Hey friends! It’s high-time for another My Method installment and as I was thinking through potential topics one that came to mind was engagement sessions. Some of you may be wondering just what a “complimentary engagement session” actually is. I occasionally get questions about it from potential clients, and so I thought it would be a good thing to discuss!

ALL of my wedding packages include an engagement session, and it is listed as complimentary for two reasons 1) so that it’s clear that it can’t be traded in for cash/album credit/extra hours of coverage/etc and 2) so that it’s extra inventive to DO the engagement session. I don’t want this to seem like a trick, in any way, it’s really exactly what it seems: I GIFT my clients an engagement session because of how incredibly valuable it is to have time together before the wedding. Sure, you could just meet up for coffee and talk, but I’m talking about time together before the wedding where they get to see how I work, they get to experience how I pose, and they get to find out how FUN it really is to be in front of the camera. Some couples are really nervous leading up to the first session, but after they see the success of the engagement photos, it puts them at ease for the wedding day. And that ends up being a time-saver, and leading to better, more natural results on the wedding day. Pretty worth it, right?

Of course, the bonus is that you DO get some great engagement photos, whether you needed them, or not. I fully understand that some couples don’t book me until they’ve been engaged for a year or more, and thus have already had an engagement session done. However, even if they don’t need the photos for any particular purpose, I still highly recommend doing the session because of the value of the time together before the wedding. And because I really, REALLY want them to use the session (unless logistically impossible) I don’t offer anything in it’s place (such as extra hours of coverage, etc). Again, that’s not because I’m trying to trick them into anything, but because of how passionate I am about the great results I get with my clients when we have time together before the wedding. I mean, if you’re going to invest a good chunk of money into a photographer that you’re really excited about working with, you want to get the MOST out of your experience leading up to the wedding, and of course ON the wedding day, right? Well, this is one of the biggest ways that I’ve found success in building a real connection with my clients, and in producing the most genuine, natural photographic results. Engagement sessions are so great because they’re much more relaxed than the wedding day, so I really get a chance to chat and goof off with my amazing couples as we’re taking photos, and really establish a connection that we build off of even more on the wedding day. It’s a huge aspect of what helps me feel like I’m already a friend when I show up on the wedding day, and not just a random vendor that is now supposed to get really natural, emotional images of people who I don’t even know.

So, if you’re a bride looking for a photographer and you see “complimentary” engagement session as part of the package, hopefully you’ll now understand the reasoning behind it, and the importance of the session. And if you’re a photographer who doesn’t offer this in your packages, I would definitely encourage you to think about restructuring a bit to include this session. It’s a total game changer!

If you have any questions on this topic, feel free to leave them in the comments below and I’ll respond! And I hope you all have a very happy Monday! :)