Get plenty of sleep the week before your shoot, especially the night before your shoot. It looks better in the pictures to actually be rested and full of energy than it does to fake it.

WOMEN
One of the best strategies is to schedule your Engagement Shoot for the same day as your wedding makeup test with your Makeup Artist.

If scheduling or weather does not allow for that, or if it is your preference to do your own makeup for the Engagement Shoot, then please arrive hair and makeup ready but also bring your makeup with you as well in case you need to touch anything up. Healthy skin is best, so make sure your face is clean and moisturized. If at all possible, please use a base that is not powder. Also, please don't attempt to cover up acne or blemishes with extra makeup—we can retouch blemishes away on the computer and it will look better if there isn't a bunch of extra makeup in the area.

Please also bring any hair styling products and comb/brush/pick you may need in case touchups or adjustments are needed as we shoot. If your hair is longer, we can shoot it down and then easily put it up in order to create different looks if desired—so please also bring a scrunchy or hair tie if you think you’d like to do some shots with your hair up.

MEN
Makeup is not recommended for men. Healthy skin is best, so make sure your face is clean and moisturized. Dry skin will show in the pictures. You'll want to check for ear or nose hair that's visible and take care of that prior to your session. Please also bring any hair styling products and comb/brush/pick you may need in case you need to touch up anything.

It can be fun to select your clothes for your Engagement Shoot. Discuss with your fiancé your planned wardrobe to coordinate your outfits to compliment each other. We recommend outfits that compliment each other rather than match each other. We also recommend that you choose outfits that reflect your own personal style or the vibe you want to portray as a couple in the photos.

The only color we don't recommend wearing is one that is too close to your own skin tone. Bright colors, muted colors, black, and even white all work great. Textures are great, but try your best to avoid busy or small patterns/stripes as they don’t photograph as well as solids, larger patterns/stripes and textures.

Please be sure to iron or steam out wrinkles from your clothes before arriving and consider changing into your clothes for the shoot in your car or a bathroom (if available) once you arrive if your clothes will get wrinkled on the drive to the shoot location.

Another thing you can do is go shopping for new clothes! If there's something you're missing, buy it, leave the tags on, we'll shoot it and then you can return it after we're done if it's not something you want to keep.

Don’t forget jewelry, bracelets, watches, sunglasses or other accessories that are a part of your look. And definitely don’t forget your engagement ring.

Eat a sensible meal before you come. Without food, your energy won't be there. On the other hand, if you stuff yourself before coming, you may feel bogged down and tired. Don’t eat or drink anything right before the shoot that could leave a color on your teeth or lips or anything that could end up leaving crumbs in your teeth or facial hair (if applicable).