So many couples forget to get engagement photos done. Or they don’t think they need to, since they’re going to have wedding photos done on their big day.

It’s true, you don’t need engagement photos. But countless couples have gotten married and regretted the fact that they skipped an engagement session.

Why?

Because you’re a different couple when you’re engaged. Yes, marriage is incredible and wedding days are beautiful. But when you’re engaged, you’re young and carefree. You’re more spontaneous. You’re overly affectionate. You can’t help but smile at each other. You still have butterflies. You laugh more. You crave each other. You want to be all over each other.

And it’s all of those emotions and feelings and moments that we get to capture during an engagement session. We get to capture how you felt about each other during this short season of your lives. 

While most couples rush through this season as fast as possible so they can get to their wedding day and move on, it’s the wise couple that slows down and takes time to savor how incredible it is to be engaged and to prepare for a life together.

Why Take Engagement Photos?

Engagement Photographer Sarasota

You're only going to get engaged once. And you're only going to get married once.

These are big moments. MASSIVE. Life-changing moments will be here today and gone tomorrow. Once you’re married, your engagement will be stuck in the past. And you’re wedding day, which you put so much effort into planning, down to the last detail, will also come and go.

But photos keep both your engagement and wedding day alive.

Wedding photos allow you to relive the magic of your wedding day again and again. They’ll allow you to feel the emotions of that first look, the tears, the giggles, the kiss. That’s why a wedding photographer is the most important vendor on your vendor list.

But just as important, engagement photos will help you to relive an entire season of your life, not just a single day. Whether you will be engaged for a few months, or a few years, it’s a season you’ll look back on with fondness for decades to come (trust me), and you’ll wish you can relive that youthful romance, that hopeless attraction, and that desire to simply be together all the time. 

You’ll look at these photos as often as you look at your wedding photos. And you’ll be so glad you made the tiny investment to capture and preserve them forever.

Where to Go With Sarasota FL Engagement Photographers

There are countless destinations we can choose for your Sarasota engagement photography session. I want you to pick something that feels right to YOU. I can make recommendations, and I can tell you where MOST couples like to go (hint: there’s a lot of sand and water).

Most of the time, my couples want to head to the beaches for sunset photos:

• Siesta Key (best beach in the country)
• Lido Key
• A little further north of Sarasota is Longboat Key and Anna Maria Island.

If the beach isn't calling your name, and if you want more of an urban feel, or a woodland vibe, check out this list of locations that would be wonderful for an engagement shoot.

Sarasota Proposal Photographer

Do I also take photos of surprise proposals in the Sarasota area? 

Absolutely.

Although they can be tricky, they are absolutely worth the effort of planning. If you want to give your fiance a gift they’ll cherish forever, then photos of your proposal are likely at the top of the list.

We’ll also do “regular” engagement photos after the proposal. Send me a message above and tell me when, where, and what you’re thinking. If you’re flexible, I may be able to make some recommendations based on timing, lightning, and spots where I’d be able to wait and hide.

Engagement Photos Sarasota; How It Works

1)Fill out the contact form and lock in your date.

2) We’ll chat leading up to your photoshoot to make sure you guys are prepared and comfortable during your shoot.

3) The photoshoot! I’ll encourage the two of you to simply be yourselves while recommending certain angles depending on the lighting. We’ll have fun, laugh, and if we’re lucky, maybe even cry.

4) Typically, I will send your full gallery in 2-3 weeks following the photo shoot.

5) You’ll receive a link to your online gallery where you can download and print your photos. This link will stay there, but I recommend you download them all and store them on your own hard drive or cloud storage service as well.

Lastly, you start planning your wedding, and remember Kelsey from Sarasota and decide to see if she wants to photograph your wedding, to which she’ll respond VERY enthusiastically about. Oh, and you’ll get a discount!

How to Capture the Perfect Engagement Photos

So here's the bad news. You might feel a little awkward expressing love and emotion to your fiancé in front of a camera.

The good news? I’ll make it as easy as possible for the two of you to feel safe, comfortable, and free. I want you to feel like yourselves as if no one was watching. I want you to act like yourselves, however goofy, quirky, or weird that is.

The goal of your wedding photos will be to capture a specific day. An event. A moment in time.

But the goal of your engagement photos is to capture YOU. The thing that makes the two of you unique and special, that draws you toward each other. It’s less about the date or even the location, and it’s more about capturing the essence of your relationship and you’re love story. 

All that to say, I do my best to develop a connection with my couples and to encourage a natural. I will guide you into moments that will produce the perfect shots. But I will also allow you to do whatever you want, whatever feels right for you, so I can capture your true selves. 

More good news?

We’re going to get the awkwardness out before your wedding. Yes, I’ll admit it - wedding photos are much more important. So if you can learn to let your guard down during your engagement shoot, then you’ll be much more prepared for your wedding day, when a photographer will be following you for 8 hours or longer.