A & A arrived at their engagement session at Bourne Woods with one very important extra guest — their dog!
They also came with a warning for me: “We’re really uncomfortable having our photos taken.”
Which, honestly, is something I hear all the time.
We started slowly, wandering through the woods, chatting and giving them things to do rather than asking them to stand and pose for the camera. Their dog gave us plenty of entertainment along the way, and before long, the nerves started disappearing.
By the end of the session, we were all laughing, playing around and having so much fun that it barely felt like we were there to take photographs. Their guard was completely down — and, unsurprisingly, that's when we captured some of my absolute favourite images from the session.
One of the loveliest compliments I've received came afterwards, when they told me they only wished they'd found me before they'd already booked their wedding photographer, because of how comfortable and at ease I'd made them feel in front of the camera.
And really, that's exactly what I want an engagement session to be.
You don't need to know how to pose. You don't need to be naturally comfortable in front of a camera. You don't even need to particularly like having your photograph taken.
Come as you are, bring the dog, and we'll spend some time together. The beautiful photographs tend to happen somewhere along the way.
