Tips for the Perfect Engagement Session

How to have a fun and stress-free engagement session!

Let's face it, if you're not used to being in front of the camera, portrait sessions can feel a little scary. I mean, how often as adults do we have a camera pointed at us for an hour straight? For most of us, the answer is "not often". 

To help put your mind at ease, we've put together some tips to help you have a great engagement session experience! First we'll start with the practical tips, and then get into how to really enjoy your engagement session! 

Timing

Now, there are two 'times' to consider when looking at the timing of your engagement session, the time of year, and the time of day. 

• Time of year: The question to ask yourself on time of year is whether there is a particular season you love that you want to have captured in your photos (Fall or Winter for instance) or do you want to capture a different season than your wedding will take place in. Like if your wedding is in Fall, would you want a Spring engagement session to shake things up? Other factors to consider are how long you have before your wedding date to plan an engagement session, and if you'll be using any of the photos from the session for the wedding itself or for Save the Date cards. Make sure to work with your photographer to leave enough time between when the engagement session takes place and when you need the photos for wedding purposes!

• Time of day: Once you narrow down a time of year, it's time to figure out, with your photographer, what the best time of day will be for the date you've chosen! Your photographer may have a particular preference, and you'll definitely want to discuss that with them, but a good general rule of thumb is to avoid midday when the sun is directly overhead (strong overhead light is not anyone's friend, and also causes a lot of squinting). Personally, we love doing sessions in either the early morning (just after sunrise, and yes I know that's early) or later in the afternoon, in the hour before sunset, because the light is so freaking pretty at those times! Remember that things like time of year and daylight savings time greatly impact the time of day that the sunset actually occurs, and plan accordingly!

Location

The old real estate adage of location, location, location is really true for a lot of things, and that includes engagement sessions! There are so many things to consider when picking a location (or locations) for your engagement session, but here are a few tips to get you started! 

• Pick a location that has personal meaning to you: Do you and your guy or gal have a favorite restaurant, coffee shop, hang-out that features heavily into a ton of your favorite memories? Why not go there for photos! Don't be afraid to think outside the box! One caveat is that if you're visiting a business, you or your photographer will want to do a courtesy check-in with the establishment to make sure they feel comfortable with you unobtrusively taking pictures there.

• Pick a local landmark: Chances are that wherever you live has tons of important local landmarks like beautiful parks, a thriving downtown area, or an area with a funky bohemian vibe to it that you just dig. In any case, engagement photos near local legends can be a great way to introduce your out of town guests to your awesome city in advance!

• Go au naturale: No, I don't mean naked (hey, unless that's your thing, no judgment). I mean find a great nature spot near you to explore while you have photographs taken! Here in Madison, WI, the UW Arboretum is one of my all-time favorite engagement session spots because it's huge, offers an endless variety of lovely Wisconsin scenery, and is gorgeous year round!

• Pick your photographer's brain: Your photographer should be an expert on helping you decide what location works best for you, and is going to be a wealth of knowledge when it comes to getting ideas! Make sure to check in with them if you're feeling stumped to see what ideas and suggestions they might have!

If you're near Madison, WI and want more ideas for portrait session locations, we recently posted a more in-depth look at great portrait session location ideas in Madison, WI that you can find here. 

What to Wear

I know, this is a tough one. There are some fashion-forward couples who have their engagement session outfits picked out months in advance, including matching accessories, and this part of the post is probably not for them. If you're a little less outfit confident and need some suggestions, this part might be for you! 

• Solid and complimentary colors: When in doubt, go with solid colors or subtle patterns, and while the colors you and your partner wear should be complimentary, try to avoid having them be exactly the same. You don't want to be that couple.

• Try some bold accessories: Muted colors with bold accessories look fabulous, and are a great way to add a pop of color and some visual variety without having an entire day-glow orange outfit on deck for photos. The time of year can give you some ideas for fun accessories too, like scarves, hats, and mittens!

• Casual or fancy: This is totally up to personal preference, but I would err on the side of whatever you feel comfortable in! If you hate dresses, no worries! You can rock those jeans without fear, and you can always bring a change of clothes (but just know that you might have a changing in your car adventure if you don't have a public restroom nearby!)

