Written with love, by Abigail Volkmann
The engagement session...
Do you shoot it? Is it important?
To shoot or not to shoot, that is the question. I could go on and on with reasons to shoot an engagement session, but I am just going to give you a few of the top reasons that every couple should have an engagement session with their photographer before their wedding day!
Get to know each other!
The engagement session is a chance to get to know your photographer, for your photographer to get to know you, and for you have a chance to get comfortable in front of the camera.
Get rid of camera shyness!
An engagement session is usually captured in a couple of hours, giving you and the photographer both time to feel each other out and work toward getting natural portraits.
On the wedding day, however, you may be spending as little as 15-20 minutes on your couple portraits, which is hardly enough time to work through being camera shy. The engagement session gives you a chance to get comfortable with posing and to see the final product and figure out what you like and don’t like. It all streamlines the process on the wedding day (...also another reason to consider a first look on the wedding day, but that is another discussion).
Capture your life in a photo!
The engagement session is a chance to capture a bit of your life as a couple. I love shooting couples in some of the spaces that are a part of their life while they are engaged - their favorite coffee shop, café, park, etc. For many couples, a few years after they get married they will start a family and their life will be forever changed. So, I think it is so amazing to treasure the memory of their life as two.
While I could continue with reason after reason, I hope the three that I highlighted will sway you to book that engagement session!
Abigail Volkmann Photography is based in Richmond, Virginia and focuses on photographing moments of love and unity, whether it be a couple starting their life together or a family capturing the fleeting moments of childhood.
