As you guys may know by now, as the owner of Nine Zero Three Photography, I’m a HUGE advocate of engagement sessions and I wanted to take a moment to post about why. Sure, engagement sessions are more common these days and it seems that a large amount of people are opting into getting them from their photographer, but I think that sometimes the reasoning goes out the window beyond “we want awesome photos of us!”
#1 You get to know your photographer / your photographer gets to know you; this is number one for a reason! I can’t stress enough to couples the importance of having an engagement session because it’s a way to get more acquainted with your photographer. On the other hand, being the one behind the camera, I like it just as much because I get to know you as well. Yes, we have a goal here in this session and that’s taking super fun, amazing images that you can look back on forever, but it’s an added bonus that we get to hang out and talk during the entire session. You’ll know us better and you’ll be able to view us more as “people/friends” instead of “those weird people behind the camera”.
#2 You get to feel more comfortable in front of the camera. This is another huge point because not many of us spend our daily lives having a camera in our face. The engagement session is a great time to get familiar with the camera and once your wedding day comes along, you’ll quickly remember how everything works and in turn, you’ll be more natural from the get go!
#3 You get great images of you and your significant other more “in your element”. One of the things we typically ask our couples to do is to pick a location for this session. Why? Well we hope they choose a place that has fun memories for them. From a park that you guys take walks in to a cute bistro in Ohio City, it’s just another way for you to make your session more personal and in turn, more meaningful.
#4 Engagement sessions are fun. Period. You get to get all ready, head to a fun location, and spend time with your significant other. Think of it like a super fun date that we just happen to be tagging along for.
#5 Learn what you like and what you don’t. We strive to take a large array of images that fit our style to maximize the amount of diversity in the images you receive. We’ll take some close ups, some from far away, some against walls, some in an open field, etc. and it gives you a chance to evaluate what your favorites are. Maybe you get your images and we took one from the side and you realize “wow, I really don’t like that side of my face like that!” well then you can tell us and we can make a mental note “this person doesn’t like the straight on left side of their face, got it” and we can ensure that on your wedding day, we don’t do that.
The most important thing for us is that we provide you with images you love, and the engagement session is a great way to not only get more acquainted and comfortable with us and big cameras, but for you to have a lot of fun with the person that you are going to be spending the rest of your life with!
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