Nashville Engagement Photos
Everything you need to know to plan your engagement photoshoot!
I’ll walk you through the details of each of these topics:
How to pick your photoshoot location
How to make it romantic & unforgettable
How to choose the perfect outfits to wear
The most important thing to prioritize
First, a short story….
Engagement photos taken at Shelby Bottoms park in East Nashville at sunset.
Michael and Erin enjoy spending time out in nature. They specifically picked Shelby Bottoms Park for their location, as they spent a lot of time here while they were dating, especially at the duck pond. We started out in a more woodsy area where Michael picked a wild flower and placed it in Erin’s hair. We slowly made our way over to the little island in the center of the pond as the sun was setting. They smiled and looked into each other’s eyes, a flock of geese flying low over the water, and the sunset colors of the sky reflecting in the water. It felt like a scene from The Notebook - an absolute dream.
Ducks swimming in the pond at Shelby Bottoms Park in East Nashville.
How to pick your engagement photoshoot location:
The location is a VERY important part of your engagement photoshoot, as it is meant to be a reflection of you and your relationship. Letting your photographer tell you where to do it without considering the below questions means you may wind up in a random field when what you actually love is the lights of downtown. Or perhaps they’ll take you to an urban area, but you guys love spending time at your local park.
To decide on the perfect location, ask yourselves:
1. What do we enjoy doing together?
2. Where have we spent a lot of time?
3. Was our first date at a memorable spot?
4. Would we rather be outside, or inside?
You can talk to your photographer and tell them a specific location, or let them know the general idea of what you’re hoping for so they can give you some recommended spots based off of the info you give them.
How to make your photoshoot romantic & unforgettable:
Whether you’re planning an elopement or a 250 person event, there’s a reason brides joke that planning a wedding is a full-time job: the engagement season is BUSY and requires a lot of work! It’s so easy to de-prioritize your relationship and start skipping date nights. Your engagement photoshoot should be a time that the two of you can slow down, connect, and soak in this unique and short season of your relationship! It’s a time that you can reflect on what brought you to this point, and to look forward to the future together! Here’s how you can do that:
Reminisce on your first date, or first couple of dates! Talk about what you remember, what was funny, or anything you overcame or worked through together.
Talk about some of your hopes and dreams for the future! Share where you’d like to travel together, something about the wedding you’re excited about, or some goals you have in mind.
Incorporate things that are important to you! For Erin and Michael, they read a few scriptures together and spent time talking about their importance. Maybe you have a book a poetry you could read together, maybe one of you wrote a particularly special love letter that you bring. Or maybe you both love to go salsa dancing, so you play your favorite song and dance together.
Don’t be afraid to get a little physical - whether you’re cute and cuddly, or wildly passionate! Stealing kisses, wrapping your arms around one another, staring into each other’s eyes or tracing their face…. this will both add emotion into the photos, and be a special time for the two of you to connect.
A couples photoshoot in East Nashville.
How to choose the perfect outfit for your engagement photos:
You want the perfect mix of something that makes you feel like a million bucks, and something that is comfortable. Ladies, you don’t HAVE to wear a dress if that isn’t your thing! You don’t have to switch things up just because this is an “engagement photoshoot”. Guys, you don’t have to be super formal if that’s just not you.
Avoid extremely vibrant and bright hues of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink. The main reason for this is that light reflects from your clothes and onto your face/neck. If you’re wearing an extremely bright and vibrant green, you’re going to have a green tint to your skin, and no one wants that!
If you’re wearing something you already own, make sure you try it on before your photoshoot! Our bodies change, or sometimes we simply realize that we don’t like how something sits on us anymore. So if you’re going to wear something you’ve warn before, before to try it on with plenty time in advance, just in case you realize you need to go shopping for something different!
The most important thing to prioritize during your engagement photo shoot:
As the years go by, photos of the two of you standing perfectly next to a tree aren’t going to mean a whole lot to you. I always encourage my couples to be themselves rather than conforming to what they think you have to be or do in front of the camera! For Erin and Michael, they were playful and had fun - they danced and they laughed! Other couples can prefer to be serious and connect through gentle touches, and some are comfortable getting passionate with deep kisses and long embraces! Whatever your personality, and whatever feels most like you, lean into that!
The biggest key to being able to be yourself in front of the camera is to hire a photographer not just based on their photos, but on their personality and how the two of you get along! I highly recommend doing a phone call or video call with your photographer before officially booking them.
Wildlife, flora and fauna at a park in East Nashville.
If you’re looking for a Nashville engagement photographer, click here to get in touch!
Each session is perfectly curated for you, and includes a photo book that contains quotes and memories from this season of life that you’ll be able to look back on and remember forever! I have a timeless and romantic style, shooting both 35mm film and digital photos.
If you want to learn how to be comfortable in front of the camera while taking passionate kissing photos, click here!