• Hair and makeup: If you're a makeup person, an engagement session is a great time to schedule a wedding makeup practice run! If you’re not a makeup person, no worries! My only recommendation, particularly during warm weather, would be to bring either powder or blotting sheets or a towel to keep sweat at bay during photos. Whatever you choose to do with your hair and makeup, just make sure to let the real you shine through! Your friends and family want to see you in the photos, and you'll feel more comfortable if you feel like yourself, and that's going to come through in your photos!

• Things to avoid:

  • Transition lenses (trust us)

  • Shoes that you can't walk well in (we'll most likely be doing some walking)

  • A frown (no really)

THINGS TO Bring

Here are some non-clothing related items that are good necessities or fun props for any engagement session! 

• Necessities (always be prepared):

  • Bug spray (if it's not snowing, you'll probably need it!)

  • A picnic blanket to sit on (one that's washable is my recommendation)

  • Chapstick/lipstick for touch-ups

  • Water (good to stay hydrated!)

  • Your engagement ring(s) if you have them!

• Fun stuff!

  • Your pets! We LOVE having furry friends tag along for photos! (pro-tip, have someone come along to help as a pet wrangler if you're planning on bringing a larger pet)

  • Props like favorite books, comic books, cheese heads, whatever makes you happy!

  • Thank you signs if you plan on using your engagement photos for your thank you cards!

  • Thermos of coffee or hot chocolate (especially if you're planning for a winter enagement session!!!)

Things to Remember

Above are all the practical advice we can offer to help  you feel at ease with your engagement session, and here are a few gentle reminders about how to let go and have fun with it! 

• Turn it into a date: If you're getting all dressed up, why night make a nice night of it with your sweetheart and hit up a restaurant for dinner and drinks after you're done! Or grab drinks before. I won't tell. *wink*

• Look at this as an adventure: Instead of looking at your upcoming engagement session with a sense of dread (hey, I get it), try reframing the whole experience as a kind of wacky adventure you get to have with your partner. How often do you get to celebrate your love by hanging out and climbing trees and grabbing a beer and hugging and kissing while getting to have lasting memories captured of you two just being adorable? Not often? That's what I thought. So go on you crazy kids, go have an adventure, and give in to the goofy!

• Get to know your photographer: This is an amazing opportunity to get to know your photographer, and for him or her to get to know you! Take advantage of that awesome opportunity and talk shop while you're snapping photos! Finding common ground and cracking jokes helps ease tensions and make sure that you feel super comfortable with your photographer by the time your wedding day roles around!

• Take some time just for the two of you: Wedding planning can be stressful! Having some time for just the two of you to be silly and play a little dress-up and run around taking photos with your photographer will go a long way to re-invigorating your excited feelings about the wedding, when it's sometimes easy to lose site of that while you're in planning purgatory. Enjoy it, friends!

If you're recently engaged, we'd love to hear from you! Drop us a line, and we'd be happy to talk more with you about your vision for your wedding day, and what you're thinking for engagement photos, and let's make it happen! 

How to Rock a Rainy Day Wedding

"It's like rain on your wedding day...."

Now that I have your attention, and a super catchy song stuck in your head, let's talk about rainy day weddings. If you're a photographer, particularly one who generally relies on natural light, a forecast of rain for your next wedding shoot may make you break out into a cold sweat. But never fear! Rainy day weddings can be fun, romantic, and intimate, so hopefully some of these tips and tricks will help you rock that next rainy day wedding with confidence! 

PLAN FOR PLAN B

When helping your couples plan their wedding day schedule, their formal shot list, and just generally getting ready for the big day, it's important to stress the importance of a rain day plan! Here are few ways you can help your clients create an inclement weather backup plan they can feel good about!

• If your clients are having their ceremony outside, find out what the inclement weather backup plan is for their venue. Some great things to have them keep in mind are whether the backup plan has enough space for all of their guests (this is often overlooked but really important for everyone's comfort!) and what the lighting is like in the Plan B area during the time of day the ceremony will be taking place 

• If you had to do formal family and wedding party photos indoors, would there be enough space for the size groups your client plans on having you photograph? If you're not sure, and it's looking like rain, then it's wise to have your clients make a 'good weather' formal shot list, as well as a 'rain day' formal shot list, to account for the likelihood of more limited space indoors for group shots

• Help your clients build a little flexibility into their wedding day schedule, where possible, to allow you to seize opportunities that may arise for some quick rain-free outdoor pictures in between downpours, or to re-arrange the order of certain non-key events to accommodate changes in weather where needed

THE RIGHT TOOLS FOR THE JOB

For the photographer that relies primarily on natural light, knowing how to prepare for less than ideal weather conditions can be a little overwhelming. Having the right tools for the job will go a long way to boosting your confidence to handle a variety of 'bad lighting' situations with ease, and allow you to deliver a fantastic final product to your clients! 

