PHILLY
EVENTS
Carly and Sean, during their engagement photo session on Pier 9.
After some debate over whether or not we should have engagement photos taken, we decided to go for it, thinking that we would like to have a few cute photos to create our save-the-dates. Little did we know that smiling and kissing for a few pictures—something that should feel so natural—would actually be quite awkward and uncomfortable!
A few weeks ago, Sean and I headed to the Race Street Pier to have our engagement photos taken. We had set the appointment with our photographer to take the pictures just three days after our engagement party. However, with my major focus on planning our party, I hadn’t thought much about the pending photo sesh. When Tuesday evening came around, I found myself nervous and with nothing to wear. (Why hadn’t I bought something for this occasion? I love buying occasion-specific outfits!)
As I rummaged through the dresses in our closet to find something that I wouldn’t look back on and cringe, Sean searched for a shirt, any shirt, that wasn’t wrinkled. Finally, I settled on a dress, finished touching up my makeup and handed Sean the closest thing to a pressed shirt I am capable of (we don’t even own an ironing board!). We hustled the few blocks to the Pier and tried to let some of the stress of our poor pre-photo shoot planning escape us. Soon after, Dario, our photographer, and his wife Amy arrived and scoped out some spots where the lighting would be just right for the pictures.
Having gone to college during the early days of Facebook and photo-sharing, I’ve developed a go-to pose: hand on hip to slim my arm and popped knee for skinny legs, shoulders back for good posture, topped off with a head tilt. Girls, you know that I’m talking about! But as ready as I was to strike a pose, I was not prepared to look natural, casual, and completely oblivious to any snap and flash of a camera.
But the thing is, when it comes to my engagement and wedding photos, I really prefer the candid look; photos where it appears that the moment was captured rather than posed. This, however, is much harder than it looks. I’m telling you and, if you don’t believe me, ask Sean.
Poor Sean. He was a great sport, and for that I love him that much more. But this whole experience was pretty darn awkward, and for those first couple photos I’m sure it showed. In fact, I know it showed and we (Amy, Dario and I) made no mystery of that by telling Sean to stop acting so awkwardly over and over again. Lucky for me, Sean’s discomfort somehow helped me overcome my own, so I was smiling and laughing away while he tried his very best to do the same.
Of the number of things we failed to consider pre-photo shoot, one of the biggest was that taking our pictures in a public venue meant that some of the public might be there! (Duh!) So adding to the awkwardness of pretending to be au natural while our photographers were there, we also had to ignore the stranger’s eyes watching our every un-pose.
Sean and I may not have felt picture perfect, but the pictures turned out to be really awesome! Dario captured some really great moments between Sean and I, and Amy got some really cool shots using Instagram on her iPhone. What we discovered was that having a photographer we are comfortable around and trust (Dario and Amy are not only our photographers, but also our friends; more on that later) was central to getting photos that appeared as if we were just two lovebirds strolling on the Pier, even if it’s clear that neither Sean nor I have any chance at a future career in modeling.
Putting the photos to use was the easy part. Dario sent us the picture file a couple days later and we were able to upload them on MagnetStreet.com to create our own save-the-date magnets. (They should be arriving within the next week and I am ecstatic!)
Looking back on this experience, Sean and I definitely have something to laugh at ourselves about. Looking forward, we should probably consider practicing our un-posey poses for the Big Day.
Did you get engagement photos taken? What was your experience like? Harder than you anticipated or were you just naturals out there?
Great post, Carly! I haven’t yet done an engagement shoot but plan to, and this is exactly what I’ve been worried about! I’m not a big PDA kind of person, so I can’t imagine feeling comfortable kissing and hugging in front of a camera. But it seems like you guys made it out unscathed and everything turned out great. It gives me hope! haha Hope the save-the-date magnets turn out wonderful! Very cool idea.
Thanks so much Stephanie! Our photographer tells us that it is their job to catch the sweet moments in between the awkward ones, so as long as your photog is doing his/her job you should get some great shots too! No matter how weird you might feel during the process
Thanks Carly! I was already nervous about my photos next weekend. This didn’t help. However, our photographers said they like doing the engagement shoot b/c it helps you get used to them and the photos and makes for better wedding photos. So here’s hoping. And that’s why my face wasn’t on our save the dates.
Krissy (Joe Vav’s sister)
Hey Krissy!
If you’re feeling nervous, maybe sit down with your groom and have a nice glass of wine first! If you’re feeling more relaxed and connected I’m sure that will shine through in your pictures
I love actually hearing the truth about the engagement photo experience! I have so many friends that come out with wonderful pictures describing it to be a simple process that simply involving picking matching outfits and smiling. But i know that when I get to the big photo shoot, I’ll be extremely nervous, completely unnatural, and worried that despite all the time and effort of the photographer, I won’t end up with shots like those of my friends. Its nice to know even the awkward can survive, and I can’t wait to see your pictures on the save the date!
Great post. As a wedding photographer I think that doing an engagement session is really important for so many reasons. First it’s a great way to get to know your photographer and how they work first hand, also it’s helps us to learn more about how you guys work as a couple, and by the end of an engagement session you’ll always have a deeper relationship with your photographer than you did before. It’s a bit of a bonding experience, so by the time the wedding rolls around we’re like old friends. We used to call engagement sessions “Getting to know you sessions” for just that reason. Every couple is so different, some aren’t fond of public displays of affection, some people don’t necessarily look comfortable when they know a picture is being taken. Some couples need coaching (most do) and benefit from our telling them things to do that look natural but help them to look their best, while some are just naturals in front of the camera and are best left alone to do their thing. We’ll often give people subtle tips that will help to make them look their best, things that most people just don’t know on their own… even things as crazy as the difference between a real kiss and a kiss that photographs well. Not that real kisses don’t photograph well… but some don’t, so there are ways to help with that! I also love engagement sessions because I’m able to ask what pictures the couples like best and which pictures they don’t like, so this way on the wedding day I already know what to do and what to avoid based on their preferences. Just because I like a shot doesn’t mean the subject will…. maybe they don’t like their profile… or maybe they don’t like the way they look when they’re laughing. I’ve heard it all, and it’s helpful for us to know these things before the wedding day so that we can get pictures that we know you’ll love and not waste time taking ones that you wont. Lastly, once you’ve gotten through your engagement session and you’ve seen how awesome you can look in photos, any fears that you might have had about how you’ll look in photos will be completely gone and you can just have that much more fun with them.
Sorry that got so wordy…. so much to say!
Cheers,
Todd Zimmermann
Pictures by Todd Photography
[...] you already know, Sean and I have already had our engagement photos taken by Dario, and, despite the awkward couple posing for the pictures (aka me and Sean), the shoot was a [...]