I think I must have read in twenty different articles already: be sure to have engagement photos done with your photographer so that you can “test them out” ahead of time.  And honestly, it’s a very valid argument.  The problem is, there are a hundred other reasons that I would argue before that one!

Maybe it’s just me…but I feel like our work, as wedding photographers, should be relational and not just “transactional”.  I mean, really, it’s someone’s wedding day…it’s important…it matters!

So, when I meet with people for their engagement session, it’s never just about testing things out…it’s about getting to know each other.  It’s about the amazing little details that brought two people together and the details that will be there when they say “I do!”.  It’s about getting to know them as individuals and as a couple.  It’s about making sure our Netflix compatibility meshes and most of all, making sure that come the big day, it feels more like a friend standing on the other side of the camera instead of someone you’ve just hired to be there for the day.

Jen, Mark and I chatted for wayyyyyyyy longer than we should have when we first met over coffee so many months ago!!!  And very little of it was even about their wedding!  So meeting for their engagement session (which doubled as a maternity session!!  Yay for babies!) already felt like everything you hope to gain by the end; it was easy…it was fun…it was friends meeting up for a walk on a gorgeous summer night!!!

Jen and Mark are the first of my 2017 couples to appear on the blog and I couldn’t be more excited!!!  Especially considering that there will be an addition to the family for me to adore just as much!!