Weddingbee Blog

Today’s Shutterbugz post comes from Wilmington, Delaware based photographer Laura Novak.  She’s planning nuptials of her very own, and you can follow along on her blog!

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A lot of times people ask me how they should dress for an engagement photo session, and it’s tough to give a one-size-fits-all (no pun intended) answer to that question.  Some basic principles do apply though.  You want to look casual and fun and not too formal, while wearing something that really is very ‘you’.  It’s important to wear clothing that you can sit, stand and walk comfortably in because you will be moving around a lot for a variety of different photographs.  Wearing clothes that match your partner’s (like khaki and white) usually does not look good, but it is important to stick to the same color family or complementary tones and bear in mind that darker colors are most slimming on women.  It’s also important to incorporate the same level of formality into your outfits - meaning one person should not look like they are going to the beach and the other to an office meeting!

Here are few great examples of engagement shoot attire:

Muy and Anthony did a great job styling themselves.  Muy’s comfortable knit dress fits her really well, is very flattering to her body, and has a great urban chic feel to it.  Anthony’s dark grey shirt and jeans look great against the red dress, a fine example of earthy color tones, while different, complement each other. He also looks comfortable and casual while still being stylish.

In this photo, Kellie and Warren are dressed in khaki and blue tones which look good together and work very well for a country style shoot.  You can see here the importance of being willing to sit on the ground in your clothing choice since it can create a very nice looking image.  Their styles mesh so well that it almost looks like they stepped from the pages of an ad. Speaking of which, take a look at how photos in ads and catalogs are styled so the models present a cohesive image in the way they dress - they can give you ideas for complementary colors and clothing styles for the engagement shoot.

Dina and Leo put together a great urban chic outfit with light colored tones and a fresh ’summer night out’ look, keeping things casual and fun.  I love Dina’s cool yellow shoes with her beautiful white sundress and their dog with a red leash just adds to the fun of it all!

Looking the part is only one piece of the engagement photo shoot equation - you also need somewhere to take those photos.  Choose a setting that both of you can be comfortable in, so you can relax and have fun.  Somewhere that holds meaning for both of you, or somewhere you both love to spend time is always a popular choice.

With the photos above, Anthony and Muy actually live in San Francisco but are from Philadelphia and wanted to have City Hall, a popular landmark, throughout their photos.  We wandered around the Philadelphia area by City Hall for a classy urban feel and stumbled upon the “LOVE” landmark.  Perfect for an engagement or wedding photo session!

I thought it would be nice to bring Kellie and Warren to a local rural park near the water that reflected their casual, preppy style.  Any sort of parkland or waterfront area usually makes for a great natural backdrop for an engagement photo session.  Similarly, interesting local scenery like rock outcroppings, stone walls, barns, old trees etc. can make great shoot locations.

Dina and Leo’s photographs were taken in Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia - a popular place for dogs near where they live - which worked well because they brought their dog Rocky.  It was a summer Friday night, a great time on the square and after the session was completed I left Dina and Leo at a wine bar to enjoy their evening hanging out together.

For my own engagement, it wasn’t really an ‘engagement’ session - I was out in San Francisco with my then boyfriend when I asked a friend of mine to take some photos of us that we could decorate our house with.  In the middle of the photo session he proposed!  I was so surprised, and we ended up using our photos as ‘engagement’ portraits for save the dates and our wedding website.  Perfect!  After all the most important part of your engagement photo session is the way your love and excitement shows through to all those who have a chance to see your photos - so have fun, be yourselves, and it’s sure to go well!

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If you’re a photographer and have an idea for a shutterbugz blog, please contact guest@weddingbee.com.