engagement guide

2024

Shanoah Bri Photography

Planning your engagement session can be overwhelming when you don't know where to start. You probably have a million ideas running through your head, or perhaps no ideas at all! This guide will give you a base to style your outfit on, and some direction on what looks best in photos - from someone who has been taking engagement photos for over 9 years! Let's plan your dream engagement session!

STYLE BASICS

Match your blacks and browns. If you're wearing black shoes, don't wear a brown belt, and vice versa!
This goes for you as a couple as well, if your partner is wearing all black accessories, don't wear brown!

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Include at least one texture  piece in your outfit! This can be rough denim, wispy fabric, buttons, linens, leather, etc. 
Texture adds dynamic to your outfit and photographs amazingly! A white linen button up photographs way better than a basic white tee!

Your shoes matter! Tennis shoes are never a great idea unless they are new, clean, and an intentional style choice! 
Any shoe with a heel and with texture (leather & suede are great!) is always a win! For the ladies - heels ALWAYS look best! 

As a guideline


First and foremost, the most important style tip I can give you is to wear something you feel confident, comfortable, and happy in! There are no right or wrong answers! Maybe you want one outfit to be dressy and the other to be casual. Maybe you want one outfit to be very light and neutral but you want to wear more color in the next outfit. If you’re feeling stuck and can’t seem to determine what you prefer, that’s very normal! Here are some general “rules of thumb” when it comes to styling during an engagement session. Once you read through these, you may have a better understanding of what you prefer, and you can start planning your outfits. 

Things
to avoid

1. Colors to avoid: bright reds, neons, bright oranges (they reflect color onto skin and can be difficult to edit!).

2. Avoid patterns smaller than a quarter if possible: Tiny patterns cause something called “Chromatic Aberration” in digital images. Men’s checkered shirts are fine if the “checks” are on the larger side. This is a smaller detail, not a hard and fast rule, you'll see a lot of my couples with small patterns!

3. Alternate Heaviness: If one of you is wearing very dark jeans, the other may want to wear lighter pants. If one of you is wearing a navy top, the other shouldn’t wear a dark/heavy-colored top. To a certain degree, alternating the “heaviness” of your outfits can make your images look more balanced.

visual learner?

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