Our e-session with Daniel

So, we just finished our free engagement session with Daniel Boswell from DvArtistry. It was super fun and a great experience! We shot it at the Claremont Colleges, as planned, but didn't really get to leave Scripps campus. There were just so many great spots on that one campus that we didn't really need to go anywhere else! Daniel did a great job making us feel comfortable and was totally cool with shooting us as a couple the way we are - i.e not too into PDA. I know kissing shots can look great in e-photos, but Eddie and I are just not really a PDA couple so it would feel awkward or cheesy for us. haha. but he was able to work around that. He also included a lot of pictures with Molly. He was able to catch her in some great light that totally showed off her nice and fluffy fur, which I just cleaned last night. We can't wait to see some teaser pics!!

At the same time, Daniel says he would like to come back and do a second session with us in order to get some spots that we didn't have time to get to and also some other areas that were closed off for the weekend. Isn't he great?!! The next time we meet up, we are going to be sure to get inside the library, margaret fowler garden and get some shots in the village.

I have to thank my sisters, Kitty and Alice for helping us prep. Kitty unnie gave both Eddie and myself facials with the galvanic spa machine. That stuff is AWESOME! I decided that next time we do it, we are gonna do before and after photos so that people can see what a difference the galvanic spa machine makes! Alice unnie did my hair and make-up but also went with us to our shoot to help carry stuff, touch up my make-up, hold up the light reflector thing, and take care of Molly during any shoots that only had Eddie and myself in them. I love my sistas! :)

Anyways, a few things we learned that may help others during their first engagement shoots:

1. take a lint roller! eddie had a black blazer that got some lint and molly fur on it, which annoyed me.
2. take kleenex or a hanky for sweat - i had to keep wiping eddie's sweat, but then had nothing to wipe my hands on! haha.
3. take plenty of water. it takes a lot of energy to get the right spots and shots and you can get pretty dehydrated and dry-mouthed from all the smiling.
4. look at a lot of photo blogs for inspiration regarding poses and positions. eddie and i are definitely not models, and it took us a while to figure out what to do with ourselves (hand positions, legs, head, etc). :)
5. ladies - don't forget your make-up for touch ups. luckily, i had my sister, alice unnie, on hand for that!
6. take sunglasses. if you are going to take shots in some bright and sunny spots, you may need them so that you don't look all squinty eyed.
7. clean your ring! it will be center stage for a lot of the pictures so you may want to make sure it's nice and sparkly. ;)
8. think of inside jokes you can whisper to each other to get those candid, laughing photos we all love.
9. be comfortable. i guess this also means make sure you are comforable with your photographer. Daniel was great about this and working with him today made us really happy about our decision to hire him as our videographer for our wedding day. He is such a great guy and super nice. I can't wait to see the photos but I also cant wait to see him again!!!
10. have fun!!