5 Tips For Capturing Stunning Engagement Photos In Hamilton

Engagements

Mar 16

Congratulations on your engagement — we’re so excited for you! Having engagement photos taken is a beautiful way to remember this special moment and mark a new and exciting chapter of your life. Being comfortable, prepared, and feeling like yourself on the day is essential. Here are our best tips to help you prepare for your engagement photos in Hamilton so we can capture your connection in an authentic way.

1. Create Your Vision and Choose a Location

Picking the right location for your engagement photos in Hamilton is key to capturing the essence of your relationship! There are three types of sessions that will guide the kind of location you can choose:

An **experience-focused session**

An activity like roller skating, biking, picnicking, or simply grabbing coffee at your favorite cafe.

A **sentimental-focused session**

Maybe you’d prefer something more sentimental, such as visiting a location with special meaning, like where you first met, your first home, or where you got engaged.

An **adventure-focused session**

A great choice for outdoorsy couples, this could include a couple’s hike, forest exploration, canoeing, being together by a campfire or a picturesque spot by the lake.

We could even take pictures in a mix of these locations to have a variety of photos — it’s up to you! The best places for engagement photos in Hamilton are anywhere the two of you love being together, doing anything that you love doing as a couple. Get more ideas from our engagement session location guide!

2. Plan Your Engagement Photo Outfits

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Color, Comfort, & Contrast

Consider outfits with colors that really highlight your skin tones and complement each other (check out this complementary color palette), as well as the current season and location. For colors, we typically recommend sticking to muted, neutral, or earthy tones. However, sometimes the rules can be broken ;)

For choosing a style, you might want to dress classy for a city photoshoot, go more casual for a hiking session, wear a flowy dress or linen slacks for a beach location, or incorporate earthy tones during a nature photo shoot.

Another thing to consider is adding layers to your outfit to create different looks, or contrasting a patterned outfit with a solid color between the two of you (side note: stick to smaller patterns and avoid stripes!). Above all, wearing comfortable clothes that feel authentic to you is most important.

Prepping Before The Shoot

Make sure your clothes have been ironed or steamed before the photoshoot — if they’ll be easily creased, wear something else on the journey to the location and change there. Oh, and bring a lint roller! Don’t forget to wear shoes that are presentable and clean. For full-body shots, closed-toed shoes are ideal.

If you bring an outfit change, we could shoot two different looks — maybe one casual and one classy. As for hair and makeup for engagement photos: do whatever makes you feel beautiful, whether that’s natural, minimal or full-on glam! This photoshoot is also a great opportunity to trial your wedding day makeup.

3. Create An Experience

The key is to give this photoshoot the vibe of a fun date, and most of all, for it to feel natural for you as a couple. For those who aren’t used to being in front of the camera, this can be a little nerve-wracking, so thinking of the shoot in terms of a date for just the two of you may make the process less daunting and give us more authentic shots.

Doing activities like biking, hiking, having a picnic, playing a board game, or even canoeing are great ways to add character to your Hamilton engagement photos! Incorporating an experience you love doing together can help to make the photoshoot fun and relaxed. Picture yourself exploring a new town, spending time at home, a hiking engagement session or even having an engagement shoot with dogs. The options are endless! Feel free to dream up whatever resonates with you.

4. Prepare For Your Session

Ahead of your engagement photoshoot in Hamilton, you may be a little nervous — that’s totally normal. Just remember it’s all about connecting with each other, focusing on being in the moment, and enjoying the experience! Go easy on yourself and remember things don’t have to be perfect.

Aim to be dressed and ready in good time before the session to prevent any last-minute stress. We recommend arriving 10–15 minutes early so we can chat and discuss any last details. Let us know if you have a “good side” you want us to be aware of or whether there’s anything you want us to pay special attention to while shooting. Perhaps your ring, tattoos, your good side, or anything else.

5. Consider The Weather & Time Of Day

The weather and the time of day also play a big part, especially if you choose an outdoor location. Use an app to keep track of the weather or talk to us about the best time of day to shoot (hint: it’s often dawn or dusk!). We use an app called SunCalc to plan the time of our shoots as it shows us where the sun will be for any given location/date.

Hint: Golden hour is the best time for photos. Notice how the sky is much more vibrant during the golden hour, whereas midday the skies are more muted and white. Of course, depending on the weather, the sky could still be grey if it is very cloudy or rainy.

Rain or shine, Hamilton engagement photography is always going to look spectacular! However, if it’s not the ideal weather for you on the day, we can reschedule.

It’s also best to avoid typically busy days if possible (such as peak weekend times), as we want it to be all about the two of you. (Side note: We may also need a permit for some locations, which we’ll need to book beforehand).

Planning your Hamilton engagement photos might seem like an intimidating task, but with these tips, you’ll have a stress-free experience and photos you can treasure for a lifetime. Still looking for a Hamilton engagement photographer? Get in touch and let’s start planning your ideal shoot!