Ok, y’all….I may be on vacation, but I couldn’t leave you hangin’ without a FAQ Friday!

I try not to be biased, but I just LOVE shooting engagement sessions! There is just something so special about this season of life for couples that makes my heart so happy. I say this all the time: You’ll be married forever, but you’ll only be engaged once! Because of that, your engagement photos are even more special than you may even realize!

For today’s FAQ Friday, I wanted to dive into a few things you may not think to consider when selecting your engagement session location. Let’s dive right in:

Whether you are in between a few locations or can’t come up with one place, think about locations with meaning first:

• Where was your first date? Where did he pop the question? Maybe you just had a really hilarious outing at a local park? Whatever it may be, think of a few locations that tug on your heartstrings and start there. I’ve had clients shoot on the beach their grandparents used to take them to during the summertime and others shoot under the tree where they had their very first kiss. This is such a sweet way to add just a bit more meaning to your engagement session.
• If you can’t think of a specific location that means something to your relationship, consider your personalities! Are you adventurous? Do you love the city? Maybe you are absolutely obsessed with your Alma Mater? Send me a note, and we can brainstorm! Keep in mind, your photographer will probably always have a list of their favorite locations on hand if you need something to get your thoughts moving in the right direction.

Are you camera shy?

• This one may just be for the introverted Washingtonian in me, but it is SO important to consider how you and your fiancé may feel, not only in front of the camera, but also with the potential of groups around you. In an ideal world, we would have every single location to ourselves for the entirety of your shoot, and sometimes this DOES happen! {All the praise hand emoji’s if this dream comes true!} Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Many locations, especially many well known locations in DC {like the National Mall & Georgetown} draw high amounts of traffic from tourists and locals. If you are a little on the shy side to begin with, you are going to want to take your location’s foot traffic into account. I do want to say that I will work my hardest to make sure that both you and your fiancé are feeling your most confident in front of the camera at any and all location, regardless of crowd size! However, if crowds are going to make you super uncomfortable off the bat, it may be best to point location hunting towards somewhere that draws smaller crowds

Consider the overall aesthetic and color palette of your wedding and home:

• Your photos are meant to be used and loved and printed and shared, right? Your engagement photos are the perfect way to personalize your save the dates or a reception album. They’re also great to print on a large canvas as artwork in your home! Because of this, it is SO important to take both the aesthetic and color palette of your home and your wedding into into consideration when location hunting. You want your photos to fit right in as a piece of decor, right? So, consider colors, architecture vs greenery, city vs nature, time of year, etc. of your locations to help you get even more out of your engagement photos! But, with that being said……

Your engagement photos are about YOU not the location:

• I was discussing engagement session locations with a sweet client, and I think they wrapped up this entire bullet point PERFECTLY in just a few sentences! They said: “We still want the focus to be on us…we just want to subtly showcase *This Town* and *this specific location*! So it’s more of a: ‘you guys are so cute! oh hey, that’s *this specific location*!’ and not ‘oh look, that’s *specific location*! Is that you guys?'” I just LOVE this outlook because it is so true! It is easy to want to smoosh a bunch of beautiful locations into one 90 minute engagement session, but all that does is make you feel like you’re sprinting through one impossible marathon to hit each location {and getting sore smiling muscles in the process!}. I love to suggest diving into one or two locations, so we can really work to showcase your love and ensure that you are enjoying your experience at the same time. I have shot sessions in the span of about 30 square feet before, so know that this IS possible! Many locations offer SO much more diversity than you realize, so don’t be shy about committing to one location for your engagement session.

So there you have it! Four of my favorite tips to help you select your engagement session location! I’m off for some beach time with the family, y’all! Enjoy your weekend, friends 🙂