Emily Dean Photography » Lifestyle & Family Photographer | Based in Birmingham, Alabama

‘Tis the season to be married…or to get engaged!

With all of the newly engaged couples popping up everywhere, I thought I would offer a few tips on having your engagement portraits taken.

There are few things more stressful than getting ready to have your picture taken.  Believe me…I know.  The last time I had my picture taken, I was a nervous wreck the whole day.  Planning the perfect wardrobe, hair and make up are stressful enough, but to have that choice documented….FOREVER?! Sheeesh.  Stress.  So, I thought of a few tips that have helped me tremendously to feel relaxed and confident leading up to the session.

1.  PREPARE.  Choose your wardrobe in advance.  Don’t wait until the day of your session to try and decide what you and your honey will be wearing…that is a recipe for disaster and a sure bet for the fight of the century!  If you need tips on how to coordinate on what to wear for your session, I have and entire Pinterest board just for you, here!

Also, if you have already decided who will be doing your hair and make up for your wedding day, it would be a great idea to schedule your test run for the day of your engagement session. This way, you have professional hair and make up for your portraits at no extra cost to you! Score!!  (And, trust me, having your hair and make up done goes a long way in boosting your confidence in front of the camera.)

2.  RELAX.  If you’ve followed rule #1 and prepared for your session in advance, there’s no need to stress!  Relax.  Have a glass of wine and get ready to have some serious fun!  (A little wine never hurt anybody and it does wonders for those jittery nerves that tend to creep in before a portrait session.)

3.  HAVE FUN! Be yourself and have a good time.  My absolute favorite pictures happen toward the end of a session when a couple has relaxed and almost forgotten about my camera.  They are having fun and playing with each other.  They are being themselves and it shows up beautifully on camera!

I hope these tips have been helpful.  If I can make 1 couple feel more confident leading up to their portrait session (even if it isn’t with me) then I feel great about that!

If you have anymore questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Happy planning 🙂

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The #1 question I get from clients after booking a session is “What should we wear?”  Usually, in response to this, I direct them to my Pinterest page where I have 2 different pin boards dedicated just to this topic…one for families and one for engaged couples.  However, after speaking with Shaquan about her family’s Christmas session last week, she didn’t ask me this question.

And now I know why.

How ADORABLE are they?

They are PERFECTLY coordinated.  They match without “matching.”  The GO, if you will.  They will forever be a Pin on my Pinterest “What to wear | Family Edition” board and a constant answer to the ever popular question “WHAT SHOULD WE WEAR??!”

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And, not to mention, the most precious little guy I have EVER SEEN.  I couldn’t get over how much I loved him!  Look at that face!vPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEVvPINIMAGEV

{and by the way, I just had a MAJOR breakthrough…I typed this entire post WITHOUT WRITING IT DOWN 1st!! progress. BOOM.}

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I love flowers.

LOVE them.

I have flowers and pictures of flowers all over my house, so it stands to reason that some of my favorite details from a wedding day are the bouquets.

When my friend, Heather, told me that she was going to have a brooch bouquet for her wedding this past May, my 1st thought was “a what?”  My 2nd thought was “A WHAT?!”

I felt a little nervous and sad because:

1.  I had never seen a brooch bouquet before and I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it.

2.  NO FLOWERS?!! What in the world?!

Luckily, Heather has a style all her own and knew exactly what she was doing.  As it turns out, this is about the greatest idea I’ve ever heard.  Not only was it GORGEOUS, but also extremely meaningful.  Most of the brooches were family heirlooms and gifts from close friends.  How FANTASTIC is that?!

Heather’s brooch bouquet has easily taken the prize for my Favorite 2012 Bridal Bouquet!

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{I started typing this post straight out, but quickly had to stop and grab a pen & pad…I told you I can’t type anything without first writing it down! I tried…}

Now that the holiday photo rush has died down, I’m really starting to focus on what I want my business to look like in 2013.  My #1 goal is to grow my wedding photography business.

Weddings are my absolute favorite thing to shoot & I’m already stoked about the weddings I have lined up for next year!  So, this week’s Manic Monday is all about weddings.

New collections, New services, New products…NEW BRIDES!!

I am super excited about all of the incredible, new services & products I will be offering my brides next year!  I’m still very much in the planning stages, but stay tuned because this week is devoted to all things weddings.  It’s a Wedding Work Week and I hope to have all of the details ironed out by Friday!

Happy Monday, y’all!

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They drove all the way from Georgia just to have me shoot their engagement photos.

Blown away.

Clients like this keep me motivated.  They give me hope and fill me with so much excitement.  I already love what I do, but they make me want to climb up onto my rooftop and shout it for the world to hear!

Chrissy and MJ are getting married in May in…wait for it….DESTIN, FLORIDA and I am ecstatic to have the honor of photographing their day.

I met these two for the 1st time on the day of their engagement session & I just wanted to throw my arms around them in a gigantic group hug because I loved them instantly!  Their bubbly personalities, glowing smiles, stunning good looks…all of it…the whole package.  They are undeniably the perfect pair.  So obviously in love & perfectly perfect for each other.

I love couples who are up for anything .  Couples who will play and act silly in front of my camera.

Chrissy & MJ are that couple.  We started in downtown Birmingham then moved on to a more rustic location & they rocked it out in every situation.  We had so much fun & I cannot WAIT for May!

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Aren’t they FABULOUS?  If you would like to view all of Chrissy & MJ’s photos you can visit their custom website!

www.chrissyandmj.emilydeanphotography.com

  • June 18, 2013 - 9:07 am

    Chrissy & MJ | Destination Wedding Photographer~Destin, FL » Emily Dean Photography - […] 1st time I met Chrissy & MJ was during their engagement session, when they drove all the way to Birmingham from Georgia…just to have me take their photos. […]ReplyCancel

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