Engagement Session Ideas for Every Season

A huge thank you to Carolyn Scott, the talented Raleigh wedding photographer, for sharing this feature with us!

We wish you an amazing new year!

Engagement Session Ideas by Carolyn Scott


(photographs by Carolyn Scott)

Lots of clients approach me between their late October engagement and their spring wedding and lament the woes of having to take engagement pictures in the winter. I’m here to tell you that it’s not so bad! You can definitely pick a spot and have engagement session pictures taken, but you can also plan an activity to base your photos around more candid looks. Here are engagement session location/recreation ideas for every season. ☺

Spring:

a. Flowers are in bloom! Why not take a walk to your local park or arboretum?

b. Get your pup out of the house and walk him around town. There’s nothing cuter than dogs in engagement session pictures.

c. Have a garden? Travel with your honey to the local plant shop and bring your photographer to document you picking out the flowers. Then head back home to plant them (with your photog in tow) for some great shots!

d. Have a spring rainy day session by visiting a local park or city, bringing umbrellas and boots in tow.

e. Have a friend with old-time bikes? Take a ride around your ‘hood’ or local bike trail and bring your photographer along to document the action!

Summer:

a. Hit the beach, pool, or lake! Bring an old-time bathing suit, a few towels, some old fashion Cokes and have yourself a fun photo shoot with tons of candid images as you and your sweetheart splash around.

b. Have a cool hobby like boating or horseback riding? Take this sunny and warm opportunity to bring your photographer with you as you and your fiancé pursue your favorite activity.

c. Walk down to your local milkshake or ice cream shop and have a fun, summery engagement session.

d. Plan a fun camping themed engagement session by dragging out your old tent into the woods and setting it up! This gives a fun background and context for your photog to work with.

e. Have a day in the city with your sweetheart! Make sure to stop by some fountains or fun city water installations for fun summer shots!

Fall:

a. Hit up a park as the leaves are changing for a color background to your pictures!

b. Like pumpkins? Travel to the local pumpkin patch and have your photographer document the trip and the subsequent carving of the pumpkins!

c. Have a Halloween or fall themed engagement session by making a deal with a local farmer who has a nice corn field.

d. Spend the day at a winery and pack up your photographer to document the trip and take pictures of you and your fiancé in the hills.

e. Plan a trip to the zoo or aquarium with your photographer in tow to capture the day!

Winter:

a. Ice-skating never gets old this time of year and makes for nice outdoor portraits!

b. Stay home! What better place to document your life and love for each other than hanging around the house? Bake cookies or play a game for fun candid ideas in addition to portraits around your house.

c. Movie buffs? Plan a trip to a local theater and take some pictures inside.

d. Plan a date night to a funky restaurant you frequent and have your photog tag along!

e. Go skiing, tubing, or simply build a snowman in your yard on particularly snowy days. This provides for winter scenery as well as great interaction between you and your fiancé.

***NOTE: Make sure you ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION before going to any business to take pictures. Call ahead and tell them your plans to make sure they’ll allow the photographs. More than likely, they’ll be happy to help out, but occasionally they’re not… and that’s an awkward situation. So make sure you call ahead and ask!

Wedding Makeup Advice From Carolyn Scott

It's the first Wednesday of the new month, and that means, yup, you guessed it, we get a new feature by guest writer, Carolyn Scott, the awesome Raleigh wedding photographer. This week, regarding wedding makeup! Thank you so much to Carolyn for writing this feature! Like always, I truly appreciate it, and am happy to share your wedding photography advice with readers!



I get asked about makeup a lot, which is kind of funny since I hardly wear it and I could probably name about three brands if I tried. ;) But girls getting ready for their big day are really concerned about how their makeup will affect their photographs, so I’ve compiled a list of things to keep in mind as you pick out your makeup artist and makeup location for your day.

