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Engagement Photography Tips
(Article 1)
By Christopher MaxwellProfessional Thoughts
Engagement photos from a professional can be very expensive. Many of the top pros charge a session fee in addition to very expensive reprint rates (I've seen some photographers that charge $50 or more for an 8x10).I don't blame the photographers: most of them are good enough to charge such rates. And I know, from having shot engagement sessions before that the sessions can take quite a bit of time. For me, an average session would take about 6 hours of total time (initial contacts/communications with the couple, driving to the photo site, taking the photos, downloading/processing the raw images, and then processing the couple's order).
A money-saving tip: some professionals offer the engagement photos as a part of their wedding package. If your wedding photographer offers such a service - take advantage of it! Even if you don't order a lot of reprints it will give you and your fiancée an excellent opportunity to see how well you interact with your photographer.
If you can't afford (or don't want to spend the money on) a professional photographer: don't throw out the idea of engagement photos!!
Friend Alternatives
Find a friend that owns a DSLR and a zoom lens. The DSLR cameras are the digital cameras with interchangeable lenses. Such camera prices are falling (often one can be purchased for about $700) and their popularity is increasing.See if your friend has a good zoom lens. Such a zoom lens will often go from 100mm out to about 200mm or even 300mm. If your friend doesn't have such a lens perhaps they could be talked into buying one. I've seen a consumer-version Nikon (and Canon) 75mm-300mm zoom lens for about $100!
While you probably won't get photos that are good as professional, you can get very nice photos from such a setup. And I'm going to give you two huge bits of advice that will make a world of difference in those results.
Tip #1 - The Zoom
If you want a nice, blurred, background in your engagement photos, you'll need to have them taken with a zoom lens. Using a 200mm zoom lens will beautifully blur out the background behind you. And don't stand too close to your background: I'd recommend being at least 15-20 feet away from any background. If your friend knows what the camera's aperture is (the f-stop), have them set it to be as wide open as possible (the lowest Aperture number available - perhaps F4.5 or even F2.8).Tip #2 - Evening Shade
Don't go out on a bright sunny day at noon and expect to get beautiful photos! While you may stumble upon some good photos, it is actually harder to take nice images in the bright sun due to the harsh lighting, dark shadows, and squinty eyes.I recommend you take your engagement photos on a sunny day - but start the photo session about an hour before sunset. Try to find a park that has beautiful green grass and trees. I generally try to find areas that have a large amount of shade. At that time of the evening a hill will often provide a large area of gently-lit shade.
You will be amazed at the quality of light that is available at such a time!
To be honest, as a working professional who has shot a number of engagements, the vast majority of my images are taken in that exact lighting with ZERO modifications (no reflectors, strobes, etc.).
A final thought: have fun with the photo session. Don't be too serious or you might ruin the results!
Christopher Maxwell is a professional photographer based near Kansas City. He is in the process of creating an eBook specifically to help you take better Engagement Photos. Visit his site and sign up to receive notification when his Engagement Photography eBook is available.
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