Happy engagement photo season! Congratulations if you’re a newly engaged couple wanting to style the perfect engagement photos for your Save the Dates. Here are some ideas to not only level up, but personalize your photo session! Your gallery should be unique, just like you! I think sometimes couples shy away from styling outside the box for fear of coming off “cheesy.”
MORE CHEESE IN 2023 PLEASE
Not that these ideas are cheesy, in fact they are exactly the opposite! The point is, don’t be afraid of being “too much.” This is a celebration of you two and your love, and it deserves to be just that – a celebration! Here are some fun ideas to truly make your engagement photos you, and keep you having fun the whole time.
01. Something you love to do together
- Get outdoorsy & do a hiking, camping, or beach day session
- Both love adventurous sports? Run around the beach with your surfboards or meet your photographer at a nearby mountain for a snowboarding or apres ski inspired session.
- Do you love to road trip together? Take your car somewhere you can park it off the road or at a campsite, and reenact that sunset wind-in-your-hair, music blasting, totally free type of feeling.
- Stay in and cook together or do a board game night
- Your favorite thing doesn’t have to be an extreme sport or crazy adventure – take your favorite walk together and have a picnic.
02. Somewhere you love to go together (first date, carnival, a farmers market, trader joes, coffee shop)
- Reenact your first date
- The place you got engaged
- A local carnival or fairgrounds
- A local farmers market you go to every week
- Trader Joes or your favorite errand spot
- Your favorite bar or restaurant, or the place you sat at getting to know each other when you first started dating
03. Film
- Film has been around for a long time, and it definitely isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. In the past few years, there’s definitely been a resurgence in film and the authenticity and timelessness it brings to your gallery. There is truly no wrong way to incorporate film into your session, it makes every type of photo better in my opinion! To get you inspired, think about channeling a time period for your engagement photos.
- Make it sunny and carefree, like a 70’s album cover
- Go full 90s and do your session at a laundromat (I know this sounds funny, but look it up on Pinterest, it’s so cute!)
- Think The Notebook and channel that passionate, timeless romance
04. In Home – cozy, messy & real
- Snuggle up on your couch with wine
- Take a sudsy bathtub with wine
- Cook or bake your favorite foods, have a flour fight, with wine 😉
- Have a pillow fight
- Just chill outside, grill, get playful in your garden or play with your pups in your backyard
05. A Studio Session
- Modern, simple, all-white backdrop. Try this with jeans and tee shirts, or go a different direction with a suit or slip dress
- Industrial or Rustic – Find one with a more unique feel, maybe it has exposed brick or cool furniture
- Cozy & homey – Want the vibe of an in-home session, but don’t have great lighting in your home? Check out Peerspace or Airbnb for homes that double up as a studio. These generally have great light and are beautifully decorated to fit any vibe you’re going for.
06. Downtown
- Visit a brewery or local bar
- Does your town have an old-timey theater? This makes a really cool backdrop for photos
- Do a cute ice cream, pizza, or mini-golf date and channel your younger, playful selves
- Bike around the city
- Does your town have a beautiful train or subway station? Embrace the people, signs, traffic, and all the things that make a city buzz and do your session right downtown.
- Live nearby a cute, quiet neighborhood, a boardwalk or a beach town? This can be a really cute way to channel “downtown” while not quite feeling urban!
07. Flash
Don’t feel like you have to do an entire flash session (unless you want to!), but it can be a fun addition to your gallery to mix things up a little! Use it:
- At the beach, just before or after sunset
- With a campfire
- Watching the stars
- Downtown to capture city lights
08. Travel
Do you both love to travel? Channel wanderlust in a unique location, landmark, or somewhere majestic and beautiful. Use a vacation, or staycation as an excuse to find a local photographer and get your engagement photos done somewhere new.
- Use a snowy, cozy Airbnb cabin
- Rent a Sailboat for the afternoon
- Go on a private cocktail cruise
- Go somewhere tropical and run around on the beach
09. Find some wheels!
- Rent a classic car and park it somewhere magical, rent or use a friend’s truck or jeep, or use your own car for a different vibe
- Take a bike ride
- Bring a skateboard (this is one of my favorite props!) and take turns pushing each other around on it
- Go rollerblading on a boardwalk or in your neighborhood, or go to a roller-skating rink
- Is either of you a motorcycle rider? Bring that into your engagement photos for some REALLY fun and unique photos!
10. Food or Drinks
Add personality to your photos, keep everyone laughing and having fun, and gives you something to do with your hands!
- Pop champagne
- Bring your favorite beers or favorite drinks
- Have a pizza or ice cream date
- Go to your favorite fast food spot
More sessions in 2023 that are personalized, keep everyone laughing, absolutely crush any awkwardness, and leave your face hurting from smiling so much!
