While Summer and Fall are typically our “wedding season”, Spring is usually when we are busy with engagement sessions. Engagement Sessions are great for a couple of reasons – they are a fantastic way for couples to get comfortable both in front of the lens and with your wedding photographer. Plus it is really nice to have some casual images as a couple, just being real with each other.  Weddings are all about glamorous, once-in-a-lifetime celebrations, whereas Engagement Sessions celebrate your every-day relationship.

When it comes to the engagement session, it’s a good idea to put some thought & planning into it. After all, this is an investment of your time and money, so why not make the most of it? Here are some great tips on how to get the most from your engagement session:

Location – You could select a location that has a special meaning to you, or that reflects your personalities in some way. You could plan a mini-date in order to capture the two of you enjoying life – something like mini-golf, getting ice cream, having a drink, etc. You should also consider the background setting you prefer,  such as a park, urban, beach, architecture, and so on. It is completely up to you. However, if you are having trouble deciding on a location your photographer most likely can help you brainstorm, and they probably have locations that have worked well for them in the past.

This couple chose a forest setting for their engagement photo session, as the groom is an arborist, and so trees and nature are very important to the couple.

Clothing & Makeup – Once you have the location set you will want to start thinking about clothing, hair and makeup. You want to show off your relationship and also your personality, and one of the best ways to do that is through your clothing and accessories. Don’t be afraid of a little flair! Scarves, belts, hats, shoes and jewelry all add to your look and will help create some amazing images for you. From a creative standpoint, your wedding photographer is going to be much more inspired if you bring some personal style to the session! If you have the ability to schedule your wedding hair and makeup trial on the same day as the engagement session, you ensure you’ll look your very best in the engagement photos. We also recommend coordinating your two outfits together – when choosing clothing for the two of you, think of the different pieces as one outfit, so that everything works well together and has a pulled together look. Also, think about clothing that will suit the location.

Notice how much fun the various accessories add to the image? This couple put a lot of thought into their clothing and accessories, and it really paid off!

This couple brought a couple of different accessories to add a touch of playfulness to their session.

Notice the colors the couple on the left is wearing-the fuchsia color of the woman’s blouse is picked up in her fiance’s shirt. The couple on the right chose dressy, casual clothing that looked great in the setting they choose for their session.

Look Your Best – Whatever you like to do to look your best, try to plan these activities prior to your session. Things like eyebrow waxing, highlights, haircuts, teeth whitening, manicure, etc. We aren’t saying go all out here, but if you do those things regularly, then plan to them prior to the session.

Play it Up in front of the Camera! – Another big way to really make the most of your session is to play up your relationship for the camera. At first you might feel a little nervous and shy, which is very typical. In fact, we usually don’t get many great photos during the first 20 minutes or so, as the couple gets warmed up to the camera. So don’t worry if you feel nervous at first, but do try to have fun and relax. The idea is to capture the real relationship between the two of you, and the best way to do that is to act naturally with each other, but in a way that reflects your relationship. If you are typically goofy with each other, then show that to the camera. If the two of you tend to be more intimate, then go ahead and snuggle up, hold hands, embrace, look into each other’s eyes. If you are very romantic and tend to be more on the sensual side, then don’t be afraid to show it!

This couple turned up the heat to show off their passionate side.

Head shots – Since you are going to be dressed up for professional pictures, why not ask your photographer to take a couple of head shots for each of you. You never know when you are going to need a nice head shot for work, Facebook or whatever. It only takes a minute, so take advantage of the opportunity!

This is an example of a casual head shot and a more standard head shot – both of these would work in different business situations, and will come in handy down the road.

Sunset –Ask your photographer if it is possible to schedule your engagement session about an hour before sunset. This is the very best time of day for lighting (besides dawn) and the difference this will make in the quality of your images is HUGE. We always try to schedule our engagement sessions at this time, because you are making an investment in these images, and we want the very best for our clients. In fact, the time of day is much more important than the location. It’s all about the lighting!

Be on Time – Most photographers will allocate a certain amount of time for your session, and if you are late, that eats into your time, plus you’ll probably be stressed (and so will your photographer!).

Loosen Up – You want to be relaxed and comfortable prior to your session, so if a glass of wine before your session starts will help you relax and have fun, go for it.

