As a photographer, I’m always down to help my clients find a location, especially for those who are traveling in and don’t know the area. If you’re on the hunt for a spot for your own photographs and feeling a little lost, I have some general guidelines I’ve found helpful and I wanted to share the 9 tips to keep in mind when looking for your engagement session location.
Guide
9 Tips for Picking an Engagement Session
San Antonio, TX
01
CHOOSING A LOCATION THAT SUITS YOU
The goal of an engagement session is to get to know your photographer, to learn prompts from each other that help you fall into place on the wedding day, and to personify what your love looks like.
02
Natural Light
I would say 90% of my sessions are with sunlight. The thing about glowy, beautiful sunset photos is that they happen at sunset. If you went to a location and were in awe of the glory of a sherbet colored sky, picking that location and showing up with your photographer at 2 p.m. isn’t going to do the place you found any justice. Also, keep in mind if you’ve selected two locations that require travel between them that the commute time means you may have to start a bit earlier than golden hour and miss a chunk of it to travel between the two places.
03
outfits
If what you want to show is an autumnal, outdoors session, aim for a time at the end of the peak of foliage, head into a forest with plaid, wellies and jackets. If you want something romantic and warm, consider a flowing dress that allows for a lot of movement and aim for a location that may have a bit of wind, like a beach or a field.
04
BUSY LOCATIONS
Really, though, a packed outdoor market with tons of people can make for really interesting movement and atmosphere in the photos.A park session sounds convenient until someone has parked under your favorite tree (and that’s the entire reason we picked this park). It’s important to be mindful of areas that have heavy traffic on the weekends and some locations, like a cute row of stores, ice cream, and coffee shops, may be packed in the afternoon on a weekend. Our job as photographers is to assure you it’s normal, wait it out, and time the photos appropriately, but if this doesn’t sound like your scene, I totally get it.
05
RESCHEDULING POLICIES
If you’ve had to get a permit to shoot at your dream location, see if it’s movable to another day in case of rain. AND ask your photographer what their policy is!
06
DOG FRIENDLY LOCATIONS
Parks on a sunny day are a smorgasbord of dog butts and barking distractions. if you’d like to venture into areas that may be a little busier for part of the shoot, having a friend or family member pick up your pet can be a huge help half way through the session.
07
confortable shoes
When scouting your location, be aware of the effort it takes to get a location and be aware that this could mean walking miles up a mountain.
08
TALL FIELDS ARE HARVESTED
They’re planted and harvested 2 or 3 times a year so if you’ve found a field you love along the way, do a quick visit a few days before your session to make sure cutting hasn’t occurred!
09
WEDDING BLOGS FOR INSPIRATION
Wedding blogs are a great source of inspiration for folks planning their wedding day because it’s an ever-updated planning check list for this huge event that goes beyond anything you may have planned before. Wedding blogs can be helpful to help guide you when you’re feeling lost in that way.
