There are lists upon lists out there to help prepare you for your engagement session, and while they are all helpful, there are three main tips to help you make the most out of your engagement session.

1. Tell us your story

While there are many benefits to this, your photographers want to hear about your stories. It helps connect us so that we can have a better idea of your relationship. We don’t need every single detail, but when we watch you talk about each other or special moments you have had, we get a better look at the way the couple lives together.

One of our favorite things about an engagement shoot is when the couple thinks we aren’t watching. They relax, smile at each other, or tell a goofy joke to loosen up. We love those moments, and those are the most beautiful ones to capture too. Try to let your photographer in on funny quirks about your partner or stories to pull out during the shoot to lighten the mood.

2. Find Your Space

It’s easy to look through engagement sessions and see couples posing is the craziest of places, but what really matters is finding your space. Maybe you live in a city but crave the open meadows. Let’s work together and find a place that will give you those feelings. We have had couples on beaches where they met, on streets where they were engaged, and in front of old apartment buildings where they first lived together.

There might not be anything spectacular about these places, but it’s the couple that makes the place spectacular. A feeling in the air, a sparked memory, a particular spot that reignites those same feelings from the past. You will feel more comfortable in places that make you and your partner feel like your best selves.

3. Dress Comfortably

Now, this will have a broad range of meanings, but the basis is simple. Dress in something you are both comfortable in. Maybe both of your are highly successful entrepreneurs or business tycoons, then suits, ties, and heels are your everyday attire. Do that!

Or if you are avid outdoorsmen with vests, beards, and hiking boots then do that! You have the total freedom with an engagement session to give people a glimpse into what your life is like together through images. You want to wear clothes that represent parts of your life like favorite sports teams or favorite hobbies, then go for it.

Plus, it’s so clear when people are uncomfortable. Don’t feel pressured to wear this or that; wear what you want. Work together to find colors and styles that coordinate and then just enjoy the time together.

Planning an engagement session does not have to be as stressful. Use these three simple tips to help make your engagement session run smoothly, and so you both look back on these pictures with pure joy.