7 Reasons Why You Should Book an Engagement Shoot

An engagement shoot is the most commonly skipped booking in wedding photography — and one of the most commonly regretted after the wedding. Here are seven concrete reasons why, if you're on the fence, you should do it.

1. You Will Be Uncomfortable in Front of a Camera

Nearly every person does. Not just those who think of themselves as camera-shy — everyone. Being watched and photographed is an unusual situation that requires practice. An engagement shoot is that practice. Couples who have shot together once before their wedding arrive at it considerably less stiff than those who haven't.

2. You'll Learn What You Actually Like

You cannot know what kinds of photographs you prefer — posed vs natural, close vs wide, movement vs stillness — until you see yourself in them. An engagement set gives you concrete examples before your wedding so you can give your photographer genuinely useful feedback rather than abstract preferences.

3. You'll Build a Relationship With Your Photographer

Your wedding photographer will be a constant presence for eight to ten hours. How comfortable you are with them directly affects your photographs. An engagement shoot transforms a professional hire into someone you've spent time with and can relax around.

4. You'll Test the Location

If your engagement shoot is at your ceremony venue, you're effectively doing a dry run of the light, the backgrounds, and the logistics. Your photographer learns where the best spots are before the wedding morning, under less time pressure.

5. You'll Have Portraits That Aren't Wedding Portraits

Engagement photographs are a different genre. You're not in formal wear, not surrounded by 80 guests, and not operating on a schedule. The images that result are often more intimate and more genuinely you than wedding portraits — and they make excellent save-the-dates, print gifts, and home wall pieces.

6. You'll Discover Any Practical Issues Before the Wedding

Perhaps you dislike being photographed from a particular angle. Perhaps your partner needs directing differently than you assumed. Better to learn this at an engagement shoot and feed it back to your photographer than to discover it at the wedding when nothing can be changed.

7. Most Photographers Include Them in Packages

If your photographer offers an engagement shoot as part of your package, not using it is simply leaving value on the table. There is no downside beyond scheduling an afternoon.