DIY Engagement Photos

Engaged!? Congrats! This is such an exciting time in a girl's life (and I think a guy's too, even though they play it cool) and it's time to capture your happiness! Professional engagement photos have become a big trend, but how are people affording all of this? There are some amazing and talented photographers out there who do a GREAT job, but why pay for engagement photos if you don't have to?

I'm a lover of photography, and appreciate the good stuff! I took a basic photography class in college as an art education student and figured I had enough background to do it myself. As soon as I was engaged I looked into photos, but didn't want to pay for it. My Mom had told me that although engagement photos are popular and seem so important at the time, you won't have them hanging in your house for years to come. They get overshadowed by your wedding photos as soon as you are married. Mom's sure do know everything, don't they?

So this is a do it YOURSELF post... but we didn't truly do it ourselves. We had my sister (my maid of honor) as our photographer. However, I did the editing to make them look more like a professional could have taken them! My sister had no prior experience and she would even tell you that she isn't an artsy person. She did a GREAT job taking a bunch of photos for us with my point and shoot camera. No need for a big DSLR camera here people, just something that will have enough pixels to produce quality prints!

BEFORE TAKING PHOTOS:

• PREP YOUR CAMERA:
• Set the camera to the largest photo size possible. This will allow you to make large prints, should you need or want them. It will take up more room on your memory card, but it's worth it.
• BE PREPARED:
• Pack extra batteries. Larger photo size = more battery life used.
• Pack an extra memory card! Be on the safe side.
• PLAN YOUR WARDROBE:
• Wear appropriate clothing (something without lettering/brands) to keep them timeless. You'll notice that my husband didn't do this. We were traveling in Kohler, WI and he packed nothing to wear, even though we talked about it! (Men!) 
• FIND INSPIRATION:
• Go on Pinterest, Google Image Search or find other examples of engagement photos that you love. Print these off or make notes to bring with you on the day you take photos!

Now that you have all of the necessary stuff (not much, right?) it's time to smile and say, "cheese"!

Yes, this shirt REALLY bothers me. I know I need  to just pack it for him next time!

WHILE PHOTOGRAPHING:

Taking as many photos as possible leads to candid moments!

• TAKE AS MANY PHOTOS AS POSSIBLE
• Photographers often take two hours or so to take great engagement photos and give you many, quality images to choose from. When you DIY, you're not always going to have it in focus, have a great angles, or great lighting. Take those same two hours to enjoy the experience and give you or your stand-in photographer time to get used to the camera. (We only took photos for about an hour including travel time to different spots, and we had a lot of photos to choose from but only a handful that I really loved.)
• GO TO YOUR FAVORITE LOCATIONS/SPECIAL SPOTS



These shirts I'm okay with :)

• Love a sports team? Have a special spot? Make these shots more personal by having the backgrounds you love! Use this as an excuse to go see some sights or visit memory lane to make the photos even more special. Not many photographers will go traveling to your favorite places, instead they use generic backgrounds or locations that people might have seen before. 
• USE YOUR INSPIRATION:
• Grab those photos/notes and reference them for ideas for poses. It is very weird to pose for the camera when you're not used to it. These will help break the ice, but don't forget to be yourself! Use them for references for framing/angles/compositional shots too. This is the easiest way to show your non-professional photographer what you are looking for.

 Now that you have taken your photos, you need to use a photo editing program or upload them to a photo editing website that you like. I am savvy with Photoshop due to my degree in art education but there are great ways to edit your photos if you are not up to date with software! Search online and find something free that you like!

WHILE EDITING:

•   LEVELS:
• Levels in a photograph refer to the brightness of the whites and the blackness of the blacks while keeping all the mid-tones. If you have a software program, like Photoshop, look for levels as a new adjustment layer and play around with them to make your photo pop! You can also use the contrast feature for this but levels are more subtle to me.
• OVERLAYS
• Add texture to your photograph like a pro does! I found this awesome tutorial and some freebies from a very artistic photographer, Jessica Drosin. Click HERE to see a video tutorial for Photoshop Elements. She uses some heavy Photoshop techniques in her photography, but you don't have to!
• CROP OUT DISTRACTIONS
• Have an awesome shot? Make it better by cropping it closer to you and your fiance or using the Rule of Thirds to create emphasis.

If it's your personality, go a little crazy with editing and have some fun with it! No, we did not carve this tree!

I'll be the first to tell you I'm not a professional at this!  I am an artistic person with some pretty shallow pockets! And like all of you, I have the ability to do internet searches to find simple tutorials/examples that either teach or inspire me to do it on my own! (Which is what I hope this post does for you!)

It was very true that our engagement photos were not important to us after we got our wedding photos back! They do make great memories though, and are very helpful when you want to showcase you and your fiance in your engagement announcement, at your engagement party, or even your bridal shower! We loved this engagement shot so much that we did a re-make of it on our wedding day! These photos are up in our living room, all four of them!

Have a beautiful day!