Taking Your Engagement Shoot to the NEXT LEVEL 💪🏻

This isn’t necessarily meant to be a how-to guide, as planning your photo session is extremely personal & should be entirely up to YOU as far as what to do & what to bring & where to go. That being said, I hope that you find these ideas to be inspirational & motivational when it comes to planning your own session!

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1. Lay out that outfit BEFORE the night before 😉

You KNOW the vibes that you’re going for. You’ve got a Pinterest board of outfit ideas & how you’re going to style your hair… but the night before, as you’re looking through your closet for that skirt you SWEAR was put on a hanger last time you hung up the laundry, suddenly it’s STRESS CITY. Maybe that tank top you desperately wanted to wear was worn yesterday & now it’s got a stain on it & there’s no time to wash it. Can you feel the blood pressure rising?? It’s so much safer to lay out your outfit 2 days in advance & know that, without a doubt, it is clean & safe & ready to be adventured-in. Trust the master procrastinator, you’ll thank me later.

2. Get your nails done.

It really is the little things that matter. Your nails don’t have to be professionally gelled, but maybe consider giving them a once over with the nail clippers & a file. On the same note, pluck your eyebrows & get enough sleep the night before. You’re going to want to see the BEST of who you are in the photos. Doing the little things beforehand gives your photographer the option of more creative photos, like those artsy hand close-up shots & side-by-side eye photos that everyone loves. 

3. Bring your makeup to the shoot.

3 words: LOTS OF KISSING. When your makeup is all over his face & you’re sweating because it’s Arizona & we’re always sweating (let’s be real here), you’re going to want to reapply that lipgloss. Also, pro tip – wear waterproof mascara to keep that ish on alllll session long. If you’re worried about carrying the little tubes & brushes, no worries! Just hand them over to your photographer & let them take care of it (we’ve got a massive backpack for a reason!).

4. Pregame that caffeine.

Assuming that caffeine makes you feel happy & excitable, like it does for someone else we know 😉, I would highly recommend stopping at your favorite local coffee shop before making your way to your session. Firstly, having something to drink will take away from your nervousness (or you could try chewing gum, if caffeine makes you anxious!). Secondly, the caffeine high will make the goofy prompts that your photographer will throw at you seem a whole lot less awkward & a whole lot more fun. 

5. Write little notes to read to each other during the shoot.

Can you SAY romantic?? Spend a little time in the week before the shoot constructing a note to your person, telling them all of the cute-sy lil things you might not have the guts to say to their face 24/7. You can either read your notes to each other for some adorable bonding time during the shoot or you can each read them to yourselves, together. Either way, you will have a beautiful keepsake & fall a little more in love afterwards.

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6. Bring flowers!!!

Who doesn’t want to receive flowers?? They’re super pretty, nostalgic, & they last beyond the photo session to remind you that you have beautiful photos coming. By the time they fade, your photos will likely have arrived. Plus, you can dry them in a frame if you’re super artsy. They really just look fabulous in photos, though, & you really cannot go wrong with the little white ones (or whatever matches your outfits!).

7. Plan a date night for afterwards.

You’re already planning to be SUPER romantic in front of the camera for at least an hour. Nothing ruins the mood after that like heading straight home or doing errands. Take advantage of this time that you’ve set aside for each other & plan a date night on top of your session. If your photographer is REALLY good, you should feel a little more in love after the session than you did before. There is no better time to bond than after a shared experience. Y’all can at least laugh off the 3rd wheel, camera-shy jitters over a good pizza. It doesn’t have to be fancy!

8. Plan something a little more adventurous.

We’ve all seen the beautiful desert landscape with the fancy looking couple in front of the mountain & cacti (& we LOVE those photos, don’t get me wrong!). But if that’s not quite your vibe, or you want to go a little further, consider bringing your swimsuits to Lake Pleasant & jumping in the water! Let’s grab pizza or In & Out burgers on the way & snap some shots of you feeding each other french fries, or spraying each other with champagne on a road in the middle of nowhere. We’ve got OPTIONS, my people! Reach out to me & we will brainstorm until we find something that feels 100%, uniquely YOU.

That’s it! If you take allll these tips into consideration, I’m confident you’ll have a phenomenal photoshoot, with the most fun & least stress possible. Trust your photographer & enjoy the ride!! 😉