What is an Engagement Session?

When I was in high school, I got my first job at the KFC down the street.
Little did I know that I would be there for 2 years & an internship at Disney World would be what took me away. I loved working at KFC. I had the best managers in the world, I truly enjoyed my co-workers [okay, most of them], and I loved the fast-paced, crazy-chaotic time that was lunch & dinner peak at the chicken shack. I made minimum wage, worked a ridiculous amount of hours, and ate lots of chicken.

As much as I grew to love the place, my first day was terrifying. It was my first job and I had no idea what to expect. I remember standing in the back, right outside of the manager’s office, during dinner. Buckets of chicken and boxes of biscuits were flying out the door faster than I could imagine. And all these words & commands were flying around – original, crispy, “throw down”, “biscuit oven”, “2 bags of dark & 1 regular”, wedges, oil, “pop the thighs” – I remember being in a tizzy not knowing what any of the terminology meant. It didn’t take me long to catch on & before I knew it, those terms were second-nature, but I definitely remember not being able to decipher what was going on around me.

Every job has those words or phrases that just go along with the job – it’s own lingo. And until you’ve been there a few days or weeks, you truly feel like the people around you are speaking a foreign language. It’s something I’ve realized lately with my own business. If I’m not careful, certain things get tossed around and before you know it, I’ve lost the person I’m trying to connect with. Digital negatives, PASS, engagement sessions, 50mm lenses, ISO, metering – I speak that language – but my brides & grooms don’t.

I really had to take a step back recently though when someone told me they didn’t want an engagement session because, “Why would I want to recreate the moment I proposed? She’s already got the ring, why do I need to give it to her again?”
Lightbulb moment – not everyone knows what an engagement session entails!

So, let me explain!
You’ve popped the question! Congratulations! You got down on one knee, said the magical words, “Will you marry me?” and she said, “YES!” You’ve just entered into a very short [no matter how long your engagement is, 6 months or 3 years – trust me: it’s short] window in time where you are engaged.

Engagement sessions have several different purposes:

1. This short period of your life called “engagement” deserves to be documented. You’re young [even if not in number, love makes everyone young at heart!], you’re madly in love, and you have the rest of your life ahead of you. It’s a window in time that deserves to be captured. One day, you & your children & your grandchildren will love being able to look back to remember the time before you were married & so in love.
2. An engagement session allows you to get to know your photographer better and vice versa. Sure, I’ll meet with a couple before their wedding day over a cup of coffee, but a session introduces you to me – how I operate behind my camera, how I direct you through posing, and what my style is. Once we’ve done an engagement session, you’ll have more confidence going into your wedding day because you already know how I work & that will put you at ease! Plus, it allows me to get to know the couple better – I’ll learn that there are certain poses that are just them as well as, learn the best way to direct them – everyone is different and I love being able to work with a couple prior to the biggest day of their lives & have that “edge” when it comes to formal photos!
3. Engagement sessions are fun! I highly encourage my couples to bring props [motorcycles, signs, banners, and dogs are all things I’ve photographed at engagement sessions!]. I love to incorporate a location that means something to the couple & paired with 2-3 outfit changes, suddenly 2 hours have passed and you won’t even realize it! It’s a much more relaxing time than on your wedding day when we’ll have a very short amount of time to take photos of you as a couple [no matter how much time we set aside for photos, it always ends up a very short amount of time!]
4. An engagement session yields engagement photos! Couples use their engagement photos for so much more than just gifts or to hang on their wall – I’ve seen engagement photos used as save-the-dates, the guestbook at the wedding, tables numbers, and as decor around the reception. There are so many fun ideas out there – the sky is the limit!

So! Hopefully that sheds a bit more light on what engagement sessions are & what the reasoning behind them is. If you’d like to see some of the most recent engagement sessions I’ve photographed, check out the “engagement” category of my blog!