Top DIY Engagement Photo Shoot Ideas
By Devorah Isenberg 
, Friday, May 11, 2012 3:03 AM
Having an engagement photo shoot—a fun, creative couples photo shoot around the time of your engagement, is a fun new idea that many couples are trying. Why? There are tons of benefits to getting a professional, or even a DIY, engagement photo shoot. First, it’s an opportunity to try out some of the fun settings and poses you wouldn’t use at a more serious wedding shoot. Second, it will give you some special memories of this very unique time in your life, and third, it is a great way to take some perfect photos of that dazzling new diamond engagement ring!
Wedding photo shoots are often pretty traditional and formal, so use your engagement shoot as an opportunity to mix it up! Choose a fun theme, travel to an interesting location to serve as a backdrop, make a few wardrobe changes, and definitely don’t be afraid to take fun, silly, sexy, or outrageous poses!
Pack a pretty picnic (champagne and strawberries?) and bring it to a beautiful nearby park. Have the photographer capture candid moments of you and your fiancé talking and laughing.
Emphasize a shared interest or hobby that you have—take your photos sitting on your bikes if you’re both avid cyclist or getting silly in the kitchen if you’re both gourmet chefs.
Recreate a scene from a favorite romantic movie, whether that means capturing your guy standing at your window with a boombox, or kissing passionately in the rain.
If you live near any major tourist destinations but never actually go to them, here’s your chance. Take your engagement photos on the Golden Gate Bridge, at the top of the Empire State Building, or at the Hollywood sign.
Build a scrapbook of moments of your life together. Revisit all the places around town that are special to you, and take a photo in front of each place. You can even restage important moments like your first date, your first kiss, and your first joint Target shopping trip.
Hit up a fun and picturesque place like a flea market, farmer’s market, or museum and spend the day like your normal selves, only as if you were being stalked by the paparazzi.
Indulge your inner glamour goddess and book yourself an appointment for a serious makeover. Get your guy into a tux or extra-nice suit, slip on your best evening gown, and take some photos worthy of Old Hollywood glamour. Bonus points if you find an elegant hotel or mansion to serve as a backdrop.
It may be a classic, but beach pictures—whether you live in Cape Cod or Miami—are always romantic, simple, and incredibly beautiful. Just make sure you don’t drop the engagement ring in the sand!
Instagram is a hot new smartphone app that makes your photos look soft and vintage-style—ask y photographer if he can use filters and other specialty equipment to give your photos the same dreamy quality.
Do you dream in black-and-white? Go retro by buying or renting outfits from your favorite time period in history—whether that is Gatsby-eque flapper gear or Mad Men chic—and taking the entire photo shoot in character.
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| Engagement Photoshoot Ideas |
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