1. It doesn’t have to be dramatic: I highly recommend doing what you feel comfortable with. If you want dramatic makeup, by all means make it dramatic! But don’t get pushed into having a lot of heavy makeup by friends or your makeup artist if you aren’t comfortable wearing it. Be yourself and be comfortable because…

2. Not wearing enough makeup is a myth: I’ve photographed plenty of weddings with very natural girls, two in particular simply wore mascara, and that was it. Both of their weddings were published, one in a national magazine, and the other on a popular wedding blog. They looked GORGEOUS and they looked like themselves, which is what they wanted. Did it cause me a problem while photographing? No. Did it make the girls look pale or strange in the pictures? Absolutely not. They looked simply stunning, perhaps even more so because they looked so natural.

3. But there IS such a thing as too much makeup: In contrast to the natural beauty presented by wearing little makeup is the ever-present danger of wearing too much. Too much makeup absolutely can and will cause photographic challenges. Many brides have their makeup done almost like stage makeup for the benefit of the guests to see their features during their vows. The downside to this is the photographs. You will have a ton of close-up portraits done, and you really don’t want to look clownish. Layers and layers and layers can look piled on and create strange skin tone variances and an unnatural-looking surface. Fake eyelashes will definitely be visible and noticeably fake due to the crispness of lenses. Some people are fine with that, but just know what type of look you’re going for instead of being talked into too much makeup.

4. Don’t go tanning the month before your wedding: There’s nothing worse than an orange bride. Your bridesmaids, your groom, your groomsmen, and even your grandma have more than likely not been tanning, so you’ll stick out like a sore thumb in all of your pictures. It’s fine to want a little color, but don’t go tanning for at least a month before your wedding in case your last session turns you orange. My advice? Don’t tan at all. It’s hard to keep orange tones down in pictures and you don’t want to look like a nuclear accident.

5. Get ready in natural window light: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, florescent lighting doesn’t translate well to photographs taken outdoors. Make sure that you do your makeup in natural light so that you’ll have a good sense of what it will look like outside.



(photo credit: Sandra Proudman Photography)

Getting Ready Pictures by Carolyn Scott

Getting Ready Pictures: How to Make the Most of Them
By Carolyn Scott, the talented Raleigh wedding photographer.

(Like always, a huge thanks to Carolyn for writing this month's wedding photography segment for brides that are looking for wedding photographer tips!)

(photos credit: W. Scott Chester Photography)

Getting ready pictures can be often overlooked by wedding couples. They’re often dismissed as not needed or silly. But oftentimes, surrounded by friends and family putting on makeup and dresses— and guys doing whatever they do, which is typically sitting around watching some sort of sporting event—can be a very emotional and beautiful time with the opportunity for stunning candid photographs. Unfortunately, many couples choose the location for their ceremony and reception, but not their getting ready portraits. It becomes sort of a last-minute sort of thing, or they choose the small, windowless church basement offered to them by their ceremony vendor. To avoid this, here are some things that you can do to get fantastic getting ready pictures: 1. Choose a location for both the girls AND the guys: Don’t fall into the trap of using whatever room is suggested or provided by the venue without seeing it first. Usually these are dark rooms with no windows and overhead florescent lighting. Actually go around and scout out your possibilities, but don’t forget the guys! Sometimes the girls will get ready in a beautiful room and the guys will end up in a dark basement. Sure, the guys may not care, but the pictures will be ugly. Remember the guys! 2. Choose locations with PLENTY of natural light: Windows make the best light ever. Overhead lighting makes the worst. Choose a location where you can turn off the lights and leave it to the windows to light the space. 3. Don’t put on your makeup in the bathroom: After you choose a room with beautiful light, don’t leave it to go put on your makeup in the bathroom! Bring an extra mirror or drag over the full-length one to the window if you’re doing your makeup. Putting on makeup in florescent lighting is a very bad idea if you are planning to have your wedding outdoors; the makeup doesn’t translate well. Pull the mirror over toward the window so that you get good natural light, which will provide you with awesome pictures and great makeup that will translate well over to the ceremony. 4. Don’t trip over each other: Choose a room big enough to accommodate the people who will be in it. We’ve been in spaces with 20+ people in a 2 person hotel room. Let me tell you: It doesn’t work. Everyone gets irritated and panics, and your photographer will have a heck of a time trying to jump and trip over people sitting on the floor. Plan well so that you’re not stressed, and choose a room that’s large enough. Keep in mind, all of the ladies will have large bags and you’ll have a few extra bodies—makeup and hair artists, and your photographer—in there with you.

