If you’re planning a wedding and it’s time to start brainstorming your engagement photos you’ve come to the right place. Especially if you’re getting married in or around Portland Oregon, SW Washington! I have been a wedding photographer for the last decade and engagement photos are some of my favorite session types! I highly recommend them to all my couples because of the two benefits of getting them done. 

1. They get your comfortable with getting your photo taken, and build a relationship with your wedding photographer
2. They are fun date night! 

I have had couples forego engagement photos in the past, and I have come to the conclusion that skipping this session hinders the experience on the wedding day. It feels like your photographer is a stranger, well because we are. Getting those engagement photos done helps you build a relationship with your photographer, it gets you comfortable with our shooting style as well.

What I mean by planning a date night is truly figuring out the backdrop you’re wanting. When my clients book a wedding photography package with me they come with engagement photos, and in the welcome guide they receive is a location guide filled with my favorite backdrops in Oregon & Washington. The location guide comes with images for reference so my couples can imagine themselves in these areas. I also offer how to dress themselves for our time together, this post shows some insight on what I tell every single one of my clients.

Like if you guys love the city and urban areas, I suggest meeting up for coffee or ice cream. Then we walk around downtown together and find pockets of sunlight between buildings and take advantage of public parks to get a little bit of nature in.

If you love the moody vibes that the PNW forests have to offer, make a trip up to Mt. Hood for some snuggly engagement photos. During this session it was raining off  and on and my couple embraced it and we spent the afternoon running and playing in the signature Oregon rain.

Want to explore the Oregon coast, and get your feet wet? DOO it. The Oregon coast is such a romantic place, and I always encourage you to pack two outfits. One more casual, and one formal to add a more variety to your engagement sessions. What I also LOVE about the coast is that you can get the forest vibes like you see in the images above, and the beachy vibes! If you’re loving what you’re seeing and want to become best friends? Reach out here

Now the Oregon Coast might be a favorite place for engagement photos but the runner up to the Oregon Coast is the Columbia River Gorge right outside of Portland Oregon. Holy cow this location is what dreams are made of. In the spring wild flowers bloom, in the winter the sunsets are some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. No matter when you use this location it is breathtaking.

The best way to make the most of your engagement photos is by just being yourself in a location that feels comfortable to you guys, bring your pup, bring your guitar and bring yourselves to have a good time. Engagement sessions are some of my favorite photoshoots because it allows us to build a friendship together before your wedding day. I look forward to every single shoot, and if you’re looking for a photographer who will dance around the PNW at golden hour and become your bff in time for your wedding reach out to ya girl. HERE