Tiffany + Jakob - Hobart engagement session

While I was in Hobart recently I squeezed in this Oh So Perfect engagement/family session. It was an early start, but worth it! The Tassie light is especially magical at this time of the day.

Tiffany and Jakob have recently relocated to Tasmania with their little family - Johnny and Lola, and are living in an absolutely stunning 160 year old home in Hobart. They are "unofficially" engaged as Jakob has asked a few times but Tiff hasn't actually said yes yet! She is choosing to wear her late grandmother's engagement ring though so I think this is a sealed deal. Plus - LOOK AT THEM TOGETHER 😍

We wanted the session to be as relaxed as possible and therefore decided to capture the morning routine. This is what we got up to...

 

Life Unmade Workshop Experience

As I am getting ready to head off on another life-changing workshop and adventure I realised that I needed to share this one first...

In March of this year I attended the Life: Unmade Workshop in McCrae, Victoria with Amy of Amy Rushbrook - Lifestyle Photographer for Appreciators of the Unconventional.

It was 2 wonderful days spent with 7 other creative, interesting women (+ Amy and Hannah) sharing ideas on photography, life and some delicious food by Merowyn of Plate Got Ate, and I can assure you - my plate certainly got ate! Yum!

Amy welcomed everyone - quite literally -  with open arms, and we began by introducing ourselves. She is as kind, warm, heartfelt and passionate as you imagine her to be when looking at her photographs and reading her captions on social media. Listening to her speak and learning from Amy was an absolute pleasure.

Amy was beyond generous with the way she shared her knowledge and I really felt like you could attend this workshop and walk away with an entire start-up plan for your business, she really had thought of everything. To top it off she brought along her super sweet and kind bestie/assistant Hannah, to organise all kinds of things in the background, as well as join in on the conversation and even jumped in to model when asked! 

While I think of my main business as being Wedding Photography, and this workshop mainly targeted at photographing families, I knew that I could apply the same skills to capture candid moments on a wedding day and improving and evolving my couples photography - Which is something I hope to work on and make a large part of my business in the near future.
I took every opportunity to photograph the parents on their own and listened to the cues Amy would give them to get beautiful, natural photographs.

The only downside was that it felt like it was all over too soon! 

Why should we have engagement photos?

A little confused as to why you really NEED to have an engagement or couples session? Surely, you are going to have plenty of photos together on your wedding day…right??
Of course you will BUT there is a little more to it than that and I would like to share with you what I tell all my couples about my engagement sessions.

3 Reasons Why You NEED To Have An Engagement Session

1) For many people your wedding day is the first time you have ever hired a photographer. What does that mean?! Do I have to pose? I always look so awkward in photos…
The engagement session, e-session, pre-wedding photos, couples session – whatever you would like to call it – it is the perfect time to have a practise run! You can get comfortable in front of the camera and we can learn what works for you as a couple. Whilst I don’t like to pose my couples too much, I will give you some direction and we can work out what feels natural and most importantly LOOKS natural.
Trust me, there is nothing more beautiful than a couple in love and that love will shine through in your photos, however, if you have a “good side” or an inability to turn left, then this is your opportunity to tell me about it. I promise you will walk away saying “That was actually fun!” or at the very least “It was not nearly as bad as I imagined”.
This is the most important point and why I have put it at number one. I believe it is so important that ALL my wedding packages now include a free engagement session.

2) Many couples choose to use the images from their engagement sessions for invites, guest books, save-the-date cards and reception decorations. Have a think about the personal touch this might add to your wedding day and if that is not your thing – at least you have a great new profile pic for Facebook!

3) If you have booked via email or phone this may be the first time we have met in person. It is so nice to get to know each other before we end up spending an entire day together – especially such an important one! We are going to chat about how you met, when you got engaged and life in general. The whole experience will be very relaxed and painless. Promise!
 

OK, so now you have obviously been convinced that an Engagement Session is a must you are probably beginning to worry about ALL THE THINGS. Don’t worry, I’m here to help.

Where are we going to have this Engagement Session?
Think outside the box on this one. Think about your favourite or memorable places, what hobbies do you enjoy together or where are you the most comfy? Do you prefer to watch movies and snuggle on the couch? I can photograph that! Do you like to hike or kayak or camp? I can photograph that! Do you have a favourite bar or coffee shop? Let’s meet there! Did you get engaged at a beautiful look out or on the beach at sunset? I would love to see that spot!
Let’s get creative and make your engagement session as unique and personal to you as possible and let’s make it FUN!

What should we wear?
I think this is going to depend a lot on where you end up having your engagement session as one outfit does not fit all! Most importantly, wear something YOU feel fabulous in. If you want to go for the session at home and have just purchased the cutest matching tracksuit – rock that tracky! If you feel amazing hiking in your workout gear then DO IT! If you want to wear an gorgeous gown at sunset then GO FOR IT! And guys, this goes for you too! Wear something you feel great in!
Whilst I don’t recommend you match exactly, unless that is your thing then – absolutely, it is nice to compliment each other. If you need help with this then please let me know, I am happy to talk it over with you. Outfit changes are also most welcome!

Do I need to have my hair and make-up done?
No, absolutely not! You do you, if you don’t wear much make-up or prefer to do it yourself then that is totally fine with me! Being yourself is key.
However, some brides-to-be do take the opportunity to schedule their hair and make-up trial on the day of the session, this may be something that you would like to consider.

We have kids together and would love them to be a part of the engagement session, can we bring them along?
Of course! This is such a special time for the whole family and they absolutely should be included if you want them to be. Depending on the age of the child/ren, I would suggest bringing along another adult to help out with entertainment and snack breaks. It is so special to get some photos of just the two of you and it would be a shame to miss out on that.

Have another question?
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