Your Engagement Session
It's time to set up your engagement session! This will provide an opportunity for us to hang out before your wedding and help get you comfortable being photographed by us.
You can also use these photos for save the dates, framed prints for your reception, a guest book, etc!
BEFORE YOUR SESSION
Dates & Timing
WHEN TO PLAN YOUR SESSION
The best seasons for engagement sessions are spring and fall for mild weather and beautiful foliage.
Once you are ready to book your session please reach out to us and let us know what month you're considering. We shoot sessions Mondays-Thursdays as we have weddings almost every weekend and locations are too busy on weekends.
As for actual timing on the day, the lighting is best in the mornings for sunrise or about 2 hours prior to sunset (depending on location). Each location is different, so we'll let you know what time we'd recommend once you've chosen a location!
Session Locations
the best place for your photos
The location you choose for your session is important, which is why we've curated a list of the most beautiful engagement session locations around the area for you!
If you have something else in mind please let us know, we're always open to ideas. Some choose to have their session somewhere that's meaningful to them like a first date location or a park near their home (or even in their home!).
Password: ACCouple
What To Wear
OUTFIT INSPIRATION AND ADVICE
Depending on which collection you booked, you either have one or two outfits included with your session (you can view this within your proposal). If you have two outfits, we'd recommend bringing one casual outfit and one more fancy outfit. We recommend whatever makes you feel most confident, however we do have a few suggestions when it comes to planning your outfits!
KEY POINTS:
- go for SOFT, EARTHY TONES & NEUTRALS (whites, creams, browns, blacks, etc.
- avoid BRIGHT COLORS like hot pink & neons
- AVOID busy PATTERNs
- OUTFITS THAT ALLOW MOVEMENT PHOTOGRAPH BEST (FLOWy DRESSES/SKIRTs, etc.)
- WE DON'T PHOTOSHOP OUT WRINKLES. MAKE SURE TO IRON YOUR CLOTHES.
Personalizing Your Session
Bringing items (or animals!) that are meaningful to you can help personalize your session. Do you have any hobbies or activities you love to do together we could incorporate into your photos? For example, we had a groom who loved to play the guitar for the bride, so they brought that to the session and he played for her. We've had a couple who loved their dog like a child and wanted every photo to be with their dog! Hopefully this sparks some inspiration for you, but if not here are some things you could bring to spice things up:
A Bouquet | Champagne | Your Favorite Snack
Rescheduling
In the event that the weather is looking bad on the day of your scheduled session, we will postpone the session to our next mutually agreeable date. This is usually a call we make the day before the shoot.
If you have to reschedule the session for any reason other than bad weather we do have a $50 rescheduling fee for the date we had reserved for you.
AFTER YOUR SESSION
Your images will be delivered within 4-6 weeks after your session via an online gallery. The amount of photos you'll receive depends on which collection you booked (typically either 30 or 50).
EDITING
SOCIAL MEDIA
DOWNLOADING
We don't believe it's necessary to watermark our images, however we would really appreciate if you could tag us while posting on social media. This is how a lot of couples find us, so this really makes a huge difference to us! Our Instagram is @authenticcollectivephoto and Facebook is @AuthenticCollective.Blog
Please download your entire gallery and keep it stored somewhere safe, we recommend a cloud-based service as well as a hard-drive. We are not responsible for retaining your images after 30 days of delivering your gallery due to storage constraints.
Please do not screenshot your photos, it destroys the quality!
Your images will be edited to our style including lighting and color adjustments. Please refrain from editing your photos in any way after we have delivered them to you, if there any adjustments you'd like made we'd be happy to do so!
We do not deliver unedited images as it's not a finished product. We do not offer photoshop to make people look thinner, taller, etc.
Printing
Through Your Gallery
Your gallery is connected to our professional lab for seamless ordering of framed prints, canvases, etc. It's important to print your photos here to ensure accurate colors and crisp printing so the quality of the photos you paid for doesn't get diminished.
To access your store simply go to your online gallery and click "shop" at the top or in the bottom right of each photo there is a "buy" button. You'll want to click "view all products" to see all of your options.
Most couples like to print out a few photos to have at their wedding reception. These can be canvases, framed prints, etc. Some also choose to have an engagement photo book at the reception which guests can look through (more on that below!).
Custom Designed Photo Books
Most couples choose to have their engagement photos printed in the form of a keepsake photo book. These books are custom designed by us and include all of the photos from your engagement session.
To start the process of creating your book, please click the button below and select your customizations. From there we will design your photo book !
KEEP PLANNING