Wedding Photography: Incorporating Photos Into Wedding Decor

Since both Joe and I have photography backgrounds, when our wedding came around, I wanted to make sure we included photography into our decor. There really is a lot that you can do with photography, and for this month's wedding photography segment, the lovely Carolyn Scott - the much talented Raleigh wedding photographer - shares some of her ideas for incorporating cameras and photographs into your wedding decor.

A huge thanks for Carolyn for sharing these ideas!

Incorporating Cameras and Photographs into your Wedding Décor
by Carolyn Scott

Photographs are very important in families and people looove to look at them… especially when they’re waiting on the bride and groom at the reception. ;) Have some time to kill? Entertain your guests with these camera and photograph ideas at your reception while they wait for you to make your big entrance!

1. The Polaroid Photo Guest Book: As your guests enter the reception, make sure they pass through the Polaroid photo guest book! In lieu of a traditional sign-your-name guest book, have a Polaroid camera, plenty of film, a blank scrapbook, several glue sticks, and a pen to create your own photographic guest book of everyone at the reception. Set up a small blank sheet and a table of these items. You can even include props! Each guest will take a portrait of another guest (or group of guests) before they take their seats. Once the picture is developed, the guests glue it into the portrait book and sign their name.

2. Family Portraits: Consider asking your family for family portraits to display at the wedding from generations long past. You can display them in frames on a table or on a display board. You can also hang them from a clothesline (or several)! Get creative. Label the names of the family members along with years and possible occupations. It will entertain your guests and give everyone a talking point at the reception.

3. Childhood Pictures: At a loss for how to number your tables? Consider numbering them by different years of your childhood, complete with your favorite picture of you and your sweetheart from back in the day! If there’s any age difference, make sure it starts with whatever year you were both alive. ☺ Guests will get a kick out of seeing your pictures from back then!

4. Photo Jars: Got a lot of empty glass jars lying around? Glass jars (with the labels peeled off using GooGone or another product) make fantastic wedding centerpieces complete with photos! You can roll up a photo then place it in a round glass jar to make an instant photo frame.

5. Jones Soda Photo Bottles: Jones Soda now offers personalized custom labels on their bottles! These make for awesome centerpieces as well as serve double duty as favors. Pick out your favorite flavors in your wedding colors or mix and match! Use your favorite photo of you and your sweetheart for the label.

The First Look by Carolyn Scott

Do you know what a first look is? I really wish I would have known about it before I got married. See, my wedding was pretty much the first wedding I'd ever attended and I figured that the first time the groom and bride saw each other was during the ceremony. If I would have known what the first look was then I would have definitely opted to go with it. Now, I know there are some that are superstitious and really believe that it's bad luck for the groom and bride to see each other before the wedding, but read on and you may just change your mind.

A huge thanks to Carolyn Scott, the talented Raleigh wedding photographer, for sharing her insights on what the first look is and why it's a good option.

(photo credit: Kelli Nicole Photography)

The 1st Look: What It is and Why It’s Awesome
By Carolyn Scott

There are a lot of different ways to organize the pictures on your wedding day, but one thing that saves time and sanity every time is doing a “first look”. So what is it? Why would you do one? I’m glad you asked…

Doing a first look simply involves seeing your future husband or wife before the ceremony as opposed to seeing each other for the first time while walking down the aisle. I know that as little girls we all dreamed of seeing our sweetheart through a romantic and dramatic veil of tears as we walked down the aisle, but things have gotten a little bit more realistic. So why do the first look?

1. The movie entrance you’re envisioning isn’t entirely realistic: Now, before anyone gets upset, this is a generalization and may not be true for everyone, but it certainly was for me. I had to walk down a flight of modernist stairs in order to see my beau, in a gown, in three-inch heels. Clutching a bouquet in one arm and my dad on the other. I was so incredibly nervous (and concentrating on not falling and holding on to everything) that I do not even remember walking down the stairs let alone seeing my future husband. Granted, not everyone has to walk down steps, but plenty of my friends have this moment conveniently blocked from their memory as well. You’re surrounded by friends and family. Everyone is staring at you, and you’re trying to remember exactly what it is you’re supposed to do when you approach the ceremony point.

