4 Steps to Planning your Autumn Engagement Session in Houston
1. Choosing Colors
As part of my expertise as a professional photographer in Houston, I always recommend my couples to look at their wedding and home colors for inspiration on choosing location and wardrobe for their photo sessions.
Eventually, these photos will be repurposed into your home. So, ask yourself these simple questions to determine the final look of your photo session. What color are your walls? What color is your furniture? Am I choosing clothes that will not clash with my decore? Is the location appropriate for the wall decore I already have?
Understanding that the images we create go beyond the wedding day, social media, and the spur of the moment, is key to producing timeless and cohesive wall art of yourself!
2. Choose the Right Time
I will also help you choose the right time during your autumn engagement session. I look up what time the sun sets on the particular day you are contemplating. You can easily do this by checking on this website Sunrise and Sunset times in Houston; making sure you update the month and the year.
Choose at least one hour and a half before the sun sets to start your session. Once your time is set with your photographer, do not be late. Take into consideration your time getting ready, traffic, finding parking, and finding your photographer on location.
3. Candid Versus Formal Photography
Speak to your photographer about what style of photography you like; candid versus formal photography.
Candid refers to the moments in which it doesn’t even appear a photographer is there. I will ask you to talk to each other, laugh, do a piggy back ride, twirl your girl, etc. During these portraits, you are engaged and making eye contact with your partner, not with the photographer.
Formal or traditional photography refers to a more fined tuned, posed, looking at the camera, and smiling portrait. As a photographer, I will also come up with connected or engaged poses that show your love for one another, but also show your entire face or a profile of your face.
Both approaches are posed and/or semi-directed, but one looks more natural than the other. A combination of both is a good match for me, but it’s always a good idea to look over your photographer’s portfolio and see how many of each they have on their website. You will want to discuss these styles with your photographer at your pre-consultation to ensure your expectations are met accordingly.
Can you pin-point which style is being used on this blog?
4. Discuss What Size and Orientation Print you Want
Sure, we are all thinking about how beautiful your autumn engagement session will be, and the many places in Houston you can do it in, and the many outfits you can possibly fit into your 1 hour session.
But most importantly, are you thinking about where you will place this portrait? Once again, photographing with purpose is important. If you only have a vertical space in your home for your portrait, but your photographer produced all landscape portraits, it’s not going to work, and it may create some frustration finalizing the finished product.
For this photo session, we produced the photos we needed to put in the welcoming table at their wedding, coming up in November; a horizontal 16×20 canvas and 10 smaller ones that will add to their story and wedding details. Their canvas will hang in their home wall and the smaller ones will be kept in a keepsakes box where additional wedding day photos will be added!
I hope these tips were helpful to planning your own autumn engagement session with me or any other photographer.
I would love to hear more about what other things you’d like for me to share with you and help you in your creative process planning your wedding, family session, children’s session, or a solo session, why not?
Drop your comments below and share with anyone planning a photography session. I’ll be sure to follow up with another helpful blog post.
To book your photo session with me, fill out the questionnaire on my CONTACT form and I’ll call you at your earliest convenience!