TIPS for your Engagement Session from Julia Kitchen!
Trust me, I GET IT. Showing up to meet your photographer for the first time in person + them sticking a camera in your face is NERVE-WRACKING. Contrary to my job title, I get super nervous and awkward when someone is taking my photo. It happens, without fail, every single time.
Over the years, I’ve picked up a few tips and tricks to help with this a bit.
I remember a few years back – we were meeting up with our photographer in the heart of Washington D.C. for our one year photos, and… we got lost. The sun was going down and every wrong turn made me more anxious. When we finally got there, we had MAYBE 45 minutes to take them. I was flustered, I had said a few not-so-nice things to Garrett (he was driving, haha) and despite our photographer being absolutely amazing and the photos somehow turning out INCREDIBLE, it took me a while to get back into a better mood. The mixture of being lost, late, and stressed didn’t make for a good start to our session.
What did I learn from this? A. LOT. So let’s dive into a few tips to set yourself up for SUCCESS on the day of your engagement session.
MAKE IT A DATE-DAY
Take off of work if it’s on a week day! Clear the day of any other tasks/duties and spend the day together. Go walk around a cute downtown area, get coffee, lunch, WHATEVER you two like to do. DO THAT. The worst thing ever is rushing to get home after work, throwing your clothes on and squealing into the parking lot just in time for your session. You will feel that much more in love when that camera is suddenly in your face because you spent quality time with each other beforehand.
GET THERE EARLYYYYY!
Wrong turns happen. Traffic happens. Get to the location 30 minutes to an hour earlier than your session time. Nothing, and I mean nothing kills the mood faster than being late.
WEAR WHAT YOU’RE COMFORTABLE IN
I’ll never forget one of my all-time favorite engagement sessions. It was on the beach in Fenwick Island and they both wore their favorite jeans and white t-shirts. Simple and comfy. If you love long flowy dresses, wear one! If you love ripped jeans and t-shirts, wear that! Don’t think that because you see everyone else wearing a certain thing or looking a certain way, you have to too. Be true to who you are and wear what you love.
DITCH THE IDEA THAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK “PERFECT”
Some of my favorite photos that I’ve taken are the messy and imperfect ones. A lot of times we want to ask “what do I do with my hands?” “do I smile at you?” “where do I look?” and while your photographer will give you direction, remember that it’s all about you two. Look at each other. Look into your significant other’s eyes and remember where you came from and what brought you to that moment. Your photos will be so full of love if you let go of the idea of perfection and embrace the messy and beautiful moments.
All in all, engagement photos are so stinking precious and beautiful and you WANT to be able to enjoy that experience. Use these tips to set yourself up for success and get the most out of your engagement session. After all, you’re about to marry the love of your life. Let’s leave stress at home and embrace imperfection!
xoxo, Julia Kitchen
