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What to do with your engagement photos

You had an amazing time at your engagement session. You and your fiance coordinated the most stylish outfits, your makeup was perfect mix of cocktail hour/late night dinner date, most important of all, you got to hang out with your best friend while taking a break from the craziness that has been wedding planning. It doesn't get much better than that. This fun and relaxing day is something you’ll always want to remember.

Please, please don't just post your photos to social media and forget about them. This is something I am really passionate about. When I ask clients what they've done with their photos from sessions in the past, too often they say "They are still on a USB drive in a drawer somewhere". I get it. Life gets in the way and you don't have time. That is why my top recommendation is to make sure you talk to your photographer about what you want to do with your images at your consultation. A lot of photographers, myself included, offer printing services and have taken the time to research professional printing labs to select products we know our clients love. This will have your artwork in your hand in a matter of weeks, versus them disappearing into the scary "everything drawer" never to be seen again. Duhn duhn duuuuuhn.

You've taken the time to plan and invest in every detail of your engagement session, and the art your photographer creates is meant to be preserved so your grandchildren will be able to see how fabulous their grandparents were. Here are a few of my favorite ideas for creating some of your first family heirlooms…

Start your own Instagram hashtag - The pressure is on. You need to come up with a fun and creative wedding hashtag. Sometimes you can start to overthink things, so make it fun! Start a group text with your bridesmaids and begin brainstorming. Drinks are on you for whichever lady thinks of the perfect hashtag! I didn’t have IG when I got married, but mine would have been #KamAndSa889 for each of our nicknames and our wedding date. Continue using the hashtag after you post your engagement photos! You can document the entire wedding planning process, your wedding day,and all the way through to your honeymoon. Include your hashtag on your Save the Dates and wedding website, and encourage your friends and family to contribute to it. A year after you say I do, it will be great to go back to see all of the memories captured from everyone’s perspectives!

Create albums and wall art – Having digital files is great, especially when it makes it easier to share memories with family and friends that live in other parts of the country. But think about how much more personal and romantic it is to have your own book! This is a major chapter in your fairytale, after all. An album is the perfect way to create the first volume of the {Insert your soon to be last name here} Family Collection. It’s a great conversation piece when used as a coffee table book, and you won’t have to try and find your old hard drive 10 years down the road to reminisce. Not to mention, your parents will love- I repeat, L.O.V.E. - showing off to their friends. You can also get an album specifically for your guests to write their well wishes in at the reception.

Want something that will make a statement in your home? Imagine, you walk into your living room and above your fireplace is a beautiful 20x30 print in a beautiful frame of you and your fiance. Classy. Prints and canvases will be perfect for a more traditional look, while a unique product like a floating metal print can add a more modern feel.

DIY kinda girl? Check out Mpix.com. They have album templates you can use to guide you through the design process, lots of cover options, and quality pages. They also offer beautiful prints and other unique products! My fab friends over there even gave me a code for you to use for FREE shipping! Use code SHIP0416 (exp 4/30/16)

Create Save the Dates - Adding photos to your Save the Date announcement is a great way to personalize them. Many photographers offer this design service as an a la carte option. However, if you have the files and you want to do this on your own, you can use an online design and printing lab like Minted. Search designs from talented independent artists for something unique, customize it with your information and photos, and voila! For a more traditional version of the Save The Date, and a great way to make grandma really happy, submit your engagement announcement and favorite photo to your city’s newspaper. (Check with you local paper about any fees.)

Create a Wedding Website – Did you know you can easily create a beautiful wedding website? You can share your love story, introduce your bridal party, and proudly show off the images from your amazing shoot! A wedding website is also the perfect way to keep everyone in the loop. Your out of town guests may forget their invitations at home, so having all of this information easily accessible online or in an app, will be a life saver. Include guest accommodations, venue locations, and the best places for out of towners to get brunch. Some of my favorite options for building a site are Wedding Woo, Squarespace, and AppyCouple.

Check out this creative wedding site my girl Natarsha of Natarsha Wright Photography created for her clients.

Submit your session for publication – One of the first things you do when starting the wedding planning process, is to start looking for inspiration. You can get so many ideas by reading bridal magazines and browsing wedding blogs like Aisle Perfect, Blackbride.com, and The Knot. If you want to share your photos and give other brides inspiration for their engagement shoot, submitting your session is a great option. Talk to your photographer so they can help you pick the best publication depending on your style and the overall feel for the shoot. Major wedding blogs receive 1000s of submissions each month, so it’s not always guaranteed that your session will be published. Another way to get featured is by using your favorite publication's hashtag. (If you want you rimages to be seen and reposted, make sure your profile is public.)

We hope that you're enjoying the #WithThis💍 blog series. The purpose of this series was to educate current and future clients, build community among fellow #photograpHERs and inspire others to do the same. Be sure to check out my girl's helpful and informative posts below.

Saturday: “What To Do With Your Engagement Photos” (Kamron Khan)


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