Quit saying No.

So lets be honest here.

I have started this post at least 5 times. I know what I want to say, I just doing know how to not sound mean and bossy. So here it goes!

Quite saying no to engagement photos. Just do them, whether or not they cost money. Honestly. Its SO WORTH IT!

Why? Chances are you don’t personally know your photographer, you’ve probably heard about them, followed them on some sort of social media for awhile, and shared some emails. You’re also probably not that comfortable in front of the camera, and I can almost guarantee you that your husband to be isn’t either. He is probably dreading the photos.

So why not say no right? More money. More time. No thank you.

Well as a photographer I’ve learned a few things. One of those is when I know the couple I tend to shoot a little more creative, I shoot what I feel feels right. I try to capture them as a couple, and not just as another client. So come wedding day, and we’ve only just chatted between drinks, emails, and maybe a dinner I have no idea what you are going to be like in front of the camera. And honestly, you have NO idea how we shoot! Every photographer shoots different, and thats the joy of photography. There’s almost no right or wrong way, just different ways. Kellen and I give just a little direction, an some give no direction, and some give way more direction. The engagement session is for us to get to know how you will act in front of the camera, and for your to realize there aren’t any bullets coming from the shutter. Really, we know its scary but it won’t kill you! It actually can be really fun. So come wedding day, we all know what to expect. We know how much direction you need, we know how to pose you, we know what to say to make you laugh/be silly/be yourself; and you can be yourself!

Also, wedding photos are great. Obviously. We love wedding photos, but we all need photos of us in our regular clothes and just us being us. You know when you go through your parents old photos when they started dating, and that feeling you get. Well, think of these photos as photos for your kids and for you to look at 5/10/50 years from now and you’ll get that same feeling. That feeling of, look at us. Doing what we love. Engagement photos are great to have, because they can remind us who we are/were. I can tell you that those are the ones we have in our house actually. Maybe one day when we buy a house we will have our beautiful amazing wedding photos up. But for now, we have some lovely ones of us and our flinty. And we love them.

Engagement sessions are so much more then just photos, they are the pre game before the wedding. They are so important to us, that we have one with our two wedding packages. If we fly to you, then we fly a day early and we make time for them. Its ALWAYS worth it. I promise.

And just to re iterate that! Here’s the adorable session of Emma & Dana. They were quite nervous, so we went on a “coffee date” , and walked around in their neighborhood. It was glorious, and on wedding day we all knew what to except and they were ready for their photos!