Wedding bells are ringing, and it goes without saying that being engaged is one of the happiest moments in a girl’s life. And with being engaged, you will be soon on the road looking for wedding photographers! But before the wedding, it’s engagement time. Engagement photo sessions are often overlooked and underrated. But these important sessions are a valuable part of your wedding photography package. If you are debating whether or not you need engagement photos, here are the top 8 reasons why engagement photos are important for you.

1 – Engagement photos help you get to know your wedding photographer:

One of the most important reasons for an engagement session is getting to know and building trust with your photographer. Having a chance to spend time with your photographer and understand their style can help you be more relaxed—both with your photographer and together in front of the camera.

2 – Engagement photos are a chance to let loose and be creative:

Your engagement photos are a chance to express yourselves in a different way than your wedding. Let your relationship inspire your session location. If you’re movie lovers, maybe find an old theater to take pictures in and around. Take your pictures at the place you first met or the place you got engaged. If you choose a location important to you, it makes your pictures so much more special. You also have a chance to express your creativity in your wardrobe choices.  Maybe you don’t want to get married in a sundress and cowboy boots, but its fine for an engagement session! Let loose, be yourselves, and let your personalities shine through in your location and outfit choices.

3 – Engagement photos come in handy for “save the dates:”

You probably have plenty of selfies of you are and your fiancé, so a professional engagement session is the time for you to dress to impress. When it comes to sending “Save the Dates”, you’ll have plenty of professional images to choose from. Plus, the higher resolution of professional photographs improves the print quality of photo books, magnets, postcards and other popular “save the date” choices.

4 – Engagement photos help your photographer get to know you:

The engagement session is an important part of building a relationship with your photographer. When you build this bond, your images will have so much of your style and personality and will look amazing. Your photographer will start to understand the way you and your fiancé connect and what angles and light make you look best.

5 – Hair and makeup trial.

Having a practice run with your hair and makeup is great so when your big day arrives you will have tons of confidence and less stress. Your engagement session is a way to give your hair and make up a test drive. Not only do you get to see how it looks on you, but you can see how it looks in photographs.

6 – Feel comfortable in front of the camera.

Not many people have professional photo sessions and to be quite honest, cameras and lights can be a little intimidating. So working into this process can be more relaxing and when you are relaxed, the better the images will come out. During the engagement session, you can start to feel more comfortable around your photographer and the camera. Especially when you do your engagement session with your wedding photographer, it allows you to get a feeling for what it will be like on your wedding day. Even though you two are getting married, the closeness and intimacy of taking portraits might bring on some anxiety. The engagement session helps you to work through those nervous giggles and relax in front of the camera. That way, by your wedding day, you’ll both be ready for your close-up!

7 – Have professional photos to share:

Once you have your professional photos, you can share them with your friends and family on social media, order prints or create beautiful wall art for your home. Engagement photos make awesome Facebook profile pictures. You might also consider creating a photo guest book for the wedding using the images from your engagement session. Talk to your photographer about creating a beautiful guess book.

8 – Most importantly, engagement photos let you have some fun:

The best part of an engagement session is that it’s fun! This time will be the stress-buster for you and your partner where you will just relax and leave the tension of wedding prep. While you and your fiancé do whatever you like to do together: walking down the street, spending romantic moments at the beach or playing in the park, we’ll also be taking pictures! An engagement session allows you both to slow down, relax, and just enjoy each other’s company. You’ll be amazed at how amazing pictures can look when you two are just being yourselves and celebrating the love you share.