Your permission slip to be yourselves has arrived.

A Little Intro to the Process

Your session (whether engagement, anniversary, portrait, maternity, family, etc) is a chance to let loose and connect with one another. This is NOT about modeling! We aren’t models either and totally understand the discomfort that can happen in front of a camera if you’re not in an environment that helps you feel at-ease and natural. We are going to explore with you to find the best backdrops, light and angles. But we want you to be YOU. What makes you / your relationship tick? Let your hair down. Don’t be afraid to try things. Get wet in a stream. Get messy in a pile of leaves. Brings games or books you love. Bring drinks with you to help loosen you up (not a requirement, if that’s not your thing). But above all, have fun. We read the room and go with your flow. We’ll never force you to do something that doesn’t feel right.

Just remember: You don’t have to like having your photo taken – you just need to like who you’re taking those photos with. 🙂

– Fox & Hare

Onto the Advice…

Your session is approximately 90 minutes for an engagement or couple’s session / 45 minutes for a family or maternity session. We usually say come in your more casual attire and after about 20-30 minutes of warming up, you can change in onsite restrooms (or in your car if the location lacks restrooms). The goal is to warm up in casual attire, and by the time we’re all relaxed and rolling – you’re in the dressier outfit for sunset. You can send us snapshots of what you’re thinking of wearing if you’re unsure!

You can bring up to 2 outfit changes (one casual, one can be a little dressier).

*It’s not a requirement to have 2 outfits. You can plan for just one outfit! But we do recommend having layers or accessories to mix it up. It can be as simple as throwing a sweater or jacket on. Or swapping pants for a skirt, changing shoes, throwing a hat on. Bring options in case you’re hot/cold, something gets dirty, rips or just doesn’t feel comfortable or right in the moment! We’ve seen it all (including a tier of pizza collapsing on a couple, lol) – so it’s always best to bring options!!

^Here you can see that I quickly swapped pants for a skirt and removed my sweater for a second look. Steve clearly didn’t want to change yet – lol. He did have another outfit planned. But I wanted a few looks. This is very simple to do. One or both of you can modify as you need to. But ultimately you get only two full outfit changes.

^Then we both changed into our “dressier” looks – which were still relatively casual. Think colors that complement, muted tones are our favorite because they’re easy to coordinate. Also think about what you’d wear out to a date night somewhere like an art gallery or bar. It doesn’t have to be extremely fancy, just elevated. 🙂

If you want to see more of our own branding session, we have that linked here!

Tips for a Smooth Session:

1) We’ll meet up 90 minutes prior to sunset. It’s important for us all to be relatively on time! Aim to arrive 10-15 min early if you can, just to get yourself organized. Of course we understand life happens. Traffic, emergencies, etc. Just do your best!

Unless it’s a cloudy day, we are usually timing the shoot around the golden hour sunset. (We always hope for it, but cloudy & diffused light is good, too!) This is just a note for you to get the most out of your photoshoot time!

If it ends up being cloudy we can also usually reschedule the shoot for earlier in the afternoon. Typically, we can make the call and touch base with you the morning of the shoot. If you plan to do your hair or makeup trial beforehand, just let us know so we can make the judgement based on timing.

If it looks like inclement weather we will contact you if we need to reschedule to a different day altogether.

2) We do recommend scheduling a hair or makeup appointment to feel like the best version of yourself, but this certainly isn’t a requirement. I know I always personally feel a little more photo-ready with my makeup professionally done. And it helps if you try out your potential hair + makeup team for the wedding day to see how it translates to camera! If you’re into a more natural look but still want your makeup done we recommend:

Kathleen Benjamin

Verve on Location
 

3) Simple props (like a save the date sign, balloons, champagne to shake + pop etc) are welcome but not required, and a neutral colored blanket to sit on is suggested. We have clear plastic umbrellas that are great for photos in the event it rains, but feel free to bring your own!

4) We also suggest grabbing a drink beforehand (or during)! it helps to loosen you up. (You don’t have to, though, if that’s not for you).
***Pro tip: bring TWO bottles of champagne! At least one should be cheap so you can shake + pop it and don’t mind wasting it! The other one is either for take #2 on the pop…or just for drinking & celebrating! 

A SPECIAL PERMISSION SLIP FOR THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY –

You deserve to wholly love whoever you love. You’ll be treated as well as we treat all our couples, because you deserve a space where your love isn’t merely tolerated, it’s celebrated.

We’ve been told by same sex couples that they are nervous about being posed in a “heteronormative” way. We want to assure you that it’s about loving each other and enjoying each other’s company. We move you through scenes in ways that make sense for you as an individual couple. There’s not just one approach to any couple we photograph!

5) We love this video and have sent it to our couples as inspiration for years! This is by no means homework, haha. It’s just supposed to show you that if we throw a suggestion or prompt at you, we want you to have fun with it! We don’t necessarily have specific names for poses. We usually demonstrate how you can stand or where to put your hands and let you take the lead!

Here’s another helpful link to our OWN engagement session we did in 2019 with 10 tips from two wedding photographers! 🙂

EVERYTHING IS MERELY A SUGGESTION. THERE ARE NO REAL RULES.

HAVE FUN. GET WEIRD. FALL BACK IN LOVE.

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An Extra Note for Family Sessions

You can check out this blog post with 5 tips for family sessions!

Only one outfit for everyone is needed, you can send us snapshots of what you’re thinking of wearing if you’re unsure! (A back-up outfit change is always a good idea in case one set gets dirty).

Bring toys or snacks to occupy (and reward) your children! (Think instant gratification, no-mess treats like puffed rice snacks, little crackers, gummies or mini marshmallows…depending on the age of children).

Bringing favorite toys, books, or music is encouraged. We’d prefer your children explore and have fun, rather than forcing them to pose. If you force a smile for too long, that phony cheese can quickly turn into tears. If they want to run around – let them go. The candid shots are always better anyway. 🙂

If it’s cold: Bring a blanket to sit on/keep warm. Extra layers (bring coats you can throw on if you’re cold and can take off for pictures).

Queue up some of your child’s favorite songs in a Spotify playlist. And bring a positive attitude! 🙂