We usually have this email we send to our clients before their engagement shoots laying out some basic information including what to wear, what to expect, location, etc. Each engagement shoot, like each wedding, is different for the same reason: every couple is unique. However, here are some of the basic things to keep in mind for an engagement shoot.

1. It is not your wedding day. Even though you could dress up to the tee in all formal attire, leave that to your wedding day. An engagement shoot is supposed to be casual, so get your jeans, skirts and sneakers out. Casual sexy is where it’s at people!

2. Having made point 1, you should still look like you belong together. This means keeping in mind your color choices. We are strong proponents of colour (as you can probably tell by the pictures on our site and blog). Furthermore, you should colour co-ordinate and try and wear clothes in the same colour family. No, we’re not saying you should look like twins out of a bad summer movie, but if one is wearing bright colors, the other shouldn’t wear dull earth tones. If one is wearing shoes, the other shouldn’t show up in flip flops (though both wearing flip flops could work very well for a nice, casual, summery, walk-in-the-park, going-out-to-do-grocery type shoot). Co-ordinate and sync up. If not sure about something, email and ask. We don’t mind! At all!

3. The last point we will make about clothing choices is that you should wear something you feel comfortable roughing out a little bit. Quite often we ask the couple to sit down on the ground, lean against a wall, lay on the grass, etc. This is the stuff we can’t make you do on your wedding day, but at the engagement shoot, you betcha!

4. This one is for both of you, but applies especially to the ladies: plan it! Get your hair and makeup done (or do it yourself), select dresses and shoes that you look good in. Wanna change dresses between locations, go for it! While guys can mostly carry off an unshaven grunge look, girls obviously need a little more attention. But then that’s why your pictures turn out ten times better than his! It all evens out ladies, it all evens out!

5. Let’s face it, some people are a natural in front of the lens, some are not! We know that. And we also know how to bring the best out of people. This is something we ask and assess way ahead of the engagement shoot to make sure the location we choose reflects the couple’s personality. If a couple is shy, we are not going to take them middle of downtown and ask them to make out on the hood of a cab (btw, we generally don’t make any such requests of any clients; though if they are the type, we click away like our fingers are on Red Bull!). A big part of any successful engagement shoot is pairing up the couple with the right environment, and that’s our job. The couple has to be comfortable in the environment, or else they will be stiff, unnatural, and that’s bad news for us.

6. Come to the engagement shoot relaxed. Don’t plan any other involved activities right before or right after the engagement shoot. We don’t want you to be rushing through the engagement shoot because you have to get to some place else. Believe it when we say this, your restlessness will show in the pictures, more than you think. Even though the engagement shoot lasts only an hour or so, try to keep it as a day for the two of you to relax together. For this reason, we also suggest having your engagement shoot at least a month before your wedding day (earlier the better), so you are not stressing about the last minute wedding details.

7. Come to the engagement shoot alone! Friends and Families, not allowed; Dogs and other pets of non-human kind, allowed. Nuff said!

8. Another great way to make your engagement shoot turn out really personal and memorable, with lots of great pictures, is to do your engagement shoot around a particular activity. You’d be surprised how many couples do not opt for this, and yet this, in our opinion, is a great way to go. Possible activities could include rock climbing, doing your laundry, cooking together, bowling, grabbing a coffee, fishing, biking, etc. Anything and everything that defines you. If you have an idea for your engagement shoot, but aren’t sure whether it will work or not, just email us and ask!

If there is anything else you would like to ask, feel free to email us at AliphAurMeem Photography, and we’ll chat!
More information available at our Toronto and Ottawa Wedding Photography website www.AliphAurMeem.com