about other uses. What do you want to do with your photos? Maybe you want Save-the-Dates, or a social media profile photo. Those are immediate uses, but think about down the road. When/if you have children, it will be fun for them to see what your relationship was really like “back in the day.” I feel like engagement photos do a much better job of showing off your overall relationship vibe than the wedding portraits do, personally!

6) Calm the jitters

If you or your fiancee gets uncomfortable in front of the camera, this helps get you used to it so it’s not so scary on the wedding day, leading to more genuine smiles and emotion! Can you even imagine getting the most important photos of your life taken, but you’re so anxious about it that you don’t look natural or like you’re having a good time in any of the photos?? With an engagement session, we have plenty of time to calm those nerves. The majority of my clients express their nerves to me before their session, but I’ve never had anyone feel nervous longer than the first 15 or so minutes of the 2hr session. But with a busy wedding day, sometimes that’s all the time we’re able to get for portraits! Combine the general photography nerves with wedding nerves, timeline stress, etc., you’re asking for a recipe for disaster without a “trial.”