Engagement Portraits

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should we do an engagement session?

There are lots of reasons why you should have an engagement session! First, many couples don’t have many great, professional portraits of them together. Yes, you will have your wedding images together, but its really nice to have more casual images of the two of you. Engagement photos make great gifts for your parents, friends, etc. Engagement images are also a great way to personalize your wedding, you can use them as part of your centerpieces, invitations, guestbook, etc. Lastly (and probably most importantly), an engagement session is an awesome way to get to know your photographer and for them to get to know y’all! You want to feel really comfortable with your photographer on your wedding day since emotions will be running high– the last thing you want is a stranger with a camera in your face! By doing an engagement session with our couples, we get to know each other, we get a chance to see how you interact with each other and we get feedback on the kind of images you like or dislike. Once the wedding day rolls around, we are old friends and everything is just easier!

How much is an engagement session?

For couples who have reserved us for their wedding day, an engagement session is $500 and includes 10 retouched digital files. 

When should we schedule our engagement session?

This is really up to you and often depends on whether you need the images for Save the Date cards, invitations, etc. The session can be done anywhere from a year in advance to a week in advance. You probably want to consider the time of year when you schedule your engagement session, as the late spring and summer months in Tallahassee can be a tad warm for an outdoor session! Once you are ready to book your session, we can usually get you on the calendar within 2-3 weeks, depending on how flexible your schedule is.

What are good Tallahassee location sessions for an engagement session?

There are so many! We try to work with our couples to chose a location that matches their personal style or that has sentimental value for them. It can be the place you met, where he proposed, or where y’all like to spend time. If you want a traditional look to your images, we might suggest Maclay Gardens. If you are more contemporary, downtown Tallahassee has a lot of great spots. If you are big Seminole fans, we might do the session at FSU. Really, there are no limits as to where your session can be done! Feel free to contact the studio to brainstorm ideas for your session, just give us an idea of your style, theme, colors, or anything else we can use to make your session perfectly unique to you! 

What should we wear for our engagement session?

This depends a lot on your personal style. Some couples want a really casual look in jeans, while others want something fancier or trendier. Your attire should definitely match your location, so jeans would be perfect for a country or beach location and something dressier would be great in downtown. Whatever style you choose, there are a few things that will always hold true:

  1. Darker colors are more slimming.
  2. Solids photograph better than patterns.
  3. Sleeves will make arms appear slimmer.
  4. Clothing should be fitted, but not too tight (loose or drapey clothing will make you look larger in photographs).
  5. Clothing should not need a lot of adjustments to lay correctly.
  6. You should both wear similar tones- both in light colors or both in darker colors. if one person is in much lighter clothing, they will appear washed out in the images.
  7. You do not need to match if you don’t want to. Consider complimentary colors, or colors in the same palette.
If you have any questions about what to wear for your session, we are always here to help! You can even send us photos of possible outfits and we are happy to give you guidance!

What should we order from our engagement session?

This totally depends on you! Some couples choose to do a wall collection of gallery wrapped canvases, others want an engagement signature album and some others want to do save the date cards. Some couples want to purchase the digital images and use them for wedding decor, wedding websites, etc.  Pretty much anything you can imagine, we can make happen for you!

Want More?

The gallery above shows some favorite images from countless engagement sessions over the years!  The blog posts below show our recent work for weddings and engagement sessions!  You can also use the search bar below to find specific things on the blog!

 

A Personal Project

A Personal Project

A few months ago Olyn and I had an idea for a wedding album for print competition that breaks the mold a bit.  We went really dark with the album and created something a bit controversial and in our opinion, pretty cool.  We were so lucky to have a few clients help...

Heather & Ray {Tallahassee engagement portraits}

Heather & Ray {Tallahassee engagement portraits}

Heather has been so excited for her engagement session... I thought at one point she might just pop!  She had the clothes all picked out, the location set and she was ready to go.  And then... Ray went fishing.  The sunburn that followed resulted in a flurry of emails...

Amber & Ron {Tallahassee wedding photographer}

Amber & Ron {Tallahassee wedding photographer}

We photograph a LOT of garnet and gold weddings-- here in Tallahassee, its not uncommon to have FSU as a wedding theme.  Blue and Maize, however, were new for me.  Amber & Ron's University of Michigan themed wedding so suited them-- college sweethearts and avid...

Joanna & Adam {Tallahassee wedding photography}

Joanna & Adam {Tallahassee wedding photography}

Its always such a privilege to be a part of someone's wedding day, but sometimes the couple is so wonderful you have to pinch yourself just to be sure this is really your job.  🙂  Joanna and Adam are one of the coolest couples we have ever worked with-- I don't think...

Donald & Helen

Donald & Helen

I love photographing weddings.  Its where I started with photography and I think at heart I will always be a wedding photographer.  🙂  It isn't often that you get to work for a couple you really and truly love, so when my brother announced that he and Helen were...

Michelle and Randy

Michelle and Randy

I realized on the way to Michelle and Randy's engagement session that I have never known a wedding couple so well without having photographed them first!  I have been photographing their little girl Stella for almost a year, but Michelle and Randy haven't really been...

Location

702 W Tharpe St

Tallahassee, FL 32303

E-mail

Linda@LongsPhotography.com

Phone

(call or text)

850.339.5799

All images and content copyright Long's Photography