Pre-WeddingCouple Portraits
Hey, if your reading this it’s because your interested and/or have booked a pre-wedding couple portraits session with myself. Amazing!
So over the years I’ve documented countless engagement shoots or as I like to call them; pre-wedding couple portraits, partly as couples can sometimes think the shoots are just for capturing the proposal or couples who just want some photos of themselves but are already married think they cant hire me.
The term Pre-Wedding / Couple Portraits I feel opens this style of shoot to more wonderful couples, engaged or not!
Pre-Wedding – I’m Super Awkward
Probably the biggest thing I’ve heard over the years is the ‘We’re so awkward’ or ‘He smiles like chandler bing’ lines. Honestly 99% of people think this and for good reason, it’s not every day we have a camera pointed at us with nice clothes on for two hours at a location that means something to us
The good part is it’s not actually awkward at all – as when we meet up we generally go for a walk, holding hands and just have a chat about the wedding. On your wedding day I do very little posing, as you likely know as this is predominantly why couples book with me.
But on pre-wedding couple portrait shoots we cant walk and hold hands for 2 hours so they are generally a little more on the posed side but don’t worry I will give you direction whilst keeping it fun, light and hopefully not too cringe. A pre-wedding should be fun and relaxed.
Below are 3 sections for Location, Wardrobe and Details. These three areas are vital to a great pre-wedding couple portrait session and in order of importance so start with location, followed by what your going to wear and then the details.
01.Pick you location
The most important factor for your portrait session; Location. Generally I say pick a location that means something to you, do you often walk the dog on the beach, take day trips out to Forests and be part of nature or even just love being at home, cosy, together snuggling on the couch or cooking breakfast together and sharing a coffee.
Pick your location wisely as it’s the backdrop for all of your photos and will likely end up on your wall as prints (hopefully). You can even contact your venue if you would like to use the grounds for your session, check with them for their availability.
It’s worth saying I would advise avoiding busy tourist locations unless your happy with random strangers in your pre-wedding photos.
A very quick tip if your selecting the beach as your pre-wedding location. From experience I always get wet feet, always, expect to be barefoot on the sand and bring some sandals for walking on rock pools etc, something easy to get on and off.
Also be prepared to get wet, its nice to walk in the water but maybe you’re feeling more adventurous and you both end up in the drink for some fun and laughter – I’ll jump in too.
Worth bringing spare clothes, towels and maybe something hot in a flask for afterwards just in case. A nice hot drink after your pre-wedding sessions is glorious if you’ve been in the water.
02.Pick your wardrobe
Your wardrobe needs to complement your location, you need to think of tones, textures, patterns etc. Let’s take the beach as an example, a bright primary coloured dress wouldn’t look the best as the beach holds a-lot of neutral tones so a white, beige, cream colour scheme would work much better.
If you go for a forrest look which holds a-lot of earthy greens and browns it’s best to compliment that with lighter coloured wardrobe so you stand out against the darker tones of the forrest. Imagine wearing black jeans, brown boots and a brown jacket – It would fit the colour palette of the location but you may look lost in the photo.
My number one tip for sessions is to stick with neutral and earthy clothing. Don’t wear anything with a logo or text on it as it distracts the eye.
Add a pop of complimentary colour and avoid patterns where possible, always stick to block colours such as a orange dress for a city shoot or cream chinos and a white shirt for the beach. If your still unsure drop me an email.
Sometimes it’s a great idea to dress up, take a photo and send it over to me and I can let you know if it will work. Worth stating all clothes will work, as they are yours and how you like to dress and be comfy – we’re just trying to get that extra 10% out of your shoot to take it from OK to WOW.
Footwear – I would suggest leather or sued boots, sandals or even barefoot, barefoot is great for the beach especially walking ankle deep in the water. I would avoid wearing trainers/active wear where possible.
03.Pick your details
So you have the location and wardrobe ticked off, now for the finishing touches. A good idea is to book your make-up and/or hair trials the morning of the pre-wedding couple portraits session so your looking your absolute best and kills two birds with one stone.
I will of course likely take some photos of the rings and your hands so it’s worth having the ring cleaned and if important to you getting your nails done.
Think about your location and bring some details/elements we may be able to use such as a picnic on the beach, or just a couple of nice glasses and some champagne, maybe hire a classic car for some statement photos. What ever you think of its always worth adding some details even if it’s just a nice hat and sun glasses.
Dogs – Yes please BUT well-behaved only as if we spend the entire session trying to control a dog the session becomes about the dog and not you. If he/she can take commands well bring them along. It’s also worth having someone with you as we can use the dog in the photos for 20-30 minutes and then concentrate 100% on just you two for the remainder of the session.
04.Travel, access, and timings.
Pre-Wedding Portrait Sessions are held at a location of your choice but it must be within a 40 mile radius of DL17 0QJ. A £1.00 per mile travel charge will apply outside of this radius and payable before the shoot via Bank Transfer. This works out at 50p per mile round trip.
Access at some locations may need permission, it is your responsibility to check if permission is needed, if in doubt ask for permission, always better to cover yourself. If there is any fee associated with the entry permission this will be your responsibility.
Your session time starts from the moment we meet at the destination. As an example if you have a two hour session and you want to hike up a mountain for 1.5 hours we will only have 30 minutes of shooting time. This is why all sessions should be able to start within 5 mins of meeting at the destination.
If something more adventurous is up your street such as climbing the fells in the Lake District or having panoramic views of the Quiraing in the Isle of Skye, please get in touch for a quote.
