Ah, the engagement shoot.

Such a pivotal moment in every couple’s relationship. The engagement is the penultimate declaration of love for two people, surpassed only by your actual wedding day! It’s also two peoples’ official announcement to the world that they plan to marry soon, news traditionally delivered via photos. Many couples hold off on taking formal pictures together until a proposal eventually comes. So those engagement photos become very important! As important as the engagement is, however, figuring out the best way to have it photographed and documented properly can be mystifying and confusing to some. Not that long ago, I was newly engaged just like you, wanting some tips or advice on how to transition into the next stage of the relationship the “right way.”

But what's the best way to handle the engagement photoshoot?
Well, while I don't think that there is only one right way, I do feel that there are several right ways to go about your engagement shoot. This article is meant to explore some of the best ways, in my opinion, to have your engagement shoot photographed. Hopefully, I can inspire you with some of my favorite engagement sessions, and trigger a few thoughts in your head for your own engagement!

The first question I ask is this – what is your identity, as a couple?

Different people make for different couples. Different couples have extremely different personalities! Your engagement shoot is an opportunity for you to portray who you are as a couple, which is based on who you each are as individuals, and how you will choose to show the world who you are and will be for the rest of your lives. This is why engagement sessions are so meaningful, important, beautiful, and fun to me.

Honestly, I think that the only wrong way for you to do your engagement shoot is one that's not personalized to you as a couple!

Let's look at Five different WAYS you can personalize your engagement shoot:

1. Try out fun locations around the town you live in.

That funky coffee shop you sometimes like to go to on a laid-back Sunday afternoon, or the mountains you always hike that has an amazing view. There are a lot of cool locations out there that, if you exercise your mind a little bit, will be unique to you and your fiancé as a couple!

2. Have your engagement photo session in the same place you had your first date.

Having your engagement session where you had your first date will bring back all of those romantic memories from the early days! You will have all of those memories, old and new, to cherish forever!

3. Bring props or accessories that reflect your history and identity as a couple.

You’ve spent months or years with this person! Plan to bring props or accessories that are unique to you as a couple. Things that only you two would know about: inside jokes! Then, come up with unique is that can include them! Allow your photographer to photograph them in fun, interesting ways. Make sure they include detail shots!

4. Take the engagement photoshoot someplace that you two have always wanted to go.

Yes, I’m recommending you take a “destination engagement shoot”!

Many people instantly think of destination weddings, but rarely consider going to fun locations for a romantic engagement shoot weekend! Me and my fiancé did exactly that when I propose to her at the Epic mountains of Asheville at the historic Biltmore House.

5. Consider staying in your home for your session.

On the flip side of the above; there’s plenty of good photography goodness that can happen right in your home! Now before you go and click off of this article, thinking “I can be more unique than proposing to my girlfriend at home!” What I'm talking about is your engagement shoot at your home! Think about it: your home is where you spend so much time, and share so many memories. There is something incredibly romantic about an intimate, at-home engagement shoot, photographed the right way.

Bonus Tip

Now, I told you I'd give you five ways to personalize your engagement shoot. Let me surprise you with a 6th. A bonus tip, if you will: Take the personalization of your engagement shoot a step further, and get physical with your photos. Print them, craft a creative photo album (I can help you with that), or even laminate them and put one of your favorite on a coffee mug. Options are endless! there are really hundreds of things you can do with the photos from your engagement shoot... I simply challenge you to get physical in some way with your photos. There, that's my 6th tip.

Make it Personal to You

So as you can see, there are many different ways you can fully personalize your engagement shoot to fit who you each are as a couple. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to doing engagement shoots, and your photographer should be well-versed in how to bring out pieces of your individual personalities, and who you are as a couple. But, another thing you need to do to make sure you're communicating to your photographer is who you are at the core, what you want to get out of your session, and how you want to present yourself to the world.
There are things that you may like in photography in general, there are things with the individual photographer’s style that you like or want to bring out and emphasize. These are great things to share with your photographer. Plus, you may have some interesting ideas for accessories for props that would make your shoot extremely unique.
The very best thing you can do is share these types of ideas with your photographer well in advance of your shoot. It's not to say that last-minute ideas can't also be fun or done well, but you also want to give your photographer enough time to adequately prepare to photograph them or emphasize them, giving ample notice of ideas you may have, or things you definitely want to try, are very important and integral in personalizing your shoot.
What I'm saying is, if you want the shoot to be personal to who you are as a couple, a photographer’s own ideas will only go so far. You must be fully involved in sharing who you are, what you want, and what you want to portray in your shoot. No questionnaire in the world could replace that.