How does the 1st look help? The first look helps by creating a private space for just you and your sweetheart to see each other beforehand. No family members, no groomsmen cheering inappropriately. It’s typically just you and your photographer(s)… with the photographer(s) hopefully being very inconspicuous and allowing you a bit of silence and space.

2. Let the silence be broken and the nerves be calmed: Upon walking down the aisle, you’ll see your sweetheart and grab his or her hand, then turn to face your officiate. Later, after walking down the aisle, you’ll be scooped up by your photographer and ushered off to the reception. If you’re lucky, you’ll be able to exchange a few hurried words.

How does the first look help? The first look will provide you the opportunity for some much cherished time alone with your sweetheart when he actually tell you what he thinks about what you’re wearing! You can talk about the little mishaps of the morning before you forget and the day goes by in a rush. It’s a nice breather. In addition, I was terribly nervous before the ceremony and had spent a long time without my best friend and person who is constantly by my side, so it was absolutely wonderful to see him. I was so relieved to be with him that I got teary eyed and was so happy to remain by his side before the ceremony.

3. It saves time: If done in a traditional way, weddings usually require a cocktail hour after the ceremony. At this time, you take family portraits, bridal party portraits, and newlywed portraits. Things are usually rushed and a little crazy because your reception guests are at the venue waiting for you.

How does the first look help? The first look helps by getting all of your pictures out of the way early. You can do your first look, your bridal party, your family, and your newlyweds all before the ceremony or you can save just your family for afterward like we did. That way you save all of your guests from waiting around and becoming antsy, and you can enjoy your cocktail hour or a longer reception.

4. It saves money: A typical cocktail hour can be pricey, especially if it’s an open bar.

How does the first look help? It can easily eliminate the use for a cocktail hour entirely by taking only family pictures afterward, something that can be accomplished in 10 minutes, and moving straight along to the reception.

Wedding Photography: 5 Save the Dates Ideas by Carolyn Scott

Today's wedding photography segment features five save the date ideas by the talented Raleigh wedding photographer, Carolyn Scott. Thank you Carolyn for sharing these ideas with us! :]

Fun Photography Ideas for Save the Dates by Carolyn Scott

Using one of your engagement session portraits for your Save the Date postcards? Here are some fun, easy ideas to inspire you!

1. Spell it Out: Writing “Save the Date” on things has become very popular. We’ve seen it written on chalkboards and in Scrabble letters… even in ketchup! You can paint it, use chalk, crayons or just breathe on a window and use your finger to write in the date. It’s super easy, fast, and doesn’t require anything elaborate. You can do it in one picture, or you can spread it into a panel of three on the postcard – one with a “Save” picture, one with a “the” picture, and one with a “Date” picture.


(photo credit: Ruffled)

2. The Wedding Teaser: Consider giving some sort of teaser for your wedding, such as having the theme to your postcards match your wedding theme. For instance, if you’re having a Halloween themed wedding like we did, consider dressing up in costume for a few of your engagement pictures! Send these in for your Save the Dates, and all of your guests will be wondering and talking about your wedding months in advance!

3. The Tiny People: Have a lot of information to include in your postcards but not a lot of space to do it? Consider taking a photograph where you and your fiancé are tiny and on the side of the photograph, leaving ¾ of the picture to negative space like a field or a wall. Then doctor up the negative space with some fancy text!

4. Numbers in Nature: Find a way during your engagement session to incorporate the number of your wedding day. Write out the number using sticks or flowers… or find it in a city parking lot! Stand by it, sit by it, or find a way to highlight it so that it becomes the center of attention on your postcard!

5. Make Your Own Writing Space: Have poor handwriting and would rather type in your information? Instead of making yourselves tiny in the picture, considering holding something up in the picture that you can easily type on (sign, house, suitcase, sunglasses, etc)… anything that has a decently large and blank space. Then get creative with taking your pictures!

