Four fast and easy tips to prepare for your engagement session or family photos

In this blog post I am going to give you four fast and easy tips to prepare for your engagement or portrait session while minimizing stress and enjoying the experience. After booking your photographer, you’re excited about the idea of having updated photos, but uneasy about getting from start to finish. This is where the old adage of fail to plan, plan to fail comes into play. There are four easy tips to help you have the photo session of your dreams! 

Four fast and easy tips to prepare for your engagement session or family photos

1. Use an amazing tool like Style & Select for picking outfits that coordinate instead of match. Coordinating your outfits gives your photos so much more depth and feeling. It allows people’s personalities to shine through. If everyone matches the photos can often look bland. 
2. If you are buying new outfits, make sure everything fits and you are COMFORTABLE in it well before your session. If you feel uncomfortable or awkward in your clothes you won’t enjoy the experience nearly as much. Have outfits laid out and ready to go on session day so you can be sure you have everything. 
3. Prior to the session, communicate with your significant other and family about the importance of the photos to you. Show them examples of photos you really love, and mention that they don’t have to take forever. I do everything in my power to make sure everyone is having fun, and that the session moves quickly to get all the photos you want so that everyone is happy. 
4. Know that you are going to crush it!! When I have you in front of the camera, I want you to have fun! I want you to enjoy this time with your most important people. If we have fun during the session, the memories you have when looking at your photos will be fond ones, versus the feeling of panic and rush and “oh dear, what on earth was even happening here?!” 

Bonus tip: if you have littles, we will make the session work with and around them. Sometimes they get breaks from being in the photos, other times they get to be the only one (and we make silly faces), and often we play games to keep them invested. You don’t need to worry! Sessions can be stressful for them, so we take some time to warm up to each other. I’m a stranger pointing a big camera at them and trying to make them smile or laugh. It just takes a minute to find our groove. But man, when we find it, watch out! 

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