Engagment Session at Seattle Center

We had a wonderful engagement session last Saturday at the Seattle Center in Seattle. Even though it snowed the previous night, and rained off and on all morning. We got some really wonderfully iconic Seattle photos for this beautiful couple. Can you believe it, these two have known each other all their life and they still want to be together. Ah Amore......

It’s Engagement Portrait Season!!!!

We are entering the awesome season of engagement portraits. We have booked most of our weddings for the 2008 and are beginning to take advantage of spring and the wonderful colors. We have our first engagement session on location in Seattle this coming weekend. We will be doing a few more in Seattle as well as Vancouver and East to Ellensburg. If you haven't had a chance, please check out a few of our past engagement sessions.

Engagement Gallery Link

So I will answer for everyone a few questions that we typically answer for our new couples.

First, I want to talk about why you should have an engagement portrait. For one thing, with our studio it is a free opportunity to experience the photographer one-on-one prior to the big day. We also provide a complimentary 8x10 framed portrait from your favorite choice.

There are several important uses for engagement photos:
(1) You need a good photo for the newspaper announcement of your wedding.
(2) You deserve to have a nice wall portrait of the two of you from "the days before you are married."
(3) You might want to include a print of your engagement picture in your wedding invitations.
(4) Engagement photos make great gifts.

Another creative use of your engagement portrait is to create a guest register for your wedding by placing a copy of your photo in a large matte and have quests write their comments as they enter instead of in a guest book. This creation provides an interesting guest register that can also hang in your home for many years and bring back memories each time you see it.

How should I dress?

The outfits should be simple in color and style and be complimentary to each other. They do not have to match, and they do not need to be formal. A very nice engagement portrait is a statement of who the individuals are that make the couple. Solid colors will work best with a variety of backgrounds. So for dress our recommendations are casual similar solid colors. The emphasis will be placed on you, your face, your expressions and your love for each other. On a separate note, tanning a lot prior to your wedding or your portrait is not recommended as a deep tan almost always looks muddy in print.

Will you help me pose so I look good?

Yes, we will help direct you to get specific poses - but here are a couple of simple things can make for a more dynamic and relaxed session. The oddest sounding one is to push your face towards the camera. It kind of feels like you're pretending to be a turtle, sticking its head out of its shell. This tightens up the skin under your chin, reducing double chins and making you look years younger. Don't worry that it will look odd on film, cameras only see in two dimensions and so your face being closer than your chest won't be noticeable in your finished portrait. Try this in front of the mirror and see the effect for yourself. In fact, practice in front of the mirror to get comfortable with "posing."

Hands are always a concern for people, but please don’t worry. Put your concentration into presenting your face. Simple things to do with your hands include just hanging them at your sides, fingers slightly curled rather than stiffly straight. Rotate your hands so your thumb is towards the camera instead of the backs of your hands. A slightly more relaxed look is to hook your thumbs into your pockets or into your belt. You can also put your hand in your pocket, but leave the thumb out and pointing down instead of across your waist. In my opinion, the worst thing to do with hands is hold them together in front of your crotch - to me it looks like you have to go to the bathroom. Perhaps it is comfortable because it is "defensive", but it's not that attractive. Try to have your hands on two different levels, such as one hanging loosely at your side and the other hooked in your belt. Or, one hand up on a shelf, partner's shoulder, or against a wall. Don't worry too much as your photographer should direct you for the best placement of your hands.

Put on a smile - with your eyes. That is the most important place to smile. A plastered on grin with sad or tight eyes only looks like a plastered on grin. Even if your mouth doesn't smile, putting a twinkle in your eyes brings a lot of personality to a portrait. How do you do that? Try it in the mirror a few times. Try to look blankly at yourself, and then add the twinkle. Then, do the same for the camera. Martha Stewart (one of my favorite people) once explained how to do a great "camera" smile She raised her eyebrows a touch and smiled with her lips apart bringing her cheeks up. This made her look slightly surprised and very happy and another one to practice in the mirror.

For the totally camera intimidated, the best thing you can do is get a friend or family member to take lots of pictures of you - with no film in the camera. Take lots and lots of shots that way. Hundreds of shots. Do so many that you get really bored of having the camera in your face. Do this a few times if you have to. That way, when you're actually getting your picture shot - the camera won't be a "monster waiting to capture your soul." I read years ago about a fashion photographer who did that with professional models. He wanted them to get past their initial reactions to the camera and just "be", so the first "two rolls" were not in the camera. If it works for models, it'll work for you. So, the cliff notes version; wear similar colored clothes in the style you're used to, push your face slightly towards the camera, relax your hands at whatever position they're at, smile with your eyes first, practice in front of the mirror, practice with an empty camera if needed, and have fun. We do!