orlando luxury wedding photographer

5 Tips for a Stress-Free Engagement Photo Shoot

Whether you love to strike a pose or you’re camera shy, getting photographed professionally can be uncharted territory for most couples. But have no fear! We’ve compiled a list of five tips to ensure you have a stress-free engagement photo shoot and love the process too!

 

1. Relax

Although planning a wedding is such an exciting time in life, it can sometimes be a little (or a lot) stressful. Before your session, be sure to put your stress aside, relax, and have fun with your photo shoot. This is a great opportunity for you and your fiancé to take a step away from your wedding planning and focus on being in love and engaged. Your engagement is such a short period of your life. It’s important to take a step back every once in a while and enjoy it!

 

2. Get to know your photographer

It’s completely normal to feel anxious or camera shy before the shoot - but having a photographer that you feel comfortable with will help make the process a little easier. Your photographer will be sure to get to know you and your partner before the session, but it’s important that you get to know your photographer as well. Think beyond your engagement photos. Your photographer is most likely the person who will be by your side through your wedding day too, so it’s important that you click.

 

3. Dress to impress

Not only will you look back on your engagement photos for years to come, but you will probably also use them for save the date cards, brochures, and wedding booklets. Therefore, what you wear in your photos is extremely important. Keep it simple and wear something that you feel comfortable in. To avoid regret down the line, stay away from brand names and patterns. If you plan on doing an outfit change, bring one formal outfit and one casual outfit. Engagement shoots are only one session, so you want it to look cohesive.

 

4. Pick the perfect location

The location of your shoot is almost as important as what you wear. You and your fiancé should choose a location that is important to you. Choosing a location that is opposite of your wedding is great too so that your wedding and engagement photos are different when you look at the scenery or season. For example, if your wedding is in the spring a fall shoot would be perfect. Plus, the beautiful foliage will be the perfect backdrop for your photos! When choosing a location for your shoot, be sure to check if there’s a required fee and if a permit is needed before your shoot.

 

5. Don’t forget it’s all about you

Your engagement photos are so you can look back on this time in your lives when you and your partner are old and gray. Of course you may choose to post some of your photos from the sessions (because did it really happen if you didn’t post it on social media?!), but it’s not about social media or what your family and friends want to see. This is a great time to simply focus on you and your fiancé and what the two of you desire for the session. Enjoy it!

 

Whether you’re engaged and scheduling your photoshoot or still shopping for engagement rings and just want more information, I hope these tips were helpful! The most important thing to remember for your engagement shoot is to have fun and be yourself!

 

Guest post/ author: Amanda Hennigan 

Photography: www.denissejonssonphotography.com (Lotus Eyes Photography's Wedding Brand)

Engagement Location: Bok Tower Gardens

Robert and Julaine's Engagement Session at Cypress Grove Estate Park

Summer is almost here! This means that we are now entering the wedding photography season. I'm so fortunate to live in Orlando where there are so many amazing parks and lakes. There is an abundance of beautiful photo shoot locations here. After all, Florida is called the sunshine state and Orlando is called the city of Beautiful!

I love to incorporate sunsets in my photo shoots whenever possible. Golden hour lighting (1 hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset) has that ethereal warm glow that looks gorgeous in photographs. I try to schedule all of my photo shoots in the mornings or early evenings. That's exactly what we did for Robert and Julaine's Engagement Session at Cypress Grove Estate Park. We caught the gorgeous golden hour light!

Robert and Julaine came to Orlando for their vacation. They are both currently living in Jamaica but love to spend as much time as possible in Florida. Having family living throughout Florida gives them a great excuse to visit often. Robert had set up a surprise proposal for Julaine which he had arranged with Julaine's family for months. I had the honor of photographing their engagement session just a couple of days after Robert proposed to Julaine. They are truly best friends who love to spend time in the outdoors and traveling. They wanted a natural setting for their engagement photos and had seen some images online that I had taken at Cypress Grove Estate Park. They fell in love with the idea of doing their engagement session there as well. Here is a quick sneak peek of their beautiful images

 

Emily and Thomas Southern Charm Wedding at Cypress Grove Estate House

I always love seeing when two best friends fall madly in love with each other. 

 

When Emily and Thomas look at each other, you know that there is an inner dialogue that only they know the language for. They Fell in love during summer camp and Thomas later proposed during an evening dinner joined by family.

After months of planning their wedding day with the loving help of Emily's beautiful mother Judy and their talented wedding planner Stephanie from Swanky I do's, I have to say that the wedding was simply stunning. There were lots of little meaningful details throughout the space such as family heirlooms. The ceremony space at Cypress Grove Estate house looks over lake Jessamine and was gorgeously decorated with flowers designed by Flowers by Lesley.

Some of my favourite details of the wedding include:

The bridal parties faux fur shawls to keep them warm

A table of family wedding pictures as you entered the house

a blanket station at the ceremony site to keep guest warms as the weather was a little chilly 

a amazing band called Bay King Band's performing during the reception and who got everybody dancing right away

I would like to take a moment to thank them both for allowing me to capture such a special day for them. Congratulations Emily and Thomas on your new venture as husband and wife!

Here is their sneak peek.

VENDORS: Wedding Planner: Swanky I dos. Venue: Cypress Grove Estate House. Catering: Big City Catering. Flowers: Flowers by Lesley. Makeup/ Hair: LeJeune Hair and Makeup Videographer: Eli Meyer Studio Band: Bay King Bands Cake: Party Flavours Custom Cakes

 

Amy and Josh’s Capen House Wedding in Winter Park

Amy and Josh’s Intimate wedding at the Capen House in Winter Park was simply stunning. There are few backdrops as gorgeous as the beautiful lake osceola in Winter park. The lake, fluffy clouds and soft lighting created the perfect athmosphere for gorgeous wedding pictures. Amy wore a beautiful off white (peachy) colored wedding dress and Josh’s wore a Navy blue suite which complimented her dress perfectly. Her wedding train was super dreamy and long! Amy and Josh’s wedding theme traditional with a hint of rustic and vintage detailing. 

 

Capen house is a historic landmark in the middle of the Prestigeous Winter Park area. It is a boutique style venue with a rustic feel. The venue’s original architecture includes gorgeous 1885 heart pine floors throughout. The Capen house is the historic estate of sculptor Albin Polasek. The home is very inviting, bright and airy.

 

Their wedding ceremony was held in the backyard which is landscaped with lush greenery and flowers and nestled amongst some of Albin’s famous sculptures. The reception and dinner was held inside the Capen House.

 

I’m so in love with how their wedding images came out and excited to share them with you!