What’s the difference between a proposal, an engagement shoot, and a Couple Session?

A couple’s shoot isn’t necessarily tied to a wedding.

People want nice pictures with the people they love no matter what stage of life or their relationship they’re at. Your love story doesn’t start (or end) with your wedding. Whether it’s an anniversary, valentines day, or just because, you can book a photographer to get some playful and beautiful shots of you and your significant other.

An Engagement Shoot is a scheduled shoot meant to celebrate your new engagement.

Engagement sessions are scheduled for after the proposal has already happened. At this point everyone is in on the engagement, and you and your partner are just booking a photographer to commemorate the occasion. These are also the pictures couples typically use for their save the dates, wedding invitations, and social media announcement posts.

Engagement shoots can also be a great way to get to know your photographer - and a dry run of if they’re actually the right fit.

Let’s be real - wedding photography is a serious investment! Lots of wedding photographers bundle an engagement session into the pricing of their wedding packages (we need a warm up too, sometimes okay!) but you can also typically book this session separately.

Using engagement and couples sessions as a dry run is a great way to find out if the photographer you’re thinking of booking has atrocious vibes prior to the big day, or just to shake those “Oh my god that camera is huge and is pointing right at me” jitters.

A Proposal Session is set up to stealthily capture the real life moment you get engaged.

This one takes some pre-planning, usually between the photographer and the partner proposing. Hiring a proposal photographer means you get to authentically capture that moment without having to worry too much about actually doing it yourself. This can be as simple as “Be here with your camera at this time” or your photographer might be incredibly involved, helping scout locations, determining the best time of day for lighting, offering wardrobe suggestions, coaching your posing, and anything else you need to help this day go well.

Typically the photographer is on location prior to your arrival, but might be off behind some trees with a zoom lens looking nonchalant to not give away the surprise. After the proposal this might roll directly into an engagement shoot, capturing some classic posed portraits to go alongside your candids.

Wondering what session to book, or if hiring a pro is right for you?

Check out my other post on whether or not hiring a proposal photographer is the right move, or reach out to me to chat about options, ask questions, or too book a session.

(seriously - I love to yap - you can also just say hi and ask what’s up)