Imagine this scenario; the ceremony starts at 2:30PM in the afternoon and it’s now just a little after 1PM. The assembled team of makeup artist and hair dresser are involved in an intricate dance, touching up eye liner and spraying curls in an effort to make perfection last at least through the afternoon heat and sun, if not until the end of the night. Things are moving fast and furious, and then there’s a knock on the door. It’s the photographer. You’ve met him before as you discussed the timeline of your day over coffee, but as he makes his introductions to everyone in the room and quickly assembles his camera gear, you realize that this is going to be the first time that you’ve been photographed. All of a sudden, you find yourself on the business end of a large lens for the very first time. No matter how much conversation he makes, you’re under stress, and the simple instructions of “just act naturally, like I’m just here talking to you, and not like I’m pointing this camera at you” are really not working for you. Lets face it; you’ve been waiting for this day for a very long time, but with a makeup artist, a hair dresser, and a flurry of bridesmaids all moving around you, there is nothing natural about it.
What does this have to do with engagement sessions? Surprisingly enough, quite a bit. The hair dresser and makeup artist will finish their tasks and send you on your way to your nuptials. The officiant will pronounce you husband and wife and send you on to post-marital bliss. The caterer will serve the food at the reception and the DJ will make it a night of dancing to remember. But the photographer will be with you the whole day, from start to finish, every step of the way. You hired a photographer because you want to remember your day through the images that he is going to create for you, and because of that, you and your photographer are going to be spending a lot of time together on your wedding day. The more comfortable you are working with the photographer, the more fun this time will be, and it shows in the pictures. That alone is the biggest reason why engagement sessions are important.
The reality is that most people do not spend a lot of time being photographed by strangers. Unless your day job is modeling, you may be able to count on one hand the number of times you’ve been photographed by someone who is not a friend or family member. In these situations, people’s natural instinct is to clam up and become very stiff, and until you get comfortable and loosen up, it will show in your pictures. People can and do look nervous or uncomfortable in front of a camera. An engagement session helps prevent this because you spend time, as a couple, with your photographer, and get comfortable working with them. By the time the scenario above is your reality, you will already be comfortable.
The more time you’ve spent with someone, the more you know about them, and the more comfortable you are around them. The engagement session is designed with that goal in mind, all while getting some great images of the two of you having some fun in a much more casual setting. We spend somewhere between an hour and two hours shooting, though I often tell brides that I do not limit these sessions to these times. A two hour engagement session can take close to four hours if we move between several locations and take breaks to chat it up. And we do take breaks to chat it up, because that’s largely the point. It’s an excuse for the two of you to play, and an opportunity for me to capture the fun, learn more about you, and let you get comfortable around me and the camera.
So how would that above story play out after an engagement session? The ceremony starts at 2:30 and it’s now a little past 1PM. The hair dresser and makeup artist are making you look your absolute best, and things are moving fast and furious when there’s a knock on the door. It’s the photographer. “Hey! It’s great to see you again! So… this is it, are you ready?” You’re already comfortable. You’ve done this before. Looking natural in this unnatural setting is much easier because you’ve seen that lens. You’ve already had fun in front of that lens, and both you, and your photographer have common ground to stand on. You’ll be seeing a lot of each other today, but this isn’t the first time.
