Second only to the actual wedding day, capturing the moment that two people propose to one another could be one of the most
important wedding related photography jobs you can do. Obviously, you don’t want to hide behind a pillar during dinner waiting desperately for the guy to get down on one knee and start confessing his love so you can hop out and start snapping photos. Engagement photography requires a little more creativity after the actual event takes place so that you can recapture the feelings that both of them felt in that very moment. Engagement photography takes a lot of time to master, and just like wedding photography, understanding the people you’re working with and what it is that they want to capture about their special moment can be tough. Below are some tips you can utilize to ensure that your engagement photography photos go over well.
Get to Know Them
The first thing you want to do before you even turn your camera on is to get to know the couple. If you come off as very impersonal and just there to do a job, then the photographs are going to be next to impossible to take. Spend some time just talking to the couple, letting them know that you understand they may be uncomfortable on camera getting intimate with one another, and that you are going to do your best with them. Try and ease them into the uncomfortable situation of expressing their love for one another in front of someone else. If you can relax them and get to know them as individuals, you can get a better idea for what type of photographs they’re looking for. If they’re a quiet couple, you don’t want to have them moving around a lot in your experimentation. Or if they’re a very outgoing couple, you may want to try some really close up shots to push them to the edge of their comfort zone.
Break the Ice
You may have to take a handful of photos before anything memorable comes through. Encourage the couple to be affectionate with one another and as you start taking the photographs, they should open up some. Try and focus on different quirks that each person has so that you can capture those types of moments, instead of just a standard hand hold and a kiss to remember the moment by. By personalizing the photographs, they couple will more than likely be more pleased with the result than if you were just doing stock photographs of each of them.
Go With It
Most importantly, you just have to go with it. The couple will more than likely bring some great ideas to the table about how they want the photographs to be taken. Don’t expect to perform anything “by the book.” The more that you keep yourself open to different ideas that are being tossed around, the better the shoot will go. Because everyone is different, everyone will have a different idea of how their engagement photos should be. If you can keep your ears open, your camera eye will expand too. Don’t be afraid to get up close or stay far away in hopes of capturing the perfect shot. And even if you’re struggling to get something worthwhile, more than likely the bride and groom to be will be happy to stick around to get things just right. As you grow, they grow as well. The biggest problem to start with is just that, starting. If you can get the couple to open up, as well as open up your own ideas about what an engagement photography shoot is about, you’re sure to come up with some great photographs.
