Why You Should Do An Engagement Shoot | Colorado Engagement Photographer

I promise you that I’m not exaggerating when I say 98% of the people I work with tell me they’re awkward in front of the camera. And 97.5% of the time, what this actually means is just that they’re not sure what to do when that lens is pointed at them.

I’m here to tell you, that’s okay. It’s okay to feel uncomfortable. It’s okay to not know what you’re supposed to do. It’s easy to look at Pinterest and Instagram and see couples looking effortlessly comfortable and natural in a photograph and feel that couldn’t possibly be you. Maybe an engagement shoot really, truly doesn’t interest you and your significant other one bit. But, just maybe, if you’re feeling like you fall into that 98% of people who think they’re awkward in front of the camera, an engagement session is exactly what you need.

Couple walking hand in hand through Rocky Mountain in Colorado.

Intimate close up of couple holding one another tight.

Forget what you think you know about getting your photo taken. Forget your senior portraits or even your friend telling you to smile as she holds up her iPhone during Sunday brunch. Try as hard as you can to forget that muscle memory which says you have to put on that forced grin and look right at the camera as soon as someone points it your way. It’s difficult, I know. But forget it.

Engaged couple on the sands of Crystal Cove State Park.

Married couple walking hand in hand over the dark rocks of the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Engaged couple laughing in the woods of Colorado.

Engagement sessions, in my opinion, don’t exist solely for a pretty picture for your save-the-dates. Why should you do an engagement shoot? It’s as simple as this: to authentically document your unique and beautiful love and this season of abundant emotion.

When I photograph couples, my number one objective is ensuring that I’m capturing them as they are. I want their engagement shoot to be a sort of therapy. Or even a date! I want their focus to be on one another whole-heartedly and not on any objective like checking off a pre-wedding list. I want them to love on one another, to express their desire and joy and fierce loyalty in their own characteristic ways. And I want to document that. And honor it frame by frame.

Engaged couple laughing and playing amidst bright red leaves in fall in Chicago.

Intimate close up portrait of couple in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Of course, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with using engagement photos for save-the-dates or anything of the sort. I do think an engagement session can be great for getting comfortable with your photographer and how they work as well. The purpose of these shoots is multi-faceted. But what I truly believe is that couples should go into them hoping for so much more; a chance to dig deep into their love and memorialize it as it is this day.

Though you may think yourself awkward in front of a camera, though you may agonize that there’s no way you’ll know what to do, remember: you’re not alone. You’ll be there with the one you’re planning on spending the rest of your days with. The one that can make you laugh, the one who knows just the way you like to be held and how tight, the one who knows where you’re ticklish or when you need space. And as you express that unique love, I’ll be there as well, laughing and crying and squealing in glee at how precious and beautiful the scenes I’m capturing appear to me.

Now get in touch if you’re interested in an engagement session ;)