1) Meaningful Location

When you choose a location for your portraits, you want it to be somewhere that expresses your personality and hobbies.  Where might I be able to find you on any given Saturday night?  Or maybe where did you meet?  Where is your happy place?   We want to use the location as a backdrop to getting an insight into your world.  Some places we suggest include: your favorite neighborhood, a romantic picnic at the beach, Disneyland, the beach, lavender fields (seasonal), boat docks, an arcade, a Dude Ranch, a cooking class, vintage movie theaters.

2) Outfit Selection

Not sure what to wear?  How about relying on your location for some inspiration!   If you’re out in nature, look around to see what colors are already there.  If you’re shooting at the beach, try nautral colors such as blue and tan with a pop of orange or pink? A fun idea is do a casual look, and then a dressy look for cocktail attire.  Things that DO NOT photograph well: overly matching outfits (like white on white), busy patterns, spaghetti straps, small checkered patterns, logo shirts.  Things that DO work: choose to 2-3 complimentary colors, stylize from head to toe, and don’t forget to accessorize!  Layers are always great, and most importantly wear something you’ll be comfortable in.

We just love all the pastel colors of a California sunset… the periwinkle blues, candy pink, and soft purples!  It definitely sets a mood for romance, with soft lighting and a warm glow.  To capture this kind of lighting, you will want to start your session about an hour before sunset or right before sunrise. To check sunset/sunrise times on your photo shoot date click HERE.

4)  Professional Hair and Makeup

Get your hair/makeup professionally done for your photoshoot.  The average cost for engagement makeup is about $75-$150.  Trust me it’s worth it, you’ll both look like a million bucks!    Check out the referrals for “beauty” on THIS link.  Looking to save some money and DIY?  Check out THIS educational tutorial!  Additional beauty tip: apply Visene right before your photo shoot for natural white eyes and for lashes, ask for individual lashes and not the strip!

5)  BRING SOME PROPS

There are lots of things you can do with your engagement pictures.  Such as: creating custom save the dates, for your wedding website, for decoration at your wedding reception, as a guest sign in book, or maybe even wall art for your new home together!   Bringing personalized props can be a great way to express your personalties and get images that reflect who you are and the things you love to do!  Some ideas would be  having props that tie into your wedding with things like the wedding date or your initials.  Other fun ideas include bubbles, lanterns, luggage, vintage chairs, pinwheels, craft projects, cupcakes, games, picnic stuff, candy, balloons, fishing poles, football, art stuff, etc.  The main focus is to have fun and make it personal!

For more information, contact sherri@sherrijphotography.com