Taking Your Engagement Photos

Engagement photos are not for everyone, but considering how majority of the photos we had together involved us enjoying some alcoholic beverages - Josh and I knew that we definitely wanted to do them! The engagement photo session was also part of the wedding photography package we purchased (sometimes they are an additional fee) - so that was definitely an extra bonus. We decided that we wanted to do our engagement photos in Washington D.C. It was fun, but tiring and a lot harder than I thought it would be. It doesn’t help that I’m so super awkward, and that you’d be lucky to capture a semi-decent photo of me where I’m not blinking or looking like a complete fool. I’ve seen so many different friends’ engagement photos that looked amazing and kept thinking it shouldn’t be too bad - a lot easier said than done!

Just a couple helpful hints for those who are getting ready to do their photos:

• Practice your poses in the mirror. Our photographer sent us a document with different poses we could try out and that definitely helped us so we knew what he may be asking us to do. When we practiced in front of the mirror, I couldn’t keep a straight face at all, so I could only imagine how the photo session would go.
• Find engagement poses that you like online as a reference. Pinterest, Pinterest, Pinterest! I saw so many ones that I liked on there that I brought up during the shoot. This will also help you find poses that you don’t like! And check out your photographer’s blog for other engagement shots that they’ve done and mention or pull those up during your session (we did that).
• Plan and try on your outfits in advance! We did this, except for the trying on part. Josh’s shirt he wanted to wear ended up being way too long. Panic set in because I already planned my outfit around what he was wearing, and we were supposed to be leaving in 2 minutes and we had to find and iron a new shirt (we ended up being late to the appointment).
• Don’t forget about hair and makeup! I decided to wear my hair down like I normally do - except it was pretty windy and we had to do a lot of retakes because some pieces of hair flew a certain way, or we had to find spots that blocked the wind. And I didn’t get my makeup done, but now I wish I had. Just a little something to consider!
• Props? Not a bad idea! Some people use their dog, bikes, a big balloon, chalkboards with your wedding date on them, or I saw this really cute photo of a guy and girl in rainboots in a stream. Yeah, we didn’t have any of those! In fact, we ended up borrowing a book from a random stranger so we could use it as a prop. Maybe not the first prop I would’ve picked (I would have preferred to have Vega in there!) - but if you have the right one, it’ll look awesome in your photos!
• Have fun! It is a little stressful, and your face will start to hurt from smiling so much, but definitely let loose and have a little fun! You can tell in photos if you’re body is tense, so try to make the other person laugh so that it isn’t so serious (Josh was good at acting natural, me not so much).

So, with that said, Josh and I took a series of photos for about three hours around some of the landmarks in the nation’s capital. I definitely liked the photos where we were “in action” walking and/or talking, preeeettttttty easy. I hated the ones where we had to kiss or stare into each other’s eyes - so, so, so awkward!

What I love about D.C. is that there are so many different places to shoot at or near. There are so many great historic and scenic backdrops to use. Here are some ideas for locations:

• National Monument
• Capitol Building
• Thomas Jefferson Memorial
• Lincoln Memorial
• Around the Tidal Basin (if the weather is nice)
• Around the Cherry Blossoms (if in season)
• Anywhere on the National Mall

A gorgeous place that I didn’t go to, but wish I had time to check out is the National Capitol Columns at the National Arboretum.

If you’re thinking of doing your engagement session in D.C., be cautious as some buildings may be under construction, so we had to be very strategic about where we stood (and avoid the caution tape, mounds of dirt, cranes, etc). If you’re planning on doing pictures during the weekend, pick hours to avoid the tourists and crowds (early morning, late evening).

And also double-check that your photographer has a commercial permit, as they sometimes ask this when they see you shooting photos around the D.C. area by someone with a big-ass camera (even if they’re just engagement or wedding photos for personal use) - so doesn’t hurt to check or else they’ll make you pack up and leave.

I’m so glad we did them and I'll definitely share a post later with some of our favorites!