What the Heck Should We Wear to Our Engagement Session?

You've done everything else: you've scheduled your engagement session, picked the locations, and you're super excited. Only one thing stands in your way. You stand peering into your seemingly endless closet. There are so many options - what in the world will you wear?

1) Your engagement session is meant to capture your love of each other, not your love of your wardrobe. Outfit changes take time away from your shooting time, so I recommend keeping to a two outfit maximum, especially if we are doing a lot of walking for your session. Please don’t feel like you have to bring two options - many of my couples choose to bring only one! If you do want to bring two, a good idea is to choose one dressy outfit (think a date to the ballet) and one more casual outfit (something you’d wear on a casual date night).

2) Be yourself. Your engagement photos are an extension of the two of you. I want you to be perfectly comfortable and happy in what you've chosen to wear. If you wear bowties & suspenders every day, feel free to rock those for your session! And if you've never worn heels in your life, don't worry about starting now.

3) Coordinate colors and styles. Wear colors that coordinate, but don't worry about matching specifically. Just because one of you wears a blue shirt does not mean the other must also wear a blue shirt. Also, gone are the days of showing up to your session wearing matching white shirts and khakis. Let's see your STYLE! :) Just make sure you are wearing outfits on the same level of casualness or dressiness.

4) Choose your color palette. Neutral and soft tones (with fun pops of color) photograph very well and allow you to stand out from the background, though of course if you feel your best in jewel tones though or something bright, feel free to wear that! A statement red dress is absolutely gorgeous too!

5) Bring extra accessories! The quickest way to change up the look of your outfit is to switch out your shoes, add a sweater, ditch the scarf, etc.

6) Makeup. If you’re normally not a makeup wearer, just putting on mascara goes a long way for making your eyes pop (if you’re willing). If you love to go full glam, feel free!

7) If you can't decide or aren’t sure, talk to me! Text me photos of your ideas. Or bring them to the session and we'll pick what will look best, and you don't have to stress. I’m happy to help and do this all the time!

Kelsey // Horse & Rider Session, Staunton, VA

In June, I took a week long trip to Staunton, Virginia to photograph horses. I spent one lovely early morning photographing Kelsey & her two mares, Arwen & Belle! Cool side note: Kelsey is the program director over at Ride with Pride, which is an amazing therapeutic horsemanship program, also in Staunton!

The Dudley Family // Lifestyle Newborn Session, Fairfax, Virginia

I am honored every time a family invites me into their home to capture their growing family. And when my client is my family, the session gets just that much more special.

As cousins who were lucky enough to grow up near(ish) to each other, Julianne and I grew up having sleepovers at Gramma's house and wreaking havoc on her neighborhood. Oh, and eating all the gooseberries off the bush in her yard. We have lots of memories together, and so of course I was absurdly excited when she asked me to come photograph her and her husband Trey, and their sweet baby boy Robert. Their morning session was perfect, and the rain even stayed away just long enough to let in some absolutely perfect light.

Now Offering: Lifestyle Sessions!

Over the winter, I spent a lot of time thinking about how much I love candids, real moments between couples & families. I started thinking about lifestyle sessions.

If you haven't heard about these sessions before, I'll fill you in! These are way more unposed than regular shoots. They focus on the here & now of your family - what your kids are like, what makes them smile, and how you all interact. It's a day in the life of your family.

Lifestyle sessions are very low-stress sessions. When the background of the session is a place that is familiar to your kiddos - their home, their own backyard - they're already more at ease. If you have a newborn, needing to feed them is super easy - you just go do that and then we continue the session. If your toddler wants to play with toys or run around with the dog, that's fine too!

These are also great for couples too! I'll capture your laughter, the real way you two snuggle, and the way you look at each other when the other isn't paying attention.

In February, I decided I wanted to try photographing them, so I scheduled two in-home sessions - a maternity/couples session and another couples session.

I LOVED THEM.

Then, I had the joy of photographing a sweet family's in-home session, and just last week, another for a close friend of mine, her husband, and her newborn. I'm HOOKED.

So I'm crazy excited to announce I'm officially offering lifestyle sessions. These will be mostly done in your own home, or on your street, your backyard, somewhere important to you, your love, and your family.

Check out what I'm talking about! I'll be blogging the full sessions later but for now, here are some sneaks from those sessions. :)

For more lifestyle photos, click here!
For more info & pricing, click here!

Otherwise, scroll down and take a peek!