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6 Reasons Why an Engagement Shoot Is a Must Have

Why an Engagement Shoot Is a Must

Finally—you’re engaged!, and nothing could be more exciting! For most couples, this time as an enormously stressful one, especially with the wedding planning going on left and right.

One point of contention amidst the flurry of organising the wedding is whether or not an engagement photoshoot is necessary. You may ask yourself if it’s really worth spending your money on. Engagement shoots, however, are more than just nice-to-haves in the grander scheme of things; it can actually have several practical benefits.

6 Reasons Why an Engagement Shoot Is a Must Have

To emphasise this point, here are six reasons why an engagement photoshoot is a must!:

Tiwi Islands Engagement

 

  1. You can get comfortable with the camera

A situation wherein either the bride or the groom doesn’t feel at their best on the big day because they’re incredibly camera-shy is something the couple and the photographer want to avoid. An engagement shoot is a perfect opportunity to warm up to the camera and get some practice on comfortable poses in. Doing this before the big day can make you feel much more relaxed, and the photos will turn out much better.

On the jetty together
  1. It gives you a chance to find the right wedding photographer

Some photographers will get on with a couple swimmingly while others will have a different style that doesn’t quite match. Remember, you must choose your wedding photographer carefully, as it is a significant investment, after all!

It’s not enough to simply browse a photographer’s portfolio. If you can, book a session with them to see if their work fits your preferences. While some photographers offer free or discounted engagement photo sessions, it might be worth spending just a bit more to make sure the photographs are to your liking.

Not only will this ensure that you get the results you want, but your overall experience will be more pleasant too. Building rapport with your photographer is important, as they will be with you for many hours. As they get to know you as a couple, your wedding photographer will also understand how to capture the both of you in the best way possible.

Surprise!
  1. You’re celebrating an important milestone

The wedding itself often eclipses engagements, but they are nevertheless a milestone that should be celebrated. Being engaged tells everyone of your commitment to one another forever as future husband and wife. It is a beautifully unique period between being in a relationship and getting married that you’ll want to capture in photos.

One Tree Hill Engagement shoot
  1. You can combine it with your hair and make-up trial before the big day

Before the wedding, there’s always a trial day for the bride’s hair and makeup. What better way to capture how they’ll look in photos on the wedding day than your engagement shoot? This kills two birds with one stone and can save a lot of time and effort in scheduling wedding preparations for the wedding on different days.

makeup
  1. You’ll have photos to use for the wedding day

By doing a photoshoot early on, you’ll have pictures to use for your save the dates, invites, or on the day itself. It’s a win-win scenario for everyone!

It’s quite a common thing I’ve seen recently where a couple who had done an engagement shoot had a large printed photo on display above their wishing well at their reception. It’s a nice way to personalise the space!

Under the jetty
  1. A chance to have fun and be creative!

Wacky and themed engagement shoots are also a great chance to get some cool shots in your wedding photo book. Maybe you’re both Star Wars geeks or Game of Thrones fans. While you don’t have to use these for your wedding, they’ll certainly be fun to keep for yourselves!

Kung Fu!

The Final Word: Are Engagement Photoshoots Worth It?

Engagement photoshoots are not just nice-to-have, but they have a suitable place for your wedding plans too. It can act as preparation for the big day, especially where actual wedding photos are concerned. Besides being an opportunity to commemorate your engagement, engagement photoshoots make part of the wedding planning process easier, and with beautiful photos, to boot!

Are you looking for wedding photography packages in Adelaide? Sven Studios offers professional wedding photography services to capture your special day in the most natural way possible. We cover weddings all around Australia, including Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin, Canberra, and Perth. Visit our site today to view our wedding photography packages!

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Our Top 3 Tips to Prepare for Your Outdoor Family PhotoShoot

  • Family hugs

 

Your Outdoor Family PhotoShoot

Outdoor family photos are a great alternative to the traditional studio photo. After all, outdoor photo sessions are often more relaxed, lively, and can feel more authentic than studio photography. With your family in a more comfortable and less restrictive environment, they are much more likely to show their real personalities through their body language and facial expressions.

Our Top 3 Tips to Prepare for Your Outdoor Family PhotoShoot

To make the experience even better, here are our top three tips to prepare for an outdoor family photoshoot:

Choose a good location

When it comes to your outdoor family photoshoot, choosing the right location matters! Besides factoring in the time of day and the appropriate light exposure for your images, the specific details about the background can also make for a good story.

