Should you invest in Engagement Photos?

Short answer (from a photographer): YES!!! A million times yes!!

Ok, ok, we all knew that was coming, can you blame me?! ;-) 

In all seriousness though, it IS a valid question. Weddings are expensive and there are many things to consider during this exciting time in your life!  Some engagements are long, some are relatively short and although engagement photos seem to be somewhat of a trend in the past 10-15 years, there is absolutely some validity in asking if investing in engagement photography is really worth it to you as a couple. 

As a photographer, I obviously believe that photos matter at all different stages of your life. Engagement photography is no different. There is something so special about this time when you have just decided to commit to each other in such a profound and visible way. You are on the cusp of covenant, you have said "I'm in for the long haul....no matter what" and sealed it with a ring.

That SCREAMS to be documented, remembered and celebrated! 

And if I haven't convinced you yet....here are four additional reasons that YOU should invest in engagement photography. 

Documentation

There are many things that fall under this heading because in my opinion its the most important! Being professionally photographed is not something that happens for most adults on any sort of regular basis. Getting engaged is the perfect opportunity to get some high quality documented photos to remember this new and exciting time in your life. Sure, we may be the "selfie" generation, but hiring a professional to capture the essence of who you are as a couple trumps double chins, bad exposure and "the arm on the side" photos of the two of you. 

As a newly engaged couple, you will also likely want to print and frame some photos of the two of you that are NOT in wedding clothes. I currently have ONE wedding photo hanging from my walls (the rest are in an album because I think that tells a better story) and many of the rest are from Paul and my engagement session. I LOVE looking at those photos every day and remembering everything about that time. An engagement session is the perfect opportunity to have images of the two of you that you can hang, frame and or send to grandma!

Engagement photos are also PERFECT for using on your save the date cards or even your wedding invitations or Christmas cards. Adding that personal touch of an image of the two of you to friends and loved ones just adds to the excitement! 

My FAVORITE photo from our engagement session- photo by Angie Arms Photography

Practice for wedding

There is absolutely no better time to prepare for wedding photos than at an engagement session. The day will be hectic, timing will inevitably be off at some point during the day and the last thing you as the bride and groom need to worry about is feeling awkward about photos. Having professional photos taken is not something people do every day (unless they are professional models) so it doesn't come naturally to most people. Being able to get into a little bit of a rhythm with each other beforehand will only make your day all that much easier and enjoyable! 

Get to know your wedding photographer

Many wedding photographers (myself included) offer engagement sessions in their packages for exactly this reason. Even though you may meet with your wedding photographer before the big day, actually seeing how they work before the wedding day can be invaluable! You get to know them and how they direct you, and they get to know you better which in turn just lends itself to a more relaxed and easy going time at the actual wedding. Meeting someone for the first time who is in charge of documenting one of the most important days in your life can be an overwhelming feeling! You will already be experiencing the gamut of emotions on that day, don't do yourself a disservice by adding to that. Having an engagement session with your wedding photographer will get you at least two additional hours of actual time spent observing and understanding how the photographer will work with you on the big day. 

Photos of the ring!

Ok, I kind of threw this one in there for fun, but really....where else will you get an amazing close up photo of your engagement ring in all its glory? Photographers use a special lens called a macro lens to get these shots and who wouldn't want one of their fabulous new accessory? Almost all photographers I know who specialize in engagement and wedding photography will absolutely take time out to get some beautiful close up shots of the rings and even though you might get some during the wedding, the engagement photos will likely take place relatively soon after you become engaged and the ring will still be sparkly and new! The perfect clothes for an amazing and beautiful close up shot! 

If you were on the fence before about booking an engagement session, I hope these reasons have pushed you right over the top (without any injury of course!) And obviously (wink, wink) I would love to help you out with that! 

If you are interested in booking an engagement or wedding package: 

Backlight Basics : Looking for light in all the right places

As a photographer, its important to learn about all different types of light. Everything in photography revolves around light. What kind of light do you have available? How will the camera read and record the light in the scene? Where are the highlights and where are the shadows? Do you need to add or subtract light? 

Essentially everything starts with light and goes from there. In continuation of my "Looking for light in all the right places" series, today we are talking about backlight.

• What makes it so dreamy?
• How to achieve the "glow"
• Important considerations when attempting to shoot into the backlight
• Pitfalls to avoid

WHAT IS BACKLIGHT?

The technical definition of backlight is:

verb (used with object), backlighted or backlit, backlighting

2. to illuminate (something from behind.)

Pretty self explanatory right? The LIGHT is in the BACK (or behind) your subject. 

A common misconception from many people who don't understand the technicality of photography or lighting (as was mine when I first started) is that the more light the better. In reality, the direction of the light is much more important than the amount of light you have available. Shooting into the backlight often results in photographs that tend to be warm and "glowy" because the light is literally wrapping itself around the subject. 