• Unless you are a strictly natural light photographer, you're going to want to make friends with speedlite flashes. For real, they're a must-have accessory to get you through rainy days, dark rooms, and backlighting shenanigans! They're not as scary as they seem, and there are many wonderful and free tutorials out there , depending on what brand camera you shoot with. If you don't own speedlite flashes, no worries, you can rent! We use Godox V1 speedlite flashes, with a wireless radio transmitter for tough lighting situations.

• Practice, practice, practice. Even if you don't have a wedding coming up, if you're not yet comfortable with speedlite flashes, rent a setup that you can practice with over the weekend and grab a friend or family member to be your model. Try different rooms, different times of day, and different conditions, and just see what works best for you, so you get really comfortable with a few quick settings that give you good results! If you DO have a wedding coming right up, then it's even more important to rent or purchase a basic speedlite setup so that you can test it out no later than the day before the wedding - you don't want to be learning a brand new piece of equipment at a client's wedding if it is at all humanly possible to avoid doing so

• Unrelated to lighting, but definitely related to inclement weather, make sure you have coverings to protect your camera equipment from too much rain if you plan on shooting outside! 

MAKE IT FUN! 

Rainy day weddings and inclement weather don't have to be a huge bummer, and in fact, your clients can use it as an opportunity to have unique wedding day photos and just have fun with it! 

• Encourage your clients (and their wedding party!) to bring umbrellas, the fancier the better! I personally love the clear umbrellas because of the endless opportunities they present for dreamy and intimate rainy day wedding photos of the couple *insert dreamy heart eyes here* 

• Remember that your clients are trusting you not only to be the expert on photography, but also as an expert on weddings in general, so help your clients by being flexible, knowledgeable, and by seeing a rainy wedding day for what it is; something that only adds to the unique love story that your clients have to tell, and will be telling for years to come, with your photographs visual reminder of the most memorable day of their lives! 

AND FINALLY... 

Remember that just like any other situation you may not have encountered before as a photographer, rainy day weddings are a wonderful opportunity to get creative, and gain new skills! Happy splashing! 

-- Sam 

Balancing Acts

I want to let you all in on a little secret... Are you ready? You're going to be shocked...

I'm a little bit of a workaholic. Okay, a lot of a workaholic. During 6+ months out of the year, I work 80+ hours per week. I've read all the articles on why self-care and not overworking yourself to death are so important. I've read these articles, and nodded at the sage-like advice, and even handed out that same advice on occasion, but yeah, I have a difficult time putting the concept of 'balance' into play in my own life. It is hard for me to give up control in my business, so I try to do it all, and because I love what I do, I also have a hard time putting work down even when I know I should. Can anyone relate? 

I'm going to start making some small changes though, and I wondered if any of you would like to join me? Loosen your grip on your laptop just a little bit (white knuckles, anyone?) and take a step back to evaluate, big picture, what you need in your life to stay healthy, productive, and sane.

Here are some things I'm personally going to try in the next month: 

Pick three things to outsource or delegate

It can be a conference call you don't need to be a part of at work, or outsourcing an aspect of your business that feels like a chore to you but is someone else's passion (accounting for instance), or it can be something as simple as asking your family for help around the house. You are amazing, but you are not literally the only person on the planet who can do all the things that you do. Find some things that someone else can help with, take a big gulp, and ask for help, or call in reinforcements in the form of outsourcing items that don't need to be on your plate alone! 

