Reasons to have a PNW Engagement Session
The PNW engagement session seems to be one of those things a lot of people deem unnecessary. Sometimes the groom isn’t really “into” the idea of being photographed more than necessary, and sometimes it’s just not in the budget for the overall wedding. But PNW engagement sessions are important for more than just announcing your engagement!
Your PNW engagement session serves as an opportunity to really interview your photographer
Sure, you can sit down with a photographer and hear them talk about how they work, but you don’t actually know if you’ll work well together until you are photographed by them. What happens if your photographer is gruff and barking orders at your kids in the middle of your big day?? While we hope that would never be the case… it happens. Let’s face it, photographers aren’t perfect and we lose our cool too.
You get a real life feel for the service the photographer provides
Do they sit down with you for a consultation to plan your session or are you simply given instructions to meet at a park on a random Tuesday and “look pretty”? How do they interact with you? Small directions on what to do or are you given rigid posing instructions? Are you able to make suggestions as you go or do they confidently orchestrate the entire thing? Do you leave feeling more in love and like you’ve met your best friend; Or do you leave feeling like just another number? Depending on what you are looking for in a photographer, these things can make or break a workable relationship.
You may be able to assess the quality of products that are provided
If your photographer offers prints and a USB with their pnw engagement sessions, you’ll get a chance to feel the paper prints, beautiful wooden USBs, and possibly other products that feature images from your session. No more looking through images of other people, you get to see how their images of YOU come out in their products. This is the ultimate way to discover how much you love your photographer. It’s easy to scan through website after website of beautiful images, but if you’re handed a product with your image on it and it doesn’t feel right in your hands, that’s probably not the photographer for you. This isn’t something you want to learn AFTER your wedding day images are delivered. This is something to be decided well before that final payment is made.
A few parting thoughts
If you’ve found a photographer you love, and have time for a PNW engagement session (or two) do it. If you can’t decide between photographers but have the time and means to get more than one PNW engagement session, there is NOTHING saying you can’t (except maybe someone’s exclusive photographer clause, so read those contracts carefully). If your chosen photographer includes an engagement session with their wedding package, I would suggest making sure you’re comfortable with that photographer before booking. Simply because it’s unfair to both of you to waste everyone’s time if you decide down the line to not complete your contract (plus breaking contracts is a pain in the rear and will cost you your retainer in most cases).
