Hi, I'm Raquel. Nice to meet you!
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WEDDING + LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHER
I'm passionate about capturing each season of life
Engagements, weddings, motherhood, families, seniors, & branding photography
How to Pose for your Engagement Session
My Top 6 Tips for How to Pose for your Engagement Session
Do you have an engagement or couples session coming up and are you wondering how to pose? Thankfully, this really falls on the responsibility of your photographer and in making you feel comfortable in front of the camera. For some of us it comes naturally and we should go into a modeling career, but for a lot of people it takes a little practice for knowing what to do in front of a camera. That’s why I’ve put together my top tips for how to pose for your engagement session to help you walk into it relaxed and ready to have fun during your photoshoot.
1. Keep Moving
For posing I love to use movement when the location allows for it to get you both in a natural state. A lot of my favorite prompts involving walking together, running up to each other, or sometimes dancing — these all create great movement and get you to embrace and touch each other how you normally would. They will also make you look a lot less stiff since it will be impossible to be with some prompts like these.
Even if the prompt or pose I tell you doesn’t involve movement, I suggest you try to add a little movement on your own into the pose. I might have you face each other and holding hands. As you are holding hands after a moment if you switch it up a little and put your arms around each other’s waists or bring your hands up to softly hold around your partner’s jaw as you would bring them in for a kiss that would make for some romantic moments and photos. Keep moving with each pose.
2. Breathe
Breathe in the movement. When you breathe and soak in the moment, you’ll be more present and it will relax you and make you less stiff with lowering your shoulders too. Breathe and let go of any expectations or nerves you might be holding on to. Trust your photographer and focus on your partner and I promise you’ll have more fun during your session and your photos will turn out even better.
3. Talk to Each Other
My goal is for our engagement session to have a natural flow and not feel forced. After I give you a prompt I might wait a minute and see where you take it and give you a minute to be in that moment. In that time it’s great to check in on each other, talk to each other, or try to make your partner laugh or smile. My jokes will only take us so far ;). I always think it helps to treat your engagement session like a date night and enjoy the time you are spending together.
4. Dress Comfortably
What you wear will affect your photoshoot. If our photoshoot is at a park or somewhere in nature that might involve a bit of a hike, make sure you are prepared and will be okay to walk a bit in the shoes you pick. I suggest to always wear what you feel comfortable and confident in. You can always send me a photo of your outfit beforehand too for extra help or opinions. I recommend to also try on what you plan to wear before the engagement session to make sure it fits properly and won’t be uncomfortable in a way that will be distracting to you during our session.
5. Stay Hydrated & Well-Rested
An easy way to make your engagement session go better is to come well rested and hydrated — especially if it’s in the summer and the weather is hot and humid. I also suggest not planning to do too much the day of your engagement session. By this I mean try not to come straight from work or something else so you won’t be exhausted by the time we start taking photos. Engagement sessions are fun and casual but sometimes they can take a bit of energy out of you. One way to spend your time before your session could be to go out for a drink together or have some wine to also help relax you and get rid of the nerves.
6. Make It Your Own
My goal is to capture your unique love story. If you have any ideas for your session from location to props to poses you love let me know! I want to make sure you are able to see yourselves and your relationship in your photos in the end and love to encourage couples to make the session their own. If you both love cuddling and or your partner always hugs you from behind then feel free to jump into that pose and I’ll capture that for you. I also sometimes suggest for couples to pretend they’re in a film as a prompt and to switch up the pose on their own by taking each other’s hands, running together, or going in for a slow kiss.
Looking for ideas for your engagement photoshoot?
There are so many ways to make your engagement session unique to you both. You can go back to where you had your first date, go all out on the town, or just keep it casual at home.
Here is my list of ways to make your engagement session unique in this blog post.
My Top 6 Tips for How to Pose for your Engagement Session
Do you have an engagement or couples session coming up and are you wondering how to pose? Thankfully, this really falls on the responsibility of your photographer and in making you feel comfortable in front of the camera. For some of us it comes naturally and we should go into a modeling career, but for a lot of people it takes a little practice for knowing what to do in front of a camera. That’s why I’ve put together my top tips for how to pose for your engagement session to help you walk into it relaxed and ready to have fun during your photoshoot.
1. Keep Moving
For posing I love to use movement when the location allows for it to get you both in a natural state. A lot of my favorite prompts involving walking together, running up to each other, or sometimes dancing — these all create great movement and get you to embrace and touch each other how you normally would. They will also make you look a lot less stiff since it will be impossible to be with some prompts like these.
Even if the prompt or pose I tell you doesn’t involve movement, I suggest you try to add a little movement on your own into the pose. I might have you face each other and holding hands. As you are holding hands after a moment if you switch it up a little and put your arms around each other’s waists or bring your hands up to softly hold around your partner’s jaw as you would bring them in for a kiss that would make for some romantic moments and photos. Keep moving with each pose.
2. Breathe
Breathe in the movement. When you breathe and soak in the moment, you’ll be more present and it will relax you and make you less stiff with lowering your shoulders too. Breathe and let go of any expectations or nerves you might be holding on to. Trust your photographer and focus on your partner and I promise you’ll have more fun during your session and your photos will turn out even better.
3. Talk to Each Other
My goal is for our engagement session to have a natural flow and not feel forced. After I give you a prompt I might wait a minute and see where you take it and give you a minute to be in that moment. In that time it’s great to check in on each other, talk to each other, or try to make your partner laugh or smile. My jokes will only take us so far ;). I always think it helps to treat your engagement session like a date night and enjoy the time you are spending together.
4. Dress Comfortably
What you wear will affect your photoshoot. If our photoshoot is at a park or somewhere in nature that might involve a bit of a hike, make sure you are prepared and will be okay to walk a bit in the shoes you pick. I suggest to always wear what you feel comfortable and confident in. You can always send me a photo of your outfit beforehand too for extra help or opinions. I recommend to also try on what you plan to wear before the engagement session to make sure it fits properly and won’t be uncomfortable in a way that will be distracting to you during our session.
5. Stay Hydrated & Well-Rested
An easy way to make your engagement session go better is to come well rested and hydrated — especially if it’s in the summer and the weather is hot and humid. I also suggest not planning to do too much the day of your engagement session. By this I mean try not to come straight from work or something else so you won’t be exhausted by the time we start taking photos. Engagement sessions are fun and casual but sometimes they can take a bit of energy out of you. One way to spend your time before your session could be to go out for a drink together or have some wine to also help relax you and get rid of the nerves.
6. Make It Your Own
My goal is to capture your unique love story. If you have any ideas for your session from location to props to poses you love let me know! I want to make sure you are able to see yourselves and your relationship in your photos in the end and love to encourage couples to make the session their own. If you both love cuddling and or your partner always hugs you from behind then feel free to jump into that pose and I’ll capture that for you. I also sometimes suggest for couples to pretend they’re in a film as a prompt and to switch up the pose on their own by taking each other’s hands, running together, or going in for a slow kiss.
Looking for ideas for your engagement photoshoot?
There are so many ways to make your engagement session unique to you both. You can go back to where you had your first date, go all out on the town, or just keep it casual at home.
Here is my list of ways to make your engagement session unique in this blog post.
Shania & Pierre / Sioux Falls / 2022
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