Ideally, the location should be accessible. While a mountain trek may be a good bonding experience with your family members and the peak may make for exciting photo composition, you probably don’t want to look all sweaty and huffing in your final photos. That being said though, you also dont want to shoot in a carpark – a short walk through a park, off the beaten track a bit always makes for a much more interesting photo.

There is also a matter of crowd control. Unless you’re willing to rent out a beach resort for exclusivity, the chances are that there are other people strolling around, which will make it more difficult for you to do an outdoor family shoot.

That being said, there are ways to avoid large crowds of people, such as shooting your photo earlier in the morning or scheduling the shoot on off-season months, where there will be fewer people walking about like Olivia and Dimitri’s shoot taken in the rain on the top of Mt Lofty!

Family photography

Choose the right clothes

Family photos portray you as a single and united unit without making you look stiff and forced. This means that colour coordination is encouraged, though this doesn’t necessarily mean wearing the same shade for everyone!

When we talk about colour coordination, we mean choosing those that complement each other in a way that groups you as a unit while still maintaining individuality. One good example is in wearing pastel-coloured clothing.

Pastel colours are hues that have been tinted with white, giving them a subdued but aesthetically-pleasing appearance. These shades work well with natural light and can add a touch of photographic interest without distracting from you and your family’s facial features.

Family photographer Adelaide

Make sure the young kids are full and well-rested

While everybody’s mood will improve when they are not hungry or tired, it’s the young children that you really have to worry about! Hunger and sleep deprivation are young children’s worst enemies, and it will lead to some rather unpleasant experiences during a photoshoot that’s supposed to capture you and your family at your best spirits!

To get a higher chance of having adorable and cooperative kids on your photo session, ensure that they are well-rested and full from eating their favourite food before the shoot. It’s also a good idea to schedule the shoot early in the morning or late in the afternoon—after they’ve taken a nap—to lower the chances of dealing with an irritable kid that just wants to get some sleep.

Walking together as a family

Get a professional family photographer

Just about everyone with a camera can claim to be a photographer, but getting a professional family photographer who can bring out the best in you and your family for a photoshoot is rare. Remember that outdoor photoshoots can present so many uncontrollable variables, which is why hiring a predominantly studio photographer used to having control with studio lights may not be the best choice.

If you have young children, it’s also good to ensure that the photographer has the patience and tricks up their sleeves to get a kid’s cooperation. If possible, spend some time getting to know your family photographer to ensure that your personalities don’t clash and to provide a smooth and productive photo session.

baby in a basket in the grass

An outdoor family photoshoot is an excellent way to capture your family in their most relaxed state. While it can be a bit of an involved process, a professional family photographer will have the necessary skills to produce family photos that are worth remembering and will be cherished for the next years to come.

Sven Studios is a photography studio specialising in capturing natural and fleeting moments that you can treasure forever. Our award-winning family photography services in Adelaide are priced at $260, inclusive of the session itself, the editing of the images, and we offer a wide array of physical products! Contact us today to learn more about our services.

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Maternity Photography Tips and Reminders – What to Know

  • Mumma in the forest

 

Maternity Photography Tips and Reminders

A woman will not be pregnant forever, and believe it or not, it is a life stage that will fly by quickly even though during the hard parts it can seem like it’ll never end. To celebrate this momentous event, women often have a maternity photo session. It allows them to document their precious moments and the magical journey that their bodies go through as they create a new little life. Photos from the shoot will serve as a forever reminder of the excitement and joy of bringing a child into the world.

Whether you are a photographer looking for some maternity photography tips to make this photoshoot session a success or an expecting mom looking for some pointers on how to take your self-portrait or act in front of a camera, here is some useful information that can help you refine the experience.

Maternity Photography Tips

On Composition

  • Some women love seeing their pregnant figure, including all the extra weight. To capture this look, opt to shoot photos at eye level. This composition will put your client’s face and body front in the centre of the shot.
  • Other clients are the exact opposite. They are conscious of their body and weight, and some are even bothered by the added puffiness on their faces. In these scenarios, try to shoot from an angle above the model. A distance of around one or two feet will do. It will slim down all her features, giving her more flattering photos.
Belair Maternity Shoot

What to Wear

The truth is some expecting moms do not feel beautiful about the changes their bodies go through. As a result, some may try to cover up by wearing loose or large clothing. On the other hand, others will want to pose nude or close to it.

