Engagement photos?

[NineInchNails_x]

I have a few questions about engagement photos.
What is the purpose of them? What do you use them for?
How long do you wait after you get engaged to get photos done? I plan on being in a long engagement so should I wait until it gets closer to the date?
Are you planning on getting engagement pictures done or have you already got them?

[nicole]

We got ours done this summer, at the Botanical Gardens where he proposed to me

I think it is popular to use them for your Save The Date cards before you send out the invites, we ended up not doing that as ours didn't go with the theme we are going with for the wedding. We got prints made for our families and had our favorite one printed for a frame on our dresser. Some friends of ours got there's blown up onto a canvas for their living room. TBH we didn't really need to get them done, but it was really fun for us and it's nice to get some good photos of us together which aren't in our classic "leaning with the camera infront of us and pray we've aimed right" pose. lol

I think most people wait for the season they plan their wedding to be in, as lots of couples have one of their engagement photos on display at their wedding- so a photo of them all wrapped up in winter clothes at their summer wedding may look silly. But if you don't care really (I don't see why that really matters anyway, but that's just me ), you can get them done whenever you want. What I did find however, is most photographers do the engagement photos for free, as part of a package if you book them for your wedding.

So really, you don't necessarily need them done, you can do them whenever you want, and a lot of photographers include them in their wedding packages. It was a good experience for us and we will always cherish them as a good memory

[Xanahtas]

Dont really know the purpose but the photographer im using throws in a shoot for the engagement pics 2 months before the wedding I think they're a nice little memory really

[Engel]

Hmm, I wont get engagemtn pictures, we will get married in two months in the courthouse, but I may make a session for our save the date before the religious wedding in one year and a half. why? because i love photography and any excuse to get amazing pictures of me and my SO is something I would jump at. haha

We will get a professional photographer for our courthouse wedding as well. there wont be any party, just a dinner in a restaurant with our mothers, his stepfather, my brother and his best friend. but we will have good pictures of that day forever.

[NineInchNails_x]

Thanks (:
I think we may end up doing them even though I don't really see a point besides keeping them around the house, for us, etc. They sound like they might be fun to do.

[snow_girl]

I think they'd be nice to get done, most of the photos we have of us one of our arms are sticking out the side cause we have to take them of ourselves. It would be a good way as well to get used to the camera and being the subject of a shoot before your wedding, then you know what to expect and can relax and not muck up your wedding photos. I know I always feel awkward if people want to take more then one photo of me.

[lucybelle]

If I ever get married I think I would skip this step. I've seen some really beautiful shots, but in all honesty it just looks cheesy to me. I guess my SO and I are not into the mushy romantic stuff. And I will poke myself in the eye before I make one of those hand hearts or arm hearts with my SO. laaammmeee...

[SDPersona]

My boyfriend's sister got them done before her wedding and those shoots are popular and very common in South Africa. In my country they are barely even heard of. I was very surprised when I heard of them from my boyfriend and even got a look at them. And... I've got to say: If my boyfriend and me are ever planning to get married, we are going to get them done.

[nicole]

^^ they do also give you a chance to get to know your photographer too, I must say even if I was having the wedding in America, I WOULD NOT use the guy I used for my engagement photos. He's an ass, and ruined some perfectly beautiful, natural shots with stupid photoshops.... so yeah it could save you $$$ and a lot of tears if you are unfortunate enough to pick bad photographer for your engagement photos- gives you chance to look elsewhere. I've always said to my SO, "I don't care what else goes wrong, I want to say our vows, and have some beautiful photos to look back on". I will cut as many corners as possible in other places, but I will not settle for a bad photographer.

[Xanahtas]

Yeah its always a good thing to get to know your photographer.
@nicole, shame to hear about the arse of a photographer! Did he give you the option for you to have a say in the pics and editing? im using a photographer who lets you have control over all of that. Im a bit of a perfectionist, expecially when it come to Photography as im a keen photographer myself lol

[nicole]

Yeah its always a good thing to get to know your photographer.
@nicole, shame to hear about the arse of a photographer! Did he give you the option for you to have a say in the pics and editing? im using a photographer who lets you have control over all of that. Im a bit of a perfectionist, expecially when it come to Photography as im a keen photographer myself lol

He was fine enough on the day, and we did get a few nice shots, but he added me onto his personal facebook to look at my pictures as he has no business sense and now I get to witness his extreme political rants on my newsfeed. We did not get any say in the editing, but he did give us all the copies of the unedited files so I rescued some An example piece of why I would not use him again?

Here:




....... I literally facepalmed when I first saw it... now we may laugh about it but back then O_O I hate photoshop. I like as natural as possible. My new photographer is wonderful and she is recommended by the venue, so I am excited for her to work her stuff

oh and here is a nice one, just to show he wasn't all that bad:



I still remember taking those shots So so happy to be there with him taking them

[Zephii]

I think they are basically a scam to get more money. I'd never heard of them before I went to Canada.

We got a couple done, mostly by accident. We got a free shoot + one free print at walmart (of all places) when we got the passport photos for his visa. We paid for one photo and got the free one and that was it. I'm glad we did it though His dad used the main photo on the place cards and slideshow cover at the engagement party.

[snow_girl]

Nicole, that one photo reminded me of the photos my parents got. They have an engagement photo form like 27 years ago and its my mom on a bench with my dad kissing her and a 'ghost dad' at the other end of the bench looking jealous. Haha

[Xanahtas]

First one im not too keen on, purely because i dont like the whole idea of another pic kinda murged onto another, but the second one is nice
Hope the actual wedding pics turn out well for you!