After 18 years of shooting weddings, I decided the wisest thing to do was to include the engagement portrait as part of my wedding package. Meaning – my wedding packages cost the same with or without the portrait session. Why, with so much experience under my belt shooting weddings, would I give my time away for free?
This is why:
- It’s Wedding Day Insurance: The engagement session gives me a chance to figure out how to make them look their best, and a chance for them to get to know me and feel comfortable with a camera in their face. Also, once they see the portraits, they have ultimate faith in me on the day of the wedding, which makes them more relaxed, which makes my job much easier and the photographs much better.
- It’s Word of Mouth Advertising: My clients love the experience I create during the session – and they love the photos. This means they will share the photos online and with “save the date” cards. Additionally, they will talk about me to their friends and family long before their wedding. Often, I book another wedding of one of their friends, based just on engagement portraits.
- I’m Batting 1000: All of my clients who have submitted their engagement portraits to the NY Times Wedding Announcements have had them published. This gives me a bit of bragging rights and is a good selling point.
- Added Value: Weddings are expensive. My rates fall in the mid to high range. Being able to say something is “included” makes my potential clients feel like they are getting a good deal. And who doesn’t like to feel like they are getting a good deal!
Simple Idea, Meaningful Engagement Portrait
My wedding photography style is artful documentary, meaning that my clients hire me because they are looking for a photographer who can “capture the moment”. Of course, they want beautiful portraits, but they want something more too. And since marriage is an adventure, so I like the engagement shoot to be one as well. While I will sometimes take my clients to the “classic” NYC locations (Central Park, Bethesda Fountain, The Highline, The Brooklyn Bridge), I prefer to take them to locations that mean something to them personally.
I have taken couples to the place they met, or where they had their first date, their favorite coffee shop etc… Mostly I want the photo shoot to be fun and to create an atmosphere where they are relating to one another in a loving way. So rather than focus on the location of the shoot or how I pose the couple, I focus on creating an environment that will produce “moments”.
This past week, I had an engagement portrait scheduled and the weather forecast predicted rain. At first, I told them, “Don’t worry. It will be a fun adventure. Bring umbrellas, a little bit of rain is romantic”. Then the day arrived and it was a deluge of water. I asked if they wanted to re-schedule, mentioning that the sky looked more moody than romantic. They replied, “We are moody people and up for the adventure.” We had a great time and the rain stopped just before the photo shoot leaving shiny streets and beautiful light. I am always up for an adventure and I feel super fortunate that most of my clients are, too.