HOW TO SHOOT INTO THE BACKLIGHT

Shooting into the backlight or shooting in backlight situations can tend to get a little tricky. Although it does take quite a bit of practice, once you figure out a rhythm of how to set up your shot, how to expose correctly and what situations to look for, you will be shooting successfully backlit photographs consistently. Shooting backlit scenes quickly became one of my favorite things to do and I find myself constantly looking for areas and locations that would work well for backlit shots. 

Some things you need to take into consideration when attempting to shoot backlit photos:

Time of Day

The time of day is essential for backlit photos. In order for the light to be coming from behind the subject, the sun has to be lower in the sky. When the sun is high in the sky, its almost impossible to put the sun behind your subject because...well, no one is that tall! Shooting in the early morning or in the few hours before sun sets is the absolute best time to achieve backlit photos. 

You can see in this photo below of my stepson and his girlfriend that the sun is lower in the sky although its not completely at the horizon. The sun is behind and to the right of them (you can tell from the direction of the shadows on the ground.) 

Diffusion

One of the things that making shooting into backlight tricky is that when you put the sun behind your subjects, you are then directly facing the sun. Anyone who has pointed a camera in the direction of the sun knows that sun flares and haze are often the immediate result. However, if you have the ability to diffuse the light by using objects in the environment, you can get the shot without a distracting flare or haziness on the images. Trees work really well for diffusion as well as taller buildings or other natural elements. A scrim or reflector can also work to diffuse light if you are positioned in a way where the sun is hitting your lens directly. 

Sometimes flares end up in photos anyway and often times they can add a really beautiful element to a photo! Other times they can look out of place or distracting. In the photo below I caught a slight flare that ended up right on Mary's leg. Its not horribly distracting in this image, but sometimes lens flares look incredibly out of place and awkward. While the sun was lower in the sky I placed Trevor and Mary here for a couple of reasons. I wanted the sun to filter through those trees because I knew it would give me some beautiful bokeh. I also knew I could position myself in a way where the sun would be directly behind one of the tree trunks so as to cut down on any potential flare. The neutral colored sand also added a great natural reflector. 

Natural Reflectors

Speaking of natural reflectors...when shooting into the backlight, they are imperative. The a very bright light sources is coming from behind your subject, depending on how you expose the photo, your subject can end up looking really flat, under exposed and muddy. If you don't have light bouncing back up on to them, your dynamic range will be too great and you will have difficulty achieving a well exposed and pleasant looking photograph. 

Its for this reason that I attempt to find lots of natural reflectors when shooting outside and especially in the backlight. For the below photo, the sun was low in the sky and to the right creating some beautiful filtered light behind them. The concrete path bounced light back up on to their bodies and faces thus creating a beautifully lit photo of both the subjects and the background. 

Background

Despite the fact that light always trumps background, taking the background into consideration for your backlit photos is never a bad idea. When scoping out your session location, look for dense areas of foliage or leaves next to more sparse areas. Pay attention to how the light falls across whatever elements you are considering for your background. 

Isn't Mary just stunning? This photo works so well, not only because Mary is beautiful and radiant, but the glow and warmth of of everything surrounding her just lends itself to the expression on her face. The bokeh mixed with the neutral green and gold tones along with the way the light is filtering through her hair ads complexity, depth and texture. She was standing on a concrete pavement so there is nice light bouncing back on to her face and she has a gorgeous little catchlight in her eye. The exposure on her face is not competing with the exposure on the background. 

Camera Placement/Lens Flare 

Although I mentioned this briefly above, when shooting into the backlight you have to pay special attention to exactly how you place yourself in relation to your subject. In the below photo of Ashley, I distinctly remember struggling to avoid flare. I ended up placing myself right on the edge of the shadow that the building was casting in order to get her right in between the sun and my lens. I did not use a reflector to bounce light up into her face in this photo and she was standing on some grass, so the difference in exposure between her face and the highlight on her hair is on the verge of being to far apart. If I would have brightened her up some, I would loose detail in her hair (much of which is already lost). I still love this photo because I love her expression and the happiness and warmth, its just an example of how not having even a little bit of light bouncing on to your subject can affect the overall end result of the photograph. 

And a few things to keep in mind when attempting to shoot into the backlight....

• Try to avoid pointing your camera directly at the sun. This may seem like common sense, but when you are positioning your subject with the sun behind them and then pointing your camera at them, it happens more than you know. I don't think small amounts of time pointing at the sun will completely damage your lens, but better to be safe than sorry. 
• Make sure you have something available to bounce light on to your subject. If a natural reflector is not available, use a regular reflector to bounce some light back on to your subjects face. This is the one I use and it works great! It can be difficult if you are shooting alone but you'd be surprised how often you can get others to help you. And kids LOVE the reflector, they think its just the coolest thing ever. Sometimes I break it out and have one of the older kids just hold it even though we might never end up using it at the shoot. 

I hope these tips and tricks encourage you to go out and practice shooting into the backlight. It is honestly one of my favorite types of shots to capture and I can't wait to see what you come up with!