Sandra Ardizzone Photography - intimate weddings in Europe and beyond

View Original

What to wear to your engagement shoot

A couple’s shoot is always a good idea. Be it in preparation to your wedding, as a gift for your anniversary or simply to celebrate a special time in your relationship. Having candid, professional photos of yourselfs is an investment that’s absolutely worth it.

With me, a couple’s shoot isn’t a stiff, boring thing but instead it’s an event that will showcase your personality. That’s why I’ll send you a small questionnaire and ask you about your hobbies, your favorite places, music you like and will try to get you know as good as possible in advance. I’ll see to it that you’re relaxed and that you’ll look fabulous on the photos. But to get the best images there’s things you can help with as well. For your engagement and/or couple’s pictures to turn out the way you imagined them to, there‘s a few things to consider.

First of all, that‘s your outfits. It‘s best to wear clothes you feel confident and comfortable in. Soft colors and no small patterns work best. Also, please leave the shirts in bold colors (red, green, orange, …) and those with big logos at home - they‘ll only divert the attention from you and the love you have for each other. And they might be cool now but might just not look as nice when you print the photo and look at it again years from now, wheareas uni-colored items are timeless!

Earthen tones like ocre or olive work great and you also can‘t go wrong with pastels. I especially love blush items for women. Give me a light pink flowy skirt and I’m over the moon! One really important suggestion: Don‘t match outfits, instead pick your clothes within a color palette / a color scheme.

CONSIDERING THE SURROUNDINGS

When choosing your outfit, consider where we’re going to shoot. For a city shoot, you might want to wear ripped jeans and a leather jacket or more bold clothes while in nature some quieter colors and earthen tones will look good. You can also choose different fabrics as they‘ll change the style of a photo in a positive way. Shooting in a lavender field, something blueis or purple might look good, but you can also be bold and pick red or green to truly stand out.

If you want to bring props like hats, scarves or a picknick blanket, please do! I love how a simple prop can entirely change an outfit. We’ll also be able to add them as we go along so you’ll get even more diversity in your images, even if we don’t change locations.

Also, if you‘re not sure whether your outfit works for the shoot you can always send me a message and a few snaps through email or whatsapp.

I have put together pinterest-boards which you can use to get some inspiration for your outfits:

Him: https://www.pinterest.ch/s_ardizzonephoto/what-to-wear-guy/

Her: https://www.pinterest.ch/s_ardizzonephoto/what-to-wear-girl/

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE STYLING

One last suggestion: Ladies, get your hair and above all your make-up done professionally on the day of the shoot. You will feel more comfortable and, hey, you‘re totally allowed to pamper yourself for a special occasion! For engagement shoots I also suggest you get a manicure and have your ring cleaned a few days before the shoot - you want it to sparke, after all, don‘t you?

HOW DO I HAVE TO POSE?

You don‘t! As I mentioned, I want you to relax and that won‘t happen if you have to think about where to put your hands and where to look. I will of course give you guidance and suggestions on what to do but you‘re always free to change the way you stand and move. As an inspiration you can check out my previous engagement shoots right here. Your only job during our shoot is to relax and have fun. I will cover the rest.

WHAT IF IT RAINS?

If we have enough time we‘ll simply reschedule. If not, we can always use various indoor locations. A very personal one is your own home. And don‘t worry, almost every home is photogenic. If you‘re feeling adventurous we can also venture out into the rain together!

CAN WE BRING TWO OUTFITS?

You definitely can! Just remember that an outfit-change will take away from the time for our shoot. I suggest you pick an elegant and a more casual outfit, both with their respective accessories (above all, shoes!).