Engagement Portraits

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should we do an engagement session?

There are lots of reasons why you should have an engagement session! First, many couples don’t have many great, professional portraits of them together. Yes, you will have your wedding images together, but its really nice to have more casual images of the two of you. Engagement photos make great gifts for your parents, friends, etc. Engagement images are also a great way to personalize your wedding, you can use them as part of your centerpieces, invitations, guestbook, etc. Lastly (and probably most importantly), an engagement session is an awesome way to get to know your photographer and for them to get to know y’all! You want to feel really comfortable with your photographer on your wedding day since emotions will be running high– the last thing you want is a stranger with a camera in your face! By doing an engagement session with our couples, we get to know each other, we get a chance to see how you interact with each other and we get feedback on the kind of images you like or dislike. Once the wedding day rolls around, we are old friends and everything is just easier!

How much is an engagement session?

For couples who have reserved us for their wedding day, an engagement session is $500 and includes 10 retouched digital files. 

When should we schedule our engagement session?

This is really up to you and often depends on whether you need the images for Save the Date cards, invitations, etc. The session can be done anywhere from a year in advance to a week in advance. You probably want to consider the time of year when you schedule your engagement session, as the late spring and summer months in Tallahassee can be a tad warm for an outdoor session! Once you are ready to book your session, we can usually get you on the calendar within 2-3 weeks, depending on how flexible your schedule is.

What are good Tallahassee location sessions for an engagement session?

There are so many! We try to work with our couples to chose a location that matches their personal style or that has sentimental value for them. It can be the place you met, where he proposed, or where y’all like to spend time. If you want a traditional look to your images, we might suggest Maclay Gardens. If you are more contemporary, downtown Tallahassee has a lot of great spots. If you are big Seminole fans, we might do the session at FSU. Really, there are no limits as to where your session can be done! Feel free to contact the studio to brainstorm ideas for your session, just give us an idea of your style, theme, colors, or anything else we can use to make your session perfectly unique to you! 

What should we wear for our engagement session?

This depends a lot on your personal style. Some couples want a really casual look in jeans, while others want something fancier or trendier. Your attire should definitely match your location, so jeans would be perfect for a country or beach location and something dressier would be great in downtown. Whatever style you choose, there are a few things that will always hold true:

  1. Darker colors are more slimming.
  2. Solids photograph better than patterns.
  3. Sleeves will make arms appear slimmer.
  4. Clothing should be fitted, but not too tight (loose or drapey clothing will make you look larger in photographs).
  5. Clothing should not need a lot of adjustments to lay correctly.
  6. You should both wear similar tones- both in light colors or both in darker colors. if one person is in much lighter clothing, they will appear washed out in the images.
  7. You do not need to match if you don’t want to. Consider complimentary colors, or colors in the same palette.
If you have any questions about what to wear for your session, we are always here to help! You can even send us photos of possible outfits and we are happy to give you guidance!

What should we order from our engagement session?

This totally depends on you! Some couples choose to do a wall collection of gallery wrapped canvases, others want an engagement signature album and some others want to do save the date cards. Some couples want to purchase the digital images and use them for wedding decor, wedding websites, etc.  Pretty much anything you can imagine, we can make happen for you!

Want More?

The gallery above shows some favorite images from countless engagement sessions over the years!  The blog posts below show our recent work for weddings and engagement sessions!  You can also use the search bar below to find specific things on the blog!

 

Victoria & Eric

Victoria & Eric

The perfect remedy for a cold winter day is to celebrate love!  Victoria and Eric wed inside St. Thomas More Cathedral, surrounded by the warmth of their friends and family.  Their reception at the FSU Alumni Center might have looked like a winter wonderland, but it...

Nicole and Clint

Nicole and Clint

Nicole and Clint split their wedding celebration between two years as they rang in the new year during their reception.  The day may have been gray and dreary, but their celebrations were full of vivid color and warmth! [gallery...

Katie & Stephan

Katie & Stephan

In Tallahassee, we seem to always be complaining about the weather.  Especially this year, it feels like we skipped Fall all together!  I was overjoyed when I walked outside and it was absolutely wonderful outside!  We met Katie and Stephan over at Maclay Gardens for...

Jenna & Dave

Jenna & Dave

I love to add a personal flare to an engagement session.  For Jenna and Dave, since they met at a FSU tailgate party outside of the Palace Saloon, it meant returning to the scene of the crime!  A huge thanks to The Palace for letting us shoot there and for going the...

Teneka & Ahmad

Teneka & Ahmad

Teneka and Ahmad had a glitz and glam wedding, but it wasn't the sparkles that I was in awe of-- it was the love and emotion from Ahmad and Teneka.  The moment Ahmad saw his daughter walking down the aisle towards him, the tears started.  When he saw his bride just a...

Jessica and Levi

Jessica and Levi

I adore doing "Day After" portrait sessions!  On Jessica and Levi's wedding day it was about a million degrees outside, so we did lots of great portraits in their beautiful church.  A few weeks later, back in Tallahassee, we met up at Maclay Gardens to get images that...

Location

702 W Tharpe St

Tallahassee, FL 32303

E-mail

Linda@LongsPhotography.com

Phone

(call or text)

850.339.5799

All images and content copyright Long's Photography