Eco-Friendly Wedding Exits

It's the first Wednesday of the new month, and that means today we get another wedding photography feature by the lovely Raleigh wedding photographer, Carolyn Scott. This month Carolyn shares her ideas for an eco-friendly wedding exits that will all equate to wonderful wedding images. As well as some exits you may want to shy away from.


(photo credit: Kristy Hogan Photography)

Planning on leaving your wedding in style but aren’t sure how to do it? Here are some awesome wedding exits, from the typical to the unusual, all environmentally friendly exits that don’t harm animals or wildlife:

1. Sparklers: Sparklers are a very popular and well-loved exit strategy from wedding receptions, and there’s good reason! They make fantastic exit pictures with all of the little spheres of light. Just be careful not to catch your dress on fire and watch very carefully for small children and people around you.
2. Petals: Flower petals are another great, harmless, easy to clean up wedding exit. Consider using the petals from the bridesmaid’s bouquets after pictures.
3. Bubbles: Bubbles make a great daytime wedding exit and requires no clean up outside the venue.
4. Bird Seed: In lieu of rice, try throwing bird seed instead! It’s basically the same effect, but it doesn’t hurt the birds. And who knows, some flighty friends may come to help clean up!
5. Eco-Friendly Confetti: Try putting this eco-friendly confetti into a paper tube to use as an exit! It doesn’t hurt birds and actually dissolves with water. Consider using this for a winter wedding: it’s what they use for snow in television and movies!
6. Throwing Dried Lavender: Eco-friendly and smells lovely!
7. Ribbon Wands: Definitely safe, eco-friendly, and make for some awesome pictures.
8. Noise Makers: One of my favorites. Loud, incredibly obvious, and hilarious! Makes for great pictures of guests and family members laughing while the flower girls cover their ears.
9. Light Sabers: You know… for those of you with a fiancé who has a deep love of Star Wars. ☺

Avoid these exits that can harm the environment:

1. Any Release Involving Live Animals (Doves/Butterflies/Etc.): This is terribly, terribly cruel. Oftentimes birds and butterflies die during transportation to the wedding and it is absolutely inhumane to keep birds and butterflies in tiny boxes to be released after your vows. It’s not worth killing an innocent animal to impress your wedding guests.
2. Balloon Release: Balloons float up into the environment and eventually come back down, getting caught on trees. Birds and other animals can choke on the string and balloon materials.
3. Chinese Lantern Release: Despite the advertising of Chinese Lanterns as “eco-friendly”, they actually contain wire that can take months or years to dissolve, causing the risk of an animal dying an excruciating death, not to mention the possibility of it causing a wildfire or burning down someone’s house.
4. Glitter: Not biodegradable, causes pollution, and has the potential to cause great illness for animals who mistake it for food.
5. Confetti: Same concern as glitter.

Wedding Photography #1

Today we have our first photography segment on the blog by guest writer, Carolyn Scott. We are lucky enough to be working with the talented Raleigh wedding photographer, and this month she has put together for us a list of eight tips to help you choose the right photographer for your big day and other important photography elements to consider.

1. Two main things to choose your photographer based on:

a.) A thorough examination of their portfolio and blog. Visit their portfolio (if they have one) first. These are the pictures that your photographer likes the best. If you don’t jive with their general vision, it’s not going to be a good match. Photographers have a style that they prefer to shoot in. If they’re creative and you ask them to shoot your wedding in a traditional style, your photographer won’t be doing what their best art and you may not be happy with the results. Make sure the pictures that they like the best (the ones in their portfolio) are the types of pictures that you’d like to have for your wedding. After you’ve established that, visit their blog. This is going to give you a much larger sample of their work. You may find that you’re even more in love with them, or that you dislike how they photograph receptions, or that they’ve even improved since updating their portfolio.

b.) Photographers have different styles, and they also have different personalities. Your wedding photographer will probably be the person you spend most of your wedding day with. It is imperative that you like that person and really, truly, get along. If you’re on the same wavelength, you are probably going to be super happy with not only your pictures, but your general treatment throughout the time period of wedding planning and post-wedding picture delivery. Are they going to make you relaxed or nervous? Are they a take-charge type of photographer, or are they the type who asks you for direction, and more importantly – which type do you want? Can you see yourself spending a 10-hour day with this person without wanting to yell/scream/cry?

