Let’s hold off on talking about the engagement session for a second. Let’s imagine. You’re a kid again. Life is simple. You go to school, and you do your homework. You listen to Mom and Dad and do everything they ask. It’s your 5th birthday, and for being a good little one they give you a bike. You’re ridiculously excited. Everyone on the block has one, and gosh darn it, it’s about time your parents gave you one. Your Dad assembles it and asks if you want the training wheels on it. You proudly shake your head and say, “No. I’ve done this before.
Besides, all the other kids are riding without their training wheels.” Your Dad asks if you’re sure and you simply nod with a less than confident grin on your face. Everything is set up, your helmet is on, and you’re ready to ride. Everyone’s waiting for your to pedal out of the driveway o your brand new bike. We wait a bit. We anxiously look around. Nothing happens. Your Mom asks if you need a push. You nod. Your Dad comes and pushes you off. You start to pedal, but the world all of a sudden looks sideways. Whoops! You lost your balance and fell. The sad fact is that you’ve never ridden a bike before. Your Dad quickly picks you up and says, “It’s alright. Don’t worry. We’ll get the training wheels on and practice until you get it just right.”
Moral of the story is practice makes perfect. It’s simple and common knowledge. The more you practice something, the better you get at it. It’s pretty straightforward.
“The Engagement Session is the beginning of our photography process.”
Too many times have we faced couples that simply don’t want the engagement session to save a quick buck. The fact of the matter is that each of our wedding collection’s, whether big or small, comes with a complimentary engagement session.
I’ll be honest here. When we first started on this venture into photography together I had very little knowledge as to what it took to capture the images that I wanted. I simply had a good eye. It’s not that I didn’t practice. Even today I shoot everything from somethings to little nothings just so I can practice my composition. It’s really easy with Instagram. I’ve grown to love it. Over time I’ve changed my style. I can say the same for Marta. She’s changed the way she looks at things. We take the time to analyze what we see and how we can interpret it. Needless to say, our sessions have changed as well. It’s quite interesting how organic it is.
I always tell clients that we’re a little different. I’ve always tried to explain that we don’t try to get people to look pretty, to look at each other, and smile. That’s not who we are as people. We’re very much into photojournalism. We’re very modern. We try to make nothings into somethings. Making the ordinary extraordinary.
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The process at which we do engagement session is…different. We don’t ask you to pose, but we ask you to simply be. We play games and ask you to simply be yourself with your significant other. Those private moments when you’re in his arms and feel secure, that’s what we strive to capture. This, of course, takes practice on both sides.
“The engagement session is where we get to know each other.”
We’re going to ask you to do things that are different. Marta and I are going to ask you to do things that might make you feel childish. We’re going to capture things that will bring tears to your eyes. On the day of your wedding, we (Marta, you, your loved one, and I) need to be in harmony. Not perfect, because perfect is a lie, but together and in harmony. We need to have an idea and share that idea. We won’t know unless we work together and practice.
This is where engagement sessions come into play. If I don’t make you feel comfortable enough to relax at a session, then I’ve failed as a photographer. It’s not that we aren’t going to get the images that we want if you’re not comfortable. There’s always something that we capture. I just feel that it’s important to capture that love and emotion that you two share for each other. The emotional kind. When it comes to the engagement session we’ll practice together. We’ll see what works and what doesn’t. As they say, we’ll laugh together before we cry together.
Let’s laugh a little, let’s cry a little. Let’s work together, practice, and capture the beauty that is your love.
Until next time,
Rudy
