I’m a big fan of engagement sessions and include one in all my standard packages. As couples look for ways to save money on their wedding, I’m often asked if the engagement session can be eliminated. My answer is always the same – I think they’re so important I don’t actually charge for them. The cost is not included in the calculation of the package. While I think it’s great for you to have a photo of you and your fiance for any number of reasons (local paper notice, looks great framed in your house etc.), the main reason I like them is they make your wedding photos better. Yeah, they really do.

I’ve said in other posts that you will spend more time with your photographer both before, during and after your wedding than any other vendor. How you relate to that person directly affects the quality of your photos. An engagement session helps that relationship along on a number of fronts.

I get a good sense of how you react to the camera. 

This is key to making sure I do the best job possible on your wedding day.  I can adjust angles, timing, direction and a host of other smaller details based on what I learn shooting your engagement shots.  And while I know plenty about photography, I’m still learning about you.  

You learn to trust me.  You spend days, months and sometimes years carefully planning your wedding.  You’ve done your research and you feel solid in your choices, but there’s always a niggling fear that your wedding may be the time your otherwise perfect vendors fail.  True, it’s irrational.  But we’re human and we do irrational things all the time.  When we spend a couple of hours shooting your engagement shots and you get them back and love them, you unconsciously relax a little about me.  And when you relax, your photos are better.  You know, in the end, that good photos CAN be taken of you, so you just trust me to take them.

You get even more excited about your big day.  There are many steps along the way to your wedding that involve planning and only a few that are small events themselves.  Showers are fun, but often only include the bride.  An engagement shoot is all about you and your fiance – no one else.  It’s a great time to celebrate your relationship, without worrying about all the other details.  There’s no pressure, there’s no rush.  And after the fact, you’ve got a beautiful record of who you both were, at that point in time, in your every day life (i.e. not in your wedding clothes).

To see more engagement photos, head over to my website at www.caycecallaway.com.   And if you’d like to talk to me about your photographing your wedding, just fill out the contact form or call 404.210.0879.