Every client is different, so it is essential to make sure that what they are wearing makes them feel comfortable. If you feel that the client needs a little confidence boost, encourage her to wear something elegant and beautiful. Putting on nice clothes can immediately add a certain level of sophistication to the shot and the woman’s self-esteem.

Reminders for the Maternity Photographer

  • Understand Maternity Poses

You might have come across this a lot: a mother smiling while her hand touches her belly. That is the usual pose that people expect from a maternity shoot. While this is an almost mandatory shot that a soon-to-be-mom would expect to have, the photographer should not only get her into the pose. They have to capture her in that position while ensuring that she is comfortable and beautiful as well.

  • Direct Your Client

Finding the right poses that your client can execute well can be challenging since not all moms are professional models. That being the case, you need to unleash your direction skills. Prepare for this by researching the different poses your client can imitate. Come prepared with not so much instructions on how to pose her body, more some activities that someone would be doing while on location, where she can look, what to do with her hands, and what expressions to put on her face. An example light be to simply walk through some trees while flicking her hair or something.

I find the most beautiful shots are taken during some sort of action – this is a good tip to understand, not just when thinking about maternity photography tips!

Make sure not to be so strict or bark out instructions to your client to avoid making her feel miserable. You can start by going over a few posing ideas you have so she knows what to expect from the shoot.

  • Always Consult Your Model

You can always discuss the composition and types of poses you want your client to do, but if she gets uncomfortable with any of them, you need to have backup plans. There will always be a time when looking relaxed and smiling for a pregnant woman can feel unnatural. Remember that she can be in pain during the whole process. What you need to do is check on her frequently and ask whether she is comfortable with what she is doing. She may also have some ideas to make both your lives easier.

Leaning against a tree
Over a pond
Amongst the tall grass

These friendly maternity photography tips and reminders can make the whole maternity shoot session a victory. The main idea is to always keep your client happy, and just remember traipsing around a forest in lingerie isnt exactly the most natural feeling in the world, so try and make it fun! Put these tips into practice to capture a great photo that will serve as a remembrance of this special period.

Sven Studios is here to preserve your precious memories as a new family. Whether you need wedding photography services in Hobart or a newborn or family photography service in Adelaide, we can do it for you. Contact us today to book an appointment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3 Tips for Choosing the Right Family Photographer

  • Happy bub with Mum 2

 

Choosing the Right Family Photographer

When you’re raising a family, time goes by in the blink of an eye. At one moment, you’re juggling a newborn baby while your two toddlers are running around and making a mess; the next, they’re off to college or starting a new job. Capturing these moments is a great way to preserve the memory forever, especially while your children are the smallest they’ll ever be.

An excellent way to do this is to take family portraits every year, especially while your kids are still young. You can track the subtle changes and growth in your family from one photograph to the next. You’ll want to make sure that you’re choosing the right family photographer to artfully yet genuinely express your family’s spirit.

3 Tips for Choosing the Right Family Photographer

Check Their Portfolio

The first thing you should do is to have a look at their portfolio. Your family portraits will very much resemble their previous work, so if you like what you see, then that’s a great sign. The right family photographer will have photos that you sincerely enjoy looking at even though the people in them are total strangers. Even though the subjects in the pictures aren’t saying anything, you can clearly tell the story going on in them.

You’ll also want to check out their family photography photos and check whether they’re relatively uniform or have some vital differences. Ideally, look for a family photographer that changes their style up a bit to take advantage of different settings and scenes to produce creative, original, and memorable photos. You’ll also want to check their family photography photos for different types of families under varying conditions.

Family photography

Ask About Their Style

Each photographer has a unique style that can be seen across their work. When it comes to portraits, some prefer classic shots where the subjects are seated and posed. Other photographers opt for more dynamic photos where the subjects are interacting with each other or their environment.

There’s no right or wrong style; it all boils down to personal preference. Whether you like fun and quirky poses or traditional style portraits, ask the photographer about the techniques they use and see if it reflects in their portfolio.