2. Four main issues to specify in your wedding photography contract:

a. What happens in the event of an emergency and your photographer cannot make it to your wedding?
b. What happens if the film and/or digital negatives get destroyed before I’ve received my pictures?
c. What are the copyright/personal use details?
d. What are the deposit/payment details?

3. The best ways to get your images afterward:

a. All photographers handle this part of the process differently, and how they handle it should be something discussed at the initial consultation to ensure that their way of doing business is in accordance with how you’d like to receive your images. The most popular ways include: an online gallery, DVD delivery, USB delivery, and direct download. Some photographers don’t include all of the images and you must purchase them afterward via an online gallery or a screening at the photographer’s office or studio.

4. What elements to ask your photographer to please photograph:

a. A good photographer won’t need to be asked to photograph certain details or people in your wedding. However, if there is something that you specifically worked very hard on or a certain relative that isn’t included in formal portraits that you’d like a picture of, make sure that you express this to your photographer prior to the wedding, so they can make this element a priority.

5. How much time should be allotted for portraits and when is it best to take these (before or after the ceremony or on a different day)?

a. All photographers find that different time periods work best for them, and there are about a million ways to do this! Personally, I find that taking all of the photographs before the ceremony saves a lot of time, stress, and money (you won’t need to have a cocktail hour). I often find that taking the photographs after the wedding causes couples to get antsy about going to the reception, so they can’t pay attention to each other because they’re uncomfortable having their guests waiting for them. Taking the pictures on a different day allows you more time, but not all photographers will do this free of charge as a different day requires a day out of their editing and/or shooting schedule.

6. What’s the best time of day for a wedding for the best photography?

a. This depends on the location and whether or not you’re doing the pictures before or after the ceremony. It also depends on the strengths/weaknesses of your photographer. Generally speaking and in my opinion, if the ceremony is outside with no shade, you’d like the ceremony to be held directly before sunset (with all pictures taken prior to the ceremony). At that time of day, there is a very beautiful, even light. During the direct sunlight part of the day, there will be a lot of harsh shadows under everyone’s faces, a very intense difference between areas of sun and areas of shadow, and a lot of unflattering squinting. If the ceremony is outside in an area with plenty of shade, you could have it early, but I’d advise that the closer you are to sunset and the farther away you are from high noon, the better your pictures will turn out. I advise on visiting the ceremony site at the time of day you’re planning on having the ceremony and observe where the sun is.

7. What is a reasonable amount of time to wait in order to get our pictures back?

a. This very much depends on the workflow, schedule, and demand of your photographer. It also depends on the season you’re getting married in. If you’re getting married in January, you may have your pictures back in a week. If you’re getting married in August, you may have your pictures back in a few months. Some photographers are busier than others, and some photographers can get things done faster than others despite their demand. In general, I’d say it’s very reasonable to wait anywhere from 1-3 months. That being said, your photographer should have a general idea on your wedding day of when the pictures should be completed. Don't be afraid to ask them or to ask that a time frame is outlined in your contract.

8. What is the fair amount to pay a photographer and what should I expect for the price?

a. Photography prices range anywhere from $500-$10,000+. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. A full-time photographer who has been practicing for several years will charge from $2000-$8000. Despite common beliefs, photographers (and other wedding vendors) don’t charge high prices just because they can. It’s actually very formulaic for most professional vendors and includes the following overhead expenses and things you’re paying for behind the scenes such as: Equipment, website services, advertising, cost of products, travel, accounting services, time spent on consultations and post-production, the actual time spent photographing the wedding, medical, liability and equipment insurance, membership to professional organizations, and more. Some photographers include the high-res pictures, an album, and several prints in their wedding packages. Others charge this for their shooting time and require clients to pay afterward. How much you spend usually reflects how much of a priority photography is to you. Some wedding couples spend 1/3 of their budget or more on photography, while others spend 1/8th of their budget. I’d recommend sitting down with your fiancé and discussing how important the photography is to you and coming up with a budget (and go on the hunt) shortly after you’ve secured a wedding date and venue.