Almost every couple tells us the same thing in the first ten minutes: we are not good at this, we do not know what to do with our hands, please do not make us model.
Nobody is good at this. You have never done it before, and being asked to be affectionate on cue while a stranger points a camera at you is not a normal way to spend a Tuesday. The awkwardness is the default setting, and it wears off faster than you think. Usually about five minutes in you stop noticing us and start just hanging out with your person, and that is when the photos get good.
Here is what is worth knowing beforehand.
If you are engaged, this session is also practice
An engagement session is the cheapest wedding-day insurance there is. You learn how we work, we learn how you two actually are together, and by the time your wedding comes around none of it is new. Couples who do a session first are noticeably more relaxed on the day. That is most of why we recommend it.
You also end up with photos you can use for save the dates, the website, the guest book, and your parents, who will ask.
What to wear
Bring two looks. The first one is elevated everyday: what you would wear to a good dinner. It is your warm-up outfit, comfortable enough that you are not thinking about it while you are getting used to the camera. The second is the dressy one. There is no such thing as too dressed up for a couples session, and we will save it for the last stretch of light.
- Coordinate, do not match. Similar level of formality, colors that sit well together. Matching outfits look like a costume.
- Movement photographs well. A dress with some flow, a skirt that catches the wind, a coat that moves. Alaska will provide the wind.
- Solid colors and quiet patterns. Muted and warm reads best. Soft blues, cream, rust, navy, burgundy, deep green. These will still look right in fifteen years.
- Fit beats everything. A tailored shirt reads better than an expensive one that does not fit.
- Bring shoes you can walk in. Heels look great in the photo and terrible on a gravel trail. Wear the boots to the spot, change at the spot.
- Try both outfits on together, in advance. Sit down, walk around, move your arms. If anything rides up or pulls, you want to know now.
If you are shooting in winter
Alaska winter sessions are some of the best work we do. The light stays low all day, snow bounces it back up into your faces, and blue hour lasts long enough to actually use. The trick is being warm enough to enjoy it.
- Let the coat be part of the outfit. A long wool coat or a good parka looks intentional, and your coats do not need to match each other.
- Cable knits, flannel, and layers photograph better than a single thin layer anyway.
- Real boots. Not the ones that look good and leave you miserable by minute twelve.
- Scarves, beanies, and gloves add texture and buy you time outside.
- Tights under a dress work if you are committed to the dress. Tell us and we will shoot that section first and fast.
- Bring hand warmers and a thermos. We will keep moving and we will not keep you out there past the point of fun.
Send us photos of your options if you are torn. We will just tell you which one.
On not being photogenic
There is no such thing. There is comfortable and uncomfortable, and comfortable is a thing we can actually work on.
We will not stand there telling you to be natural and then wait. That is a nightmare and it is how you end up with photos where two people look like they are being held hostage. Instead you get something specific to do. Walk toward us holding hands. Whisper something you would not say in front of her mother. Put your forehead against his and close your eyes. Now pick her up.
Movement is doing most of the work there. It is very hard to feel self conscious while you are spinning someone around, and moving bodies photograph better than posed ones anyway. So we keep you walking, laughing, and occasionally slightly off balance.
Tell us your concerns beforehand and we will work around them. If you hate your side profile, we know. If you are not into public affection, we do not need you making out for an hour and we will find plenty else. If one of you is much more nervous than the other, say so, and that person gets more direction and more reassurance. We cannot help with something we do not know about.
Where and when
We usually shoot in the hour or two before sunset. In Alaska that window shifts wildly depending on the month, so we will pick a start time when we book and we will explain why.
For location, tell us the feeling you want and we will tell you where to find it. Mountains, water, forest, in town, or somewhere with almost nothing in it. We know the September light at Hatcher Pass and how hard the wind comes through Girdwood, and we plan around both.
If somewhere already means something to you, that beats anything we would pick. The trailhead where he proposed, the parking lot of your first date, the cabin. Tell us and we will build around it.
The day before
- Lay out both outfits, shoes and jackets included.
- Clean your ring. It will be in a lot of photos.
- Check the forecast and message us if it looks ugly. We will give you a straight answer about whether to move.
- If you are getting hair or makeup done, build in more time than the salon says.
- Drink water and get some sleep. It is not glamorous advice and it is the advice that shows up in the photos.
Bring: your second outfit, walking shoes, a hairbrush, touch-up makeup, water, layers, and in winter, hand warmers. Leave in the car: phones, keys, and wallets. Pocket lumps are forever.
How the session runs
Plan on up to two hours of shooting, though most sessions land closer to ninety minutes. We start in the casual outfit while everyone loosens up, then switch to the dressier one for the last and best light.
There are usually two of us. Ben shoots, Moriah handles posing and the small fixes and keeps the whole thing feeling easy. If Moriah cannot make your session we will let you know ahead of time, and it does not change how the session goes.
What we will ask of you is simple. Move around. Talk to each other instead of to us. Try the thing that feels ridiculous, because it usually looks good. And be whoever you actually are together. If you are the couple that laughs constantly, be that. If you are quieter, that photographs beautifully and we are not going to talk you out of it.
After
Sneak peek within about a week, full gallery a few weeks later, high resolution with a print release. Use them for save the dates, cards, your walls, or nothing at all. And print a few. Photos on a wall get looked at.
Questions about outfits, timing, or whether your favorite trail will work? Ask us. We answer these all day.