Walking along the pond edge

Look For Reviews

Lastly, an essential tip for choosing the right family photographer is to look into what people say about them. There are numerous websites dedicated to reviews and referrals of different services, so you might be able to find testimonials from previous clients. You’ll want to find out if they were easy to work with, if they were flexible, and how they dealt with difficult situations.

An excellent place to start would be checking the photographers’ own website and social media accounts. Once you’ve adequately combed through them, cross-reference the reviews you’ve seen with reviews on other platforms. Although you should be on the lookout for positive reviews, keep in mind that there may be negative reviews submitted by customers who are challenging to work with and satisfy.

The less than perfect reviews can be most interesting – not because of how bad the photographer was, but more how they reacted to the poor review. You can’t make everyone 100% happy, but you can try your best to right any percieved wrongs!

Family hugs

Choosing the right family photographer is essential to ensure you get the family portraits you’ve always wanted. These professionals know how to tell your family’s story while capturing the magic and spirit. With these three tips, you’ll find the perfect photographer to preserve your most precious memories and have them proudly displayed on your walls!

Looking for photographers in Adelaide to help you with your family portraits? Let us know at Sven Studios! We are professional photographers that specialize in wedding and family photography. Contact us today to see how we can help!

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Keep Great Memories With These Family Photography Tips

Family Photography Tips

One of the best ways to remember moments is by looking at pictures that bring back good memories. When you have old photos at home and spend time looking at them, you will be brought back into time and reminded of the feeling you got when those photos were taken.

Fortunately, with the advances in technology, it is easier for people to take pictures and store photos safely to look at in the future. Hiring a family photography professional is still your best bet when it comes to taking stunning and heartwarming photographs, but many people either just dont like the idea of having a professional take their photos, donbt have the budget, or simply think they themselves can do a good enough job!

Hopefully these family photography tips can help anyone take some nice family photos!

Family photograph in studio

 

Keep Great Memories With These Family Photography Tips

Taking family photos shouldn’t be intimidating. Here are some tips you can follow so that you can start taking great family photos yourself:

Consider what type of device you’ll use

One of the most convenient ways to take photos is by using your smartphone. Recently, tech companies have been upgrading and making mobile phone cameras work better than ever. Most of the smartphones in the market produce high-quality photos that can look very similar to high end cameras. They aren’t, but for the mayperson the difference can be indistinguishable. The great thing about smartphones is that they are readily accessible for quick moments that need capturing.

If you want a crisper and clearer quality, investing in an entry-level, mirrorless camera will do the trick. After some practice, you can upgrade your camera’s lenses, helping you take better family photos. This said however, the best camera in the world is the one in your hand – so don’t get too hung up on equipment.

Mobile photos

Focus on the moments

Most people think that family photos are supposed to be more like portraits, standing about aand staring straight down the camera. However, what you would want to look back at are the mundane and spontaneous moments. For example, you can take a picture of your partner preparing breakfast for your children. Another could be a photo of your children in the backyard playing with your dog.

These are the moments you would want to cherish and remember because things will be entirely different years later. Although taking portraits is a great way to see physical growth and development, taking pictures of moments will help tell the story of your family’s growth.

Fussing family

Experiment with angles and lighting

Once you understand how to handle your device and take a few photos, it is best to learn and experiment with different techniques.

Natural light is a photographer’s best friend. When you find an area in your home with the best lighting, family portraits shouldn’t be a problem. An area in your home that lets in natural light is the best place to stage a photograph.

If you’re outside generally it’s best to situate the sun behind your subject, however the quiality of your equipment may come into play here causing images that are too dark, or light. Just makes the understanding of your device that much more important.

Another thing to remember is that camera angles give a different type of perspective and story. Experiment outside while your kids are playing, or when your partner is going up the stairs. These angles and framings can give your photos a story and memory to remember.

Walking along the pond edge

With any new hobby or project, the best way to produce quality output is by practising and experimenting. Compared to other types of photography, family photography is one of the most heartwarming and less-intimating of its kind.

When you practice family photography at home, you’ll continuously be keeping different memories you can look at in the future. Enjoy this new family project you are about to begin and get ready to capture moments that you’ll be thankful you didn’t miss. Hopefully these family photography tips will help out with your shoots!

If however you’re finding the whole situation too much to bear, we are experts in our field and provide specialised wedding photography, family photography, and other photography services. Get in touch and book a session with us today!