Featured: Jiney & Stephen on Artfully Wed

We've been waiting for this one for MONTHS! Jiney & Stephen's elegant Historic Post Office wedding day with details inspired by Harry Potter is being featured on Artfully Wed!

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View their wedding day
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10 (More) Things You Might Not Know About Me

1. I love all things organization, but my favorite office supply is a good clicky pen.

2. I'm terrible with song lyrics... And consequently titles and artists as well.

3. I hate swag. Swag doesn't fit into my life. I don't wear crew neck t-shirts. I only drink out of really big coffee mugs. I don't use fridge magnets or bumper stickers. I purchase my favorite pens in large packs. But I do make exceptions for clicky pens (see above) and cloth bags that I can use for groceries.

4. I refuse to buy many of my favorite foods like Dr. Pepper, Cheez-Its, and gummy bears, because it's the only way to resist eating them every day.

5. I hate to tell people no. Like I'm so bad at it that I have to rehearse what I'm going to say. And if I don't have the chance to think it over before answering, I usually say yes even when I want to say no. (Don't abuse this new knowledge you have of me!)

6. I am an obliger, which means that I need external accountability for motivation. If you've ever wondered why you have such a hard time with New Year's resolutions (or why you're so good at them and everyone else isn't), you should read Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin. It's all about how people form habits.

7. Speaking of habits, I am both a side and back sleeper and I turn from one to the other in the same pattern every night before falling asleep. I fall asleep the exact same way every night until I stay at a hotel and sleep in a new bed when this habit resets.

8. I hate running. I wish I didn't, because it's a very efficient, convenient, and affordable way to exercise. But it's the worst.

9. My favorite part of French fries are the crunchy bits in the bottom. Ryan and I usually split one order of fries and he saves them for me.

10. I really hate the word bespoke. The sound of it is just so weird to me and I don't think it fits the definition at all.

Want to learn more about me?
Meet Caitlin (&Ryan)
Watch Our Promo Video
10 (More) Things You Might Not Know About Me (2018)
10 (More) Things You Might Not Know About Me (2016)
10 Things You Might Not Know About Me (2015)
Eight Quirky Facts About Me (2012)
About My Scar
Am I the Right Wedding Photographer for You?

The Engagement Session: 10 Final Tips

If you've been following along with my engagement session series, you're probably brimming over with location ideas and outfit inspiration. Today we're finishing up that series with a few tips you may not have thought of!

- Eat before the engagement session. Unfortunately, we often have to plan engagement sessions right around dinner time, because of sunset. I think it's a great idea to go out to eat after we've finished the session, but grabbing a good snack before will help you make it through without any stomach grumbling!

- Bring water, especially if it's going to be warm!

- Be sweet and loving to each other on the day of the session. You want to be able to enjoy cuddling during the session, so this might not be the best day for a stressful conversation about the guest list.

- Choose mints over gum. Chewing gum is never flattering in pictures!

- Check your outfits for panty lines. And if you have noticeable tan lines, keep that in mind when choosing your outfits!

- Plan your regular salon visits (hair color, eye brows, nails, etc) before the session. And don't forget about your fiance's hair cut too!

- Professional makeup will make your skin look FLAWLESS in photos, so think about investing in another session with your makeup artist that day. If not, a little extra eye makeup is perfect.

- Stop by the jewelry store and have your ring cleaned so it will be sparkly and ready for a close-up! My macro lens sees every speck of hairspray residue!

- If you're worried about sweat stains, make sure you're bringing two outfits so we can change halfway through!

- If you want to use more than one location, I recommend a total walking distance of 1 mile or less, something we can easily walk in 15-20 minutes. (I use google maps to plan this out.) That gives us plenty of time to meander and stop frequently for portraits. If the distance is much more than that, we'd be doing more walking than portraits. The same goes for driving from one location to another, about 10-15 minutes is ideal.

Want to read more tips for your engagement session?
Choosing a Location
My Favorite Hampton Roads Locations
What To Wear
What Not to Wear
Shopping for an Engagement Session Dress
What Happens if it Rains
The Purpose
Getting to Know Your Photographer
How I Chose My Outfits
10 Final Tips

The Engagement Session: The Purpose

The main purpose of the engagement session for me (and the reason why they're a permanent part of our wedding packages) is getting our clients comfortable in front of the camera.

The engagement session is a warm up for the wedding day. Most couples have never been professionally photographed before, and we hear from a lot of them (especially the grooms) that they feel awkward in front of the camera. In 2017, I took an entire course specifically on posing so I could be even better at helping our couples look and feel natural on camera. And I want them to ENJOY their session too!

I start our engagement sessions by teaching my clients my simple four-part posing structure. In just 5 minutes, they've learned everything they need to know. I know that the photos I take during the first 5 minutes or so are going to feel a bit awkward and look a bit staged. That's totally normal, because most people are used to taking selfies, not professional portraits. These are our practice shots. After we walk through the posing structure and my clients are feeling more confident, we can move on to locations with really beautiful light and get a posing flow going.

But trust me, even with all that teaching and instruction, I never leave my clients out to dry and expect them to 'just be cute' for the camera! I always tell them that it's my job to give direction, and they don't need to worry about what to do with their hands or when they should look at the camera.

Not only does the engagement session help our couples, but it helps me as well! The engagement session shows me what kind of direction each couple needs and what poses are best for them. How do they interact with each other? Do they need reminders to stand up straight or to relax their hands? (Next time we see each other, ask me about spatula hands!) How does their height difference influence posing? (Certain pose variations work best with different height ratios, so the engagement session gives us a chance to work out which poses work best for a particular couple.)

When the couple is comfortable in front of the camera and I know what direction they need  and what poses work best for them, we can fly through wedding day portraits! And we usually don't have a lot of time on the wedding day. If our clients choose to do a first look, we might be lucky enough to have an hour and use multiple locations around the venue. But it's not very unusual for me to have only 30 minutes (or even less!) for bride and groom portraits when the couple chooses not to do a first look, so we don't have time for a warm up on the wedding day. We have to dive right in and get moving!

We've worked with many couples who weren't initially interested in doing an engagement session, because they didn't understand how it would impact their wedding day! I always tell couples who aren't sure that it's not really about getting pretty pictures at all. It's worth doing an engagement session even if you don't think you'll ever use the photos. Because your wedding day portraits will be THAT much better!

The engagement session is exactly what they need to go into wedding day portraits with confidence!

Want to read more tips for your engagement session?
Choosing a Location
My Favorite Hampton Roads Locations
What To Wear
What Not to Wear
Shopping for an Engagement Session Dress
What Happens if it Rains
The Purpose
Getting to Know Your Photographer
How I Chose My Outfits
10 Final Tips