This couple is super easy going and fun. Their relationship really comes through on camera, because they were willing to just let go and be themselves.

Don’t Be Nervous – A lot of people are very nervous about the engagement session, as they don’t really know what to expect. It’s really fun! There’s lots of kissing and cuddling! So just think of it as a mini date, you’ll be in some romantic location, looking into each other’s eyes, walking hand in hand, giggling, and that’s about all there is to it. The goal is to capture your real relationship on camera, so just be yourselves and have a great time!

Ok, well that’s it for part 1. Look for additional posts in the coming weeks. I’d love to hear your comments and feedback!

Can you believe San Francisco Brides Magazine featured 3 of our couples in the recent issue!?! Wow, they must really love our work! Saloni & Arneek, Lindsy & Ryan and Kristi & Fred are all featured in the “Hitched in San Francisco” section. It’s always lovely to see our work published in magazines. Thanks San Francisco Brides!

A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to photograph the wedding of a friend’s sister. I work with Basheer on occasion to photograph some amazing corporate gatherings of the brightest minds in Silicon Valley, and on this occasion I was lucky enough to photograph his sister Rukhsa’s wedding. We started off at the St. Regis residences, where the bride was getting ready. I love love the details and color of Indian weddings! Look at that gorgeous bracelet below. She had a whole array of gorgeous jewels laid out!

Gorgeous bride, and the red lips really set off her bridal look.  She also wore these gorgeous red heels dripping with jewels!

After the bride was all ready, we hoped into the limo with Kamram for a few minutes of  portraits before the ceremony. We didn’t have much time, so we chose to take advantage of theYerba Buena Gardens park right across the street, which turned out to be a perfect little spot!

This is one of my favorite portraits. First you see Rukhsa’s gorgeous eyes and then Kamran smiling in the background.

Then we hopped back into the limo to get to the ceremony back at the St. Regis Hotel.

Guests arriving and greeting each other prior to the ceremony.

The groom’s family made their entrance together while being greeted with rose petals upon their arrival. Then the bride made her entrance with her brother Basheer and two flower girls.

Congratulations to Rukhsa & Kamran!

Kristi and Fred’s gorgeous, gorgeous wedding is currently featured in “For the Bride” magazine. This wedding was full of glorious details from start to finish! I love to photograph color like this, it just pops right off the page. Congratulations to Kristi & Fred!

Kathleen & Dave had a gorgeous new year’s eve wedding and Geoff & I had the honor of photographing every moment. We started off in Kathleen’s suite at the Omni Hotel in San Francisco. It was a perfectly elegant setting for a bride to get  ready, and I love the rich red wallpaper in the background. Her floral designer& event planner, Isabella of Florabella did a stunning white bouquet for Kathleen, it was so fragrant and I loved the textures. I’m not usually a fan of white bouquets, but this one was really spectacular!

Kathleen & Dave had a “first look” meeting in the bridal suite, and then we headed out to do portraits. With the wedding ceremony at 6pm, portraits beforehand was a great choice.

We went to Presideo Park, which is a great location for portraits. Kathleen went for classic tastes with pearl bridal set and white bouquet. She looks gorgeous!

Since it was a bit chilly on the last day of December, Kathleen’s mom made this FABULOUS wrap to go with Kathleen’s dress. It was ivory on the outside, and then a very soft beige on the inside, with a clever loophole to keep it from slipping off the shoulders.

The ceremony was held at Old Saint Mary’s in San Francisco. I love this church, it’s a great space to photograph in, and they are pretty lenient with photographers. We were able to photograph from the balcony as well, which gives a wonderful overall shot below.

And they are married!

After the ceremony, we headed to the Julia Morgan Ballroom, where Kathleen and Dave were able to enjoy a nice cocktail hour with their guests since we’d gotten all the portraits done beforehand. Julia Morgan ballroom can be very difficult to capture – it’s dark and the intricate ceiling and flooring can overpower the details. Kathleen and David chose good lighting, and the heavy cloths and the texture-heavy flowers and place settings really help counteract that. Instead of being lost in the room, the whole setting looks rich.

Cake is from Jen’s Cakes, and was perfectly suited to the theme of the evening.

The lighting, which is essential for a location like this, was done Everything Audio Visual and they did a fantastic job.

