While I’m not a photographer, I am someone that has done quite a few couple photoshoots with her then boyfriend now fiance. As a creative, I am very visual, and having photos is very important to me. I love candid, in the moment iPhone shots of course, but I also love a curated scene. It is so fun and rewarding to create a feeling to portray in an image and use the outcome as art around my home.
This blog post isn’t to give tips in terms of camera settings and lighting, but instead, I want to share my tips from the other side of the camera on how to plan a meaningful shoot to create photos with sentiment. Not to mention, my advice on how to achieve candid captures over cheesy poses. I know couple photoshoots can be tricky, so I’m here to help and hopefully even make it fun!
Step One – Inspo & Booking
Gather inspiration. To begin, you’re going to need some inspiration. Search “couples shoot” on Pinterest and scroll through the photos. Do you like light and airy, or dark and moody? What style of clothes do you lean towards, dressy, casual or somewhere in between? How about location? Do you like a romantic restaurant vibe or would you opt for the beach? Take note of these things and keep them in mind for what type of photos you’ll want to create. This will also help you in choosing a photographer based on what type of coloring, styles and editing they specialize in. If you have no idea where to start looking for a photog, simply use Google or Instagram to find photographers in your area.
My fiance Matt and I got engaged last year (check out our proposal story here!) and love the romantic, moody vibe and have loved working with Kalyn Mann, aka Mann and Wife Photography. Not only does she have the style we look for, but she is easy to be around and makes you feel comfortable in front of the camera. She also has been so open to my visions for shoots and always delivers shots better than what I envision! She will be shooting our wedding next fall alongside her husband Adam (I mean what a cute duo running a photo biz together?!) I couldn’t recommend her enough.
Step Two – Location & Season
Think of a meaningful location and the season it fits best in. After you’ve nailed down your preferred style and have your photographer booked, you’ll likely already know the time of year you’re working with as well. You can use this aspect of planning in your favor to show meaning! Matt and I met at Ohio University where we created so many memories together, so we felt it would be special for us to take our engagement photos there.
While we knew we wanted photos on our college campus, we took it a step further, thinking about where we went together and what we enjoyed doing. We took photos at the dive bar we met, the other dive bar that Matt asked me to be his girlfriend in, and we even snacked on cheese fries outside our favorite late night bite.
In addition to running around getting shots at our favorite places, we did want a few more romantic pictures to have in the mix. Before we headed into campus, we went to a nearby park and rented a kayak to take pictures on the water. We couldn’t believe the Notebook vibes Kalyn captured!
Did you have your first date at a restaurant with a beautiful outdoor patio? Arrange with the restaurant to sit at a photo worthy table and do part of the shoot there! Did you take your first vacation somewhere special? Maybe you’d choose to take the photos there. (PS – you can hire photographers other than just those from where you live. Vacation shoots are a thing!) There are so many spots that could be considered for a sentimental setting.
Maybe you want to take a shoot for a reason other than an engagement. Matt and I recently moved back to Ohio, our home state, after living in Chicago for close to three years. To say goodbye, we did a shoot with my friend Zoe (check out her gorgeous Instagram here). I knew I wanted to take photos with a gorgeous cityscape as the backdrop, so we went to North Avenue Beach around golden hour for some dreamy farewell photos. We’ve never been to that spot before, but we knew it had a beautiful view of the city. I’m mentioning this because you don’t have to have a special tie to the location prior to the shoot, but it can still have meaning when chosen thoughtfully!
Did you meet right before Christmas? Consider having the shoot at a nearby Christmas Tree Farm in the winter. Or maybe you enjoy hiking and want to document a beautiful overlook you’ve always wanted to see. The options for couple photoshoots are endless when it comes to thinking about things you enjoy together that you could create a nod to in photo form!
Step Three – Wardrobe
Curate your outfits. So now that you have your photographer booked for a specific date and your location decided on, what are you going to wear?! The key here is to first think about what you typically feel good in. Are you a classic t-shirt and jeans person? Wear that! Do you wear a new dress every chance you get? Pick one out! Definitely try to dress in a way that feels cohesive with you, and don’t try to recreate a style that isn’t the way you like to dress! You want to feel confident, and you’ll feel most you when you dress like it.
Keeping your own personal style in mind, think about your location. Let’s talk about a shoot we most recently did. Matt and I postponed our wedding this year and did a photoshoot with Kalyn on the original date as a fun way to remember the date. Before a dinner celebration with our families, I surprised Matt with a Drive-In Movie Theater shoot and made him a home video of everything I could find in the moments we’ve spent together.
When I think of Drive-Ins, I think of vintage and classic movie vibes. It was very clear in my head I wanted to wear something with sequins to match the old school film vision I had in my head as well as serve as a contrast to the rural setting. Sequins aren’t super typical for me, so I made the outfit more “me” by styling it with a boho belt, a pair of booties and the denim jacket I planned to wear at our wedding. With those additions, I felt much more myself and it still fit the vibe I was aiming for.
As far as Matt’s attire goes, I usually just show him what I’m wearing so he gets an understanding for the color and attire category, then he chooses what he feels good in. I’ll throw in suggestions if we shop for pieces for the shoot, but other than that, I’m lucky he has great taste!
For our engagement session at Ohio University and our farewell shoot in Chicago, I knew I wanted to wear something with movement. Movement adds romance and visual interest, plus it gives you something to do in terms of posing instead of smile with your hand on your hip. I love wearing dresses in my normal life, so I opted for a flowy dress for both of the couple photoshoots. While knowing this, I kept color palette in mind as OU depicts shades of green and the Chicago beach consists of mostly water and sky. See where I’m going with this? The green felt cohesive with the colors at OU and blue was perfect for the beach!
Step Four – Act Natural
Pretend it’s date night and that there isn’t a camera following you around. How would you act if there weren’t a camera being shot at you? Act as you normally would! Walk hand in hand, laugh, look at each other and your surroundings, kiss, joke. Be yourselves and your photographer will capture the special moments. Plus, keep in mind that any moment could make for a great photo, so keep a content and/or smiling face on at all times!
See how Matt and I didn’t even act as if the photographer was there in the video below? You’ll get great candid moments this way!
PS – Try your best not to thinking about how you feel awkward as it will show on camera! Do whatever you need to do to feel confident beforehand and as mentioned, wear something you feel good in!
Step Five – Be yourself!
Make sure the shoot feels “you.” When all is said and done, you’ll want the shoot to be a reflection of you both as a couple. Go to a location that makes sense for you, wear something that you feel comfortable in (today is not the time to try out a hat or new lipstick) and have fun with it. The whole point is to create meaningful pictures, so the more fun and “you” it is, the better it will turn out!
Anything to add?
What are some helpful tips that helped you achieve your dream photos or things you’ve learned about couple photoshoots? Comment below to leave inspirations for others!
Follow Along
For more couple photoshoots, to keep tabs on wedding planning or to see what I’m cooking up daily, follow along on Instagram (@kaylaskitchandfix)! You can also Pin the photos in this post to Pinterest for inspiration of your own. Happy planning!
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