We work with hundreds of couples and see hundreds of engagement photos each year! We’ve seen awesome, high quality and heartfelt images for our lovely couples and we’ve helped couples troubleshoot their engagement photo woes. Whether an image is “good” or “great” all boils down to a few main things:

Are the images high resolution downloads?

Now, we don’t expect you the second you get engaged to know the lingo of an entire industry, so don’t hurry out and fall down a research rabbit hole (unless you already like doing that stuff!) There are a few things to consider when talking about image resolution, the first being intent. If your intention for your photos is to only ever post them on social media or online, 72 dpi (or dots per inch) is plenty of resolution. The reason being that screens range 72 inch flat screen tvs (or bigger!) to a few inches on a phone screen, so the size won’t matter too much. There’s also the matter of load time for images online (no one wants to wait an eternity to see your photos on a website) and some apps will have a limit on the size upload of your file.

However, print is a different story completely. Because wedding invitations - or canvases, framed prints, etc.- are a physical product, the resolution must be much higher to be printed clearer. Simply put, the bigger the print, the bigger the file/higher the resolution. We want to give you the best possible invitation print, so we require at least a resolution of 240 or higher.

Often a good photographer will give you the option in your gallery to download your images in high resolution AND in low resolution so you have options. The question to clarify with your photographer is whether or not you’ll be getting high resolution files for printing. Look for photographers that shoot on quality photography equipment and know the crap out of lighting and editing. If they seem to have trouble with understanding basic functions of their camera settings, look into a little further. You might be getting a new photographer (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!) but just let them know what your priorities are.

Does your current website and social media reflect what style of editing I will get for my engagement photos?

Ahhhh, the ole bait and switch. No one wants to be fooled by a photographer. This question helps a photographer to clarify their position on style and preferences. Photographers are both artists AND business(wo)men, so it’s a fine line between pushing their craft and passion, and also client expectation. Some experimentation is expected, but you want to know that what you’re going to get is fairly consistent with their past work. Color edits, shooting style, and personality are all things to followup with a photographer.

how do you recommend I prepare and dress for my engagement session?

This is totally up to you. Based on your style, personality, location, time of year, and purpose of taking the photos, there are too many factors to give you one answer. When you reach out to a photographer, you’re likely to have done some research on their style and the style of their past clients. Does what you see on their website and social tell you if you’ll be a good match? If that’s a “YES!” then ask your photographer for tips on favorite shops to check out for engagement outfits, what to bring to your session, and what to expect during your photography session. They should want to help you as much as possible because the ultimate goal is to get you amazing photos for your engagement!

Engagement sessions are a blast and can be a magical time for you to let loose with your fiance and get to know your photographer better before the big day! Just do a bit of digging about these few key things and you’ll do amazing!