The Fringe In Focus: AllisonJoyStudios

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Engagement Photos 101

On Sunday, I had the pleasure of taking some engagement
photos for some friends. Barak and Amanda Lee are getting
married in August. They chose to go through a courtship
process, and have glorifed God from the very beginning.

I had so much fun working with you two! Thank you for
letting me take tons of photos :) God bless you in your
life together! Looking forward to the wedding!
Love,
Allison

You can read their story at
www.brotherbear.org (click on Photo Journal)

Some 'formal' shots

For these swing photos, I initially took a few from the front,
but the lattice over the swing cast funny shadows on
their faces. The photos from behind the swing turned
out much better. Would you believe there are also
some people behind Barak's head?

Sweet smiles!

Trees are great props!

Engagement Photo Tips:

Have the couple dress in similar or complementary colors
(also avoid colors that would blend into the background)
Use all available resources, including trees, rivers, flowers,
and any props that are important to the couple.
(Barak proposed by singing a song and playing his guitar,
so I asked him to pose with it.)

The couple usually has ideas for shots they want,
or they may come up with ideas as the shoot goes along,
so use them!
If you can, bring one of their siblings or friends along
to help with posing ideas or comic relief so you can get
natural smiles from the couple, plus some great candids!
Avoid poses that are uncomfortable. Though the idea is
good, once they get into that pose and find, for example,
that the sun is in their eyes, the resulting photos may not
be their favorites because they remember how uncomfortable it was.

Always keep shooting. Never stop taking pictures.
Always, always, keep shooting. :) Candid moments
pop up all the time!
Pretend you are not paying any attention to the couple,
and take some shots of them interacting. They'll
love to look at those and remember how much fun they had!