How to Prepare for, and What to Expect from, a Couple’s Shoot
Love is what makes life flourish, and it’s one of the most popular reasons for people to hire a photographer! Whether it’s for a milestone like an engagement or pregnancy, or just for fun, here are some can’t-beat tips and tricks that will help you get you ready to show your own, unique love story– whether you want it to feel natural or cinematic!
While we have a breakdown of preparing for a family session (linked here), there’s a bit more planning that has to go into romantic photoshoots– on both the photographer’s end and on yours.
WHY HIRE US FOR A COUPLE’S PHOTOSHOOT?
Couple’s photoshoots are not only romantic– they’re REALLY fun! Our personal goal is for the couple to leave the session a little more in love with each other, and that requires a delicate balance between structuring the photoshoot and letting emotions play out - something that we’ve learned both as a married couple in love, and as a duo of artists who cut our teeth in the film, television and advertising industries!
Now here’s the elephant in the room: if you’re dating or married to someone, there’s a good chance you have a digital camera roll filled with cute pictures of you both doing things. Selfies, date pics, travel snapshots, and so on. And that’s only natural, as pictures memorialize our day-to-day life!
What makes hiring professional photographers so different though is you get to let a team that is focused on doing the work for you, to capture moments and feelings that you’re able to express organically without focusing on taking the picture yourself. It’s genuinely surprising how much more you’ll feel naturally romantic in a professional photoshoot than taking a selfie!
We aren’t just going to take pictures of you– we’re going to tell your love story by getting to know you, what you want to convey about yourselves, and blending it with our own artistic vision.
HOW TO PREPARE AND WHAT TO EXPECT
First of all: communication is key. Besides working with us on your mood board, and choosing your type of photoshoot background such as a forest or indoor backdrop, you’ll want to let us know some details about your relationship. Having insight into how you met, your shared special interests, and favorite memories together helps us know how to keep you both engaged on the day of the shoot, and helps give us ideas for poses and prompts that are unique to you.
If one of you is camera shy, we suggest letting us know any specific insecurities you may have; that we, we can shoot with ways in mind to minimize your discomfort. We find it helpful if you send along some photos of yourself that you really love as well. This is a great way for us to understand how you’re most comfortable being viewed.
Remember, most people can’t see our insecurities– other people view us as whole, complete people, and don’t pick apart our features the way we tend to do in the mirror, so you’ll have to let us know how to make you comfortable.
Even if you’ve been married for what seems like forever, it’s still fun and romantic to do a couple’s shoot!
Clothing
The next thing to think about is your wardrobe. You’ll want to decide if you’re going to coordinate outfits between each other, or each dress in your own personal styles. Please note that smaller patterns and fabric weaves don’t always show up well on camera, so please send us example photos or bring options if you’re not sure.
While these two aren’t wearing the same shade of white, the general style matches and goes perfectly together AND with their background!
The best type of clothing to wear for photoshoots is something comfortable and flattering that you enjoy wearing, that also suits the style of photoshoot– think about how Indiana Jones is always wearing explorer attire and a fedora while investigating temples, but when he’s teaching class he dons a tweed blazer and rounded spectacles. If he was running from giant boulders and snakes in his business attire, it would look strange! The same can be said for wearing a suit and fancy shoes at a beach photoshoot.
Last but not least regarding your outfit, make sure you’ve tried it on ahead of time so there are no surprises the day of. We come equipped with a lint roller and brush just in case, but we can’t always fix an unexpected garment disaster. Having a backup outfit in your car or travel bag is not the worst idea!
For more information about clothing, check out our other post: How to Choose Clothing for Your Photoshoot!
Special Details and Props
If you’re a) celebrating a milestone, or b) a bit nervous about posing in front of the camera, we encourage incorporating props or activities into the photoshoot itself. For engagement and maternity sessions this one’s easy: there’s probably a shiny ring or baby bump you can focus your attention on, and we’ll create ways to naturally interact with them or show them off.
Our clients provided the ultrasound, and we brought the sand castle toys!
It never hurts to prepare additional props, whether it’s flowers, a picnic blanket, a scarf to share, sports equipment, etc. Upon request we’ll bring bubble guns, and for indoor sessions we also provide smoke effects and smokey bubbles for extra flair. These details help elevate the photos to an even higher level of artistic flair, and make your romance feel like something you’d see blown up on a Times Square billboard. (But we promise not to do that, don’t worry).
To summarize:
Communicate! Let us know about you as a couple, and what you want to showcase (or minimize)
Pay attention to your clothing
Props make things personal and fun! They’re also great for taking the posing pressure off
If you’re planning a shoot with us and have any questions at all, please reach out!
Serving Monmouth County NJ, Middlesex County NJ, Bergen County NJ, Ocean County NJ, Mercer County NJ, Hudson County NJ, and NYC. Willing to to travel.
photoshoot clothing - preparing for photoshoot - couples photos - engagement photos - maternity photos - graduation photos