All about the e-shoot | What is an engagement session and why should I get one?

This is the second in a series of posts to feature advice from brides, wedding planners and Lisa Rice from Lisa Rice Photography.  Check the Lisa Rice Photography blog Tuesdays and Thursdays for more about how to have the best wedding photos ever!

Upcoming topics include boudoir photography, planning your wedding day schedule, and how to deal when everything goes wrong. Click here to view all the posts in the series.

Hey, hey! If you’ve followed the last couple posts, you now have your photographer pretty much picked out. Maybe you’ve even signed a contract or put down a deposit. And then your (incredibly awesome) photographer (who takes killer pictures at just the right price) asks you a question: “When do you want to do the engagement shoot?” Whoah! Slow down there, dude! Let’s back up a second.

What are engagement pictures?
Engagement pictures are photos of you and your honey doing what you do best: being in L-O-V-E. These photos can range from traditional portraits to a concept shoot (ex. vintage picnic) to photos of you two doing an activity together (attending a carnival, playing mini golf).

Why get engagement pictures taken?
Oh man, I could go on forever here about all the reasons it’s a good idea to get engagement photos, but I’ll limit it to three for now:

1) It helps you get to know your photographer
Remember, this is a person you’ll be spending a LOT of time with on your wedding day. In rare cases, an engagement session can let you know if you and a photographer just aren’t clicking. Being in sync is one of the keys to an excellent end result!

2) It helps you relax in front of a camera
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have paparazzi following me around in my daily life. If you’re not used to having your photo snapped constantly, it can be kind of unnerving.

3) They have many uses!
Newspaper announcements, Save the Date cards, a photo guest book and home décor! Often the more casual vibe of engagement photos will fit in better with your home décor than your wedding photos will. They’re just nice to have around.

Are you convinced? I hope so! If you live in Central Ohio or the Cincinnati area, give me a ring at 614.507.1135 or shoot me an e-mail and we’ll set something up!

P.S. These are actually anniversary pictures for a couple whose engagement photos I took a long time ago. Aren’t they cute, though?!