Preparation for engagement shoot Your engagement shoot is coming up and you want to know how to be prepared for it. Here are a few tips:

Dress Comfortable

The pictures will turn out better when you are comfortable and confident. Wear your favorite outfits. Have your formal ironed or prepped the day before. Girls, if you are wearing heels, bring an extra pair of flats for comfort when we walk from different locations.

Location, Location, Location

Pick a location that has special meanings for the both of you. Perhaps, the place you guys met, your first date, your favorite spot or the proposal place. A place with significant meaning to you guys will make the pictures much more meaningful.

For a list of shoot locations, check out the my favorite places to shoot in Toronto

More Than One Look

Having one outfit is great, but having two is even better. Start off the engagement shoot with a casual outfit. Then, switch to a formal wear later on in the evening.

Have props in mind? Bring them along

Do you have any special props in mind? This can include a gift or item that is memorable to the both of you. You can also bring your pet along with you on the engagement shoot.

Make-up Artist Trial

Are you hiring a make up artist or a hair stylist for your wedding? Usually, you can get a mock trial with them before your wedding day to decide if you really like their style. Why not schedule the mock trial on the same day as your engagement shoot? This will allow you to have professional make up and hair done for your engagement shoot.

Solid over patterns

When picking your outfits, consider something that has solid color. After shooting portraits for a few years, the pictures turn out much nicer when couples dress in solid color instead of pattern. Our eyes are often distracted when there's too much pattern in a picture.

Dress like you're going to a cocktail party

Everyone looks good at a cocktail party. Bring that look to the engagement shoot and the pictures will definitely look good.

Pin your favorite pictures on Pinterest

A beautiful picture is the end result of a collaboration between the couple and the photographer. Do some research on Pinterest to figure out what you like / dislike. Remember to communicate that idea to the photographer during the shoot.

Posing Tips: Watch these videos

Knowing your best angle will help the photographer capturing portraits that you’ll love. Check out these two short video before the shoot to get an idea of how the shoot with be.

Intimate Poses

Study some of the intimate poses from the image below. Sometimes, it's more natural if the couple do these intimate poses on their own vs. me directing them. The result is more genuine. Check out this fun posing video!

Relax and have fun!

Smile a lot, laugh a lot and have tons of fun. Those natural happy moments are the shots that I will be looking for during the engagement session. kat-peter-engagement-039