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Engagement Shoot - Easy To Socially Distance & The Perfect Keepsake
Photography by
LIT Photography
Photography by
LIT Photography
If ever there was a time to have a keepsake of your engagement, now is that time. If you were planning for your wedding to take place in 2020, chances are, your plans have been impacted by Coronavirus. We know that this entire process has likely been tremendously difficult for you both and you may feel like you don't want to remember it, but trust me when I say that you will look back on this and be proud of both your resilience and your relationship. We think that you should strongly consider an engagement shoot with your wedding photographer. And here are our reasons why:
- It can be easily achieved socially distanced. Photographers naturally want to remain unobtrusive and distanced from their couples in order to catch you at your natural best. Luckily, you won't have to socially distance from your other half so all the kissing, cuddling and general closeness are still game.
- Your older selves will want to look back on your younger selves and reminisce on how you managed to make it through the tough times. Seeing images of your smiling faces will remind you just how rock solid your relationship began.
- It's the perfect way to mark or celebrate your initial would-be wedding date if you've chosen to postpone.
- Having an engagement shoot is a great way to maintain that great vibe with your photographer if you need to wait a little longer for your wedding day to come around.
- If your wedding has been postponed, the increased time may leave you with a bit of wiggle room in your budget to include the 'wants' like an engagement shoot.
We've also gone and asked our Rock My Wedding recommended suppliers if they have any tips for you to achieve the perfect socially distanced engagement shoot and as always, they delivered some gems and a peek at the socially distanced engagement shoots they've done. Here are a few things the experts had to say:
- Top tip: Pick a location with a lot of space if you can. Beaches are amazing if you've got one close to you. But know that photographers have great lenses that mean we don't have to get close to you.
- The main thing I've found though is engagement shoots aren't that different now (versus pre-COVID) and are an amazing way to get excited about your wedding again. I'm a COVID bride myself and even just shooting other people's engagement sessions has me more excited about my own wedding again. These are the strangest of times, but it has definitely taught us that love wins, and these shoots are the perfect way to prove that!
- I encourage all my couples to have an engagement/pre-wedding shoot as the difference it makes to how relaxed they are in front of the camera on their wedding day is huge! Engagement shoots are one of my favourite things to do, it's truly about the couple and always such good fun. What a wonderful way to capture amazing memories of the people you were when you met before you begin your lifetime journey together.
- Top tip! Choose somewhere that suits your personality, if you are outdoorsy country walking type people then throw on a pair of jeans and go for a walk in the country! If you like to be a little more extravagant the world is your oyster, put on your best black tie and go to a dramatic clifftop or dress up in your Sunday best and have a socially distanced “date night” in your local town. There are no rules and with an engagement shoot, it's the best time for you to shine.
- Things to do/places to go:
- Grab a takeaway coffee from somewhere and have some casual photo’s walking through a park together.
- Go to quite a sparse, quiet location. If you have a dog, bring it along to help you feel a little less awkward and more like you're on an everyday walk.
- Maybe choose to go somewhere that relates to your wedding (if you've had to postpone) - could be your actual wedding venue or the place you got engaged.
- Dress up in some sort of wedding style attire if you want it to feel more like your day - I’ve had some couples do this before, where they’ll dress in the colours of their wedding outfits.
- You could treat yourself to a lovely bouquet/signage/some stationery too - it could also be a really wonderful way to support your original suppliers by having them create some things for the shoot.
- Be silly together - have piggybacks and do some dancing so that we can capture sweet natural moments between you without having to get too close.
- You could perhaps ask a couple of your closest friends to join in part of the shoot and do a confetti throw.
- The great thing is that it’s super easy for photographers to capture these sorts of shoots really safely and easily. In normal life, we wouldn’t necessarily need to get too close to you anyway to try and make you feel relaxed, so it probably won’t feel too different to an engagement shoot pre-social distancing. We can also use zoom lenses too!
How To Find A Photographer For Your Engagement Shoot
If you're reading this and you are currently photographer-less, then you needn't be for much longer. We've done all the deliberating for you and brought together our recommended photographers over on The List. Whether you're adjusting your plans to suit a postponement or you're beginning your planning journey, get an engagement shoot sorted. Speaking from personal experience, 9 years on, my engagement shoot photos were 110% worth it and are still some of my favourite photos of us together to this day. No regrets.
Written by Naomi Liddell
Featured Photographers:
Cat Stephens Photography
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