Do one nice thing for yourself every week

This can be hard. If you're like me, you may actually feel real guilt over doing nice things for yourself, if those things don't directly benefit others, but we can try re-frame that feeling. Our culture glorifies workaholic tendencies, but what if you could show  your kids, your friends, your employees a different, more balanced path? What if by doing something nice for yourself, and taking time for you on a regular basis, with no other goal in mind than self-care, you were actually partaking in a revolutionary act of shifting our culture, one bath at a time, from "you can rest when you're dead" to "regular rest and rejuvenation make the world a better place"? Just think about it, preferably while sipping a glass of wine in a bubble bath. 

just say no

We hear a lot of 'Just say yes' talk. It's super trendy lately. And I'm all for that, when what you're saying  yes to is more quality time with loved ones, more experiences, and more adventure, but perhaps this philosophy doesn't serve us as well when what we're saying yes to is actually more busy work, more sleep deprivation, and more obligations that don't fulfill us or serve an important purpose in our lives. So... maybe for a month, or even just a week, try saying a polite 'No thanks' to things that don't spark your interest or to things that you'd only be doing out of guilt. See what happens in this space? Maybe you'll have more breathing room for something that does spark your interest to come along. Or maybe you'll have more time to simply be, which is also really nice, and let's face it, when was the last time you just chilled out, sans phone, or computer screen, or someone else in the room? Can't remember? Same here, which is why maybe this is a good thing to practice. 

I'm going to do my best to try each of these things over the next month, and I'd love for you to join me! Tell me what works for you! What was successful? How do you step away from work and care for yourself? You just may share a tip that works magic in someone else's life. 

--Sam 

How We Became Wedding Photographers

Everyone has to get started somewhere, right?

We got our start in wedding photography almost by accident back in 2002, and let me tell you, it's been quite a ride since then! We thought it would be fun to tell you the story of how we fell into Wedding Photography all those years ago, and started our journey to being Real Life Wedding Photographers 14 years later! 

It all started with a phone call.

Rob and I were hanging out at a friend's house, and her daughter, Westen, was on the phone with an unnamed person, when we overheard the phrase

"Don't worry, Rob will take care of it." 

When we inquired what it was Rob might be taking care of, Westen informed us of three vital pieces of information, that ended up altering the course of our lives forever: 

1. She was getting married (We didn't even know she was seeing anyone!) 
2. The wedding was in 1 month (Whoa!) 
3. Rob and I were going to photograph it (What?!) 

Now Rob and I love photography, and have for as long as we can remember. I took more Polaroids during that period of my life than I can count (probably the reason I didn't have a savings account at the time, remember how expensive those were?!) and Rob had permanently borrowed a Canon film camera (film, ya'll) from his parents and was having a great time learning the ins and outs of 35mm. But we weren't photographers! We were two poor, college-age kids who owned a couple cameras and kind of sort of knew what to do with them, when the subjects were neat leaves and spooky graveyards and cats, not when the subjects were people! And someone's wedding day? No way! Too much pressure! 

So, naturally, we said no. No thanks, you'll need to hire a professional. Too scary, pass.

Clearly, this is not where our story ends. 

Westen pointed out that with less than 2 months to go, they would never be able to find another photographer, that we'd do fine, and that she wouldn't take no for an answer. So, with a generous helping of trepidation, we started planning to photograph our first wedding. 

The wedding day quickly came, Westen and Mark and their family and friends showed up in their finest, and we showed up armed with our two canon film cameras, a boat load of Kodak T-max film canisters, and crossed fingers. 

And wouldn't you know it, we made it through. No one died. Nothing exploded. And it was fun! Now, let's be real here, the pictures weren't great. I mean, we had no idea what we were doing! But if there is one thing we came out of that wedding with (besides a TON of film to develop) it was the realization that this wedding photography thing was pretty cool! 

Before we knew it, Westen and Mark began recommending us to people (bless their hearts), and after that, the rest is history. We went from photographing one wedding under duress to actually wanting to book weddings and to celebrate with couples! We found so much joy in telling the love stories our clients were kind enough to share with us. Along the way, we got better at photography, learned new skills, gained more experience, and eventually stopped feeling like frauds most of the time (impostor syndrome, the struggle is real)! 

When I look back on those photos from our very first wedding, sure I cringe a little because wow, are we a lot better at this now, but I also look at the photos with so much gratefulness that Westen and Mark gave us a chance, believed in us, and in doing so, changed our lives for the better. They were the first couple to share their love story with us, and invite us to be a part of their day, and we will be forever grateful for that opportunity, and for every love story we've been lucky enough to tell since.  

-- Sam