Kathleen and Dave had a surprise birthday cake brought out for this little guy, celebrating his new year’s eve birthday at the wedding.

At the stroke of midnight, the happy couple found each other for a New Year’s Eve midnight kiss. I got one from Geoff too. Sometimes I just get carried away by all the romance surrounding me! Congratulations to Kathleen & Dave!

We were so pleased to work with Jean Marks of Jean Marks Weddings and Gloria Wong of Gloria Wong Design on Dianna & Andrew’s wedding. Everything turned out so gorgeous, and Elena is just finishing up their wedding album. Congratulations everyone!

For the holidays, we always get together with Geoff’s family and mine. Some years here in California, other years in Canada, but we always keep the same traditions no matter where we are.  This year everyone came to California, his parents and one sister Hailey from Australia and two sisters, Tara and Becky came from Toronto. Becky AKA as Rebecca to the rest of the world, brought her boyfriend Bryan home to “meet the family.” What a sweetheart! We could not have picked out a better guy for her. These two were so sweet together, and on Bryan’s last day here, Geoff and I decided to do a mini photo session for the two of them.  We only had about 20 minutes, and usually that is how long it takes for people to get relaxed and warmed up in front of the camera. Becky & Bryan had such incredible chemistry, they needed no warm up!

I think this is my favorite image from the session.

I love the ruffle on Becky’s skirt!

These were taken out front of one of our favorite San Francisco restaurants, Ti Couz. This is the most divine place for crepes, hot cocoa, and a do-it-yourself lemonade. Yum!

We had a small crowd of hecklers during the session (Geoff’s other 2 sisters actually) so after we were done with Becky & Bryan, I took some shots of Geoff with his three sisters Tara, Hailey and Rebecca. Hope to get those posted soon. After the session, we went to Ti Couz for Bryan’s farewell dinner. Until next time…

Joy & Jason’s gorgeous and delicious wedding cake by  A Piece of Cake Bakery was featured on the cover of Wedding Cakes magazine.  I love the twinkle lights in the background, this is a gorgeous image. Thanks Kelvin!

Valerie and Leandro’s wedding was gorgeous. Kelvin and Sarah did an amazing job photographing this wedding, and I am so excited to be able to finally show it on the blog! The wedding took place at the Hotel Vitale in San Francisco. It was the perfect location for their New Year’s day wedding celebration. This is one of those weddings that just turned out perfectly. Every image is gorgeous. I’m so glad we got to be a part of it!

Simple, yet sophisticated white calla lily bouquet. And I LOVE the locket attached, what a perfect finishing touch. Floral perfection by Nancy Liu Chin of Nancy Liu Chin Designs

After getting gorgeous, Valerie and Leandro had a private meeting prior to the ceremony on the rooftop of Hotel Vitale. As I’ve said a thousand times before, I love private meetings before the ceremony. Love them! It’s very romantic. See that image above? What did Valerie want to do when she first laid eyes on her soon to be husband? She wanted to touch him, hold him and spend a few quiet moments enjoying one another. And they did just that. Kelvin and Sarah took them out and about to capture some beautiful images of the two of them prior to all the excitement of the day.

I just love how their portraits turned out. So relaxed, carefree, and full of joy. These images have that “editorial” look to them. Very nice! I’m giving a presentation at the Wedding University on Sunday, January 31st, and I’m using a number of their wedding images in my presentation.

I love Valerie’s expression on this one above. I just love it when a moment like this is captured that is so real and so strong, you almost feel as though you should turn away and give them some privacy. They are so perfect for each other these two!

Sarah caught this great image of them walking back to Hotel Vitale.  I really, really love this one. Just the feeling, the movement, the texture.

The wedding ceremony was held on the rooftop of the hotel, overlooking gorgeous views of the Bay.

This ring bearer got to hold the actual rings!

The pinstriping on Leandro’s tie adds a lot of character. It’s all in the little details…

And they are married!

Here’s a stunning indoor portrait of the bride. The lighting behind adds a nice touch of glamor!

The reception was held in a clear tent, with gorgeous branches & twinkle lights. What a great space!

Photo booths are such a fun way to get people loosened up. They had this great little setup on the cocktail table with a photo album, markers, glue sticks etc.

Congratulations to you both!