Are you wearing a sparkly new ring on your finger and scrolling Instagram for engagement photo inspiration? If you are, stop what you are doing right now and keep reading! We sat down with Corey Fox, one of our favorite Lake Tahoe wedding photographers, for all of his advice on EVERYTHING engagement session. An engagement session is one of the first steps in preparing for your wedding and should be a stress-free, unforgettable experience, and Corey shared with us how to make this happen!
Take advantage of your engagement session! It is such a valuable experience to spend a few hours with the most important person in your world in a relaxed setting in a beautiful landscape. Not to mention with the human that will be capturing one of the biggest days of your life. This session allows you to understand how your photographer works, how they cue you, and how to get out the jitters of being in front of the camera. After this session, you will be a pro at responding to the cues a photographer gives. Plus, you have more beautiful images of yourselves for the rest of your lives. Bonus!!!
Choose a location that speaks to you and resonates with you. If you are a city person, suggest a location within the city. If you are a mountain person, suggest a spot on top of a beautiful mountain range. If you love the ocean, choose a beach that you love. Most of my clients are doing destination weddings in Lake Tahoe, but they also love the idea of doing the engagement session in their home city. I’m always willing to travel for an engagement session if the timing works out for both of us.
Use this day as an opportunity to do your hair and makeup trial. One of the best ways to create beautiful images is to show up feeling beautiful. All of the hair and make up artists I refer are pros at not only their craft, but they are also pros at connecting with humans. This part of the day is essential and sets the tone for the entire day. Choose the artists that you connect with, and that makes you feel comfortable and lifts your spirit. This will absolutely read in the photographs. And fellas, don’t be afraid to get a fresh fade and a line up the day of either!
Wear what you feel comfortable in and what you believe makes you look good! It’s essential that you feel like yourself, and the clothing reflects your own style. Choose colors that are cohesive between you and your partner and colors that lean more on the side of timeless. I often suggest couples bring several different options, and I can help piece them together on site. I always recommend one casual everyday look and one dressy night look. Don’t be afraid of layers and accessories to change things up quickly. Try some outfits on together to make sure your outfits coordinate.
Most importantly, don’t stress too much about this. The clothing is important, but having fun and relaxing into the session is what is most important. An authentic moment and smile will always shine brighter than any brand of clothing you are wearing.
My most important advice is to trust your photographer. Trust their vision. Trust their process. Trust that their goal is the same as yours. Sometimes the poses can feel weird, but things always appear different from an outside perspective. Use this as an opportunity to connect deeper with your love. Use this as another way of growing deeper in your love for each other. Enjoy this experience and your photographer will be able to capture beautiful moments between you and your love that will last you a lifetime.
I once had a past client email me that they were so stressed trying to figure out what poses to do before a session. I, of course, laughed because this is not their job. Your photographer has trained for this. They have practiced their craft for many hours, and part of that craft is posing you. Let them pose you. Let them guide you. Let them see the real you having fun, enjoying life, and being in love. That’s all you have to do!
Thank you Corey for all of these tips! Corey has the ability to connect with clients and their families on a deeper level. He truly is calm in the face of chaos on your wedding day and will help create not only the most beautiful images, but an unforgettable experience. We recently profiled Corey on Tahoe Unveiled (he perfomed in Cirque Du Soleil!) and you can also learn more about him on his vendor guide profile. Don’t forget to check out his beautiful Instagram account too! Good luck at your engagement session and just remember to ENJOY!