Every few weeks a couple sits across from me and asks, in a slightly apologetic voice, why people take engagement photos at all. They've already booked me for the wedding. They're staring down a florist deposit and a catering minimum. And here I am with a session on the calendar that looks, from the outside, like an upsell.
So let me be blunt: I think the engagement shoot is the single most useful two hours you will spend before your wedding day, and it has almost nothing to do with the pictures. I've shot weddings in Los Angeles for 17 years. The couples who did a session beforehand are visibly, measurably easier to photograph on the day — looser, faster, less stiff in the first frame. That's not marketing. That's just what I watch happen.
Here's what an engagement session actually buys you.
1. It's a rehearsal, and nobody calls it that
You rehearse the ceremony. You do a tasting. You will not, unless you do an engagement shoot, ever practice the thing you'll be doing for eight straight hours on your wedding day: being photographed.
Most people have no idea what they look like in front of a real camera. They know their phone. Phones lie in a specific, flattering, familiar way. A 35mm lens at f/2 at 6:40pm in Malibu does something completely different to your face, and the first time you see it should not be on the morning of your wedding while your hair is being pinned.
What actually happens at a session: the first fifteen minutes are awkward. Always. Both of you laugh too hard at my jokes, somebody doesn't know what to do with their hands, and one of you keeps checking the back of my camera. Then something switches. By minute twenty you've forgotten I'm there and I'm getting the frames I actually want. On your wedding day, we skip that first twenty minutes entirely — because we already spent it in Malibu two months ago.
2. You have no good photos of the two of you. None.
I ask every couple this at the consultation: when is the last time you had a photo taken of just the two of you, by someone who wasn't a stranger at a restaurant holding your phone sideways? The answer is usually a wedding you attended, someone else's, three years ago.
That's genuinely strange when you think about it. You're about to legally merge your lives and the photographic record of your relationship is bathroom mirror selfies and a blurry one from Joshua Tree. An engagement session is the first time you'll have real pictures of your relationship as it exists right now — before the dress, before the guest list, before your mothers have opinions about the seating chart.
I have couples who framed an engagement photo and never framed a wedding photo. It happens more than you'd think. The wedding pictures are about the day. The engagement pictures are about the two of you, which is a different subject entirely.
3. The practical stuff: save-the-dates, websites, and the invite suite
This is the reason most couples give me first, and it's the least interesting one, but it's real. Save-the-dates go out six to eight months before the wedding. Your wedding website needs a header image. Your parents want something to show people. You cannot use a wedding photo for any of that, because the wedding hasn't happened yet.
If you're printing save-the-dates, work backwards: printing and mailing takes two to three weeks, design takes another week or two, and I deliver an engagement gallery in about two weeks. So the shoot wants to land roughly six to eight weeks before the cards need to be in mailboxes. I've written more on when to schedule engagement photos in LA, but that's the short arithmetic.
4. I learn how you two actually work
This is the part couples don't anticipate, and honestly it's the reason I push for a session even when a couple is on a tight budget.
In ninety minutes I learn: which of you is the nervous one. Who needs direction and who needs to be left alone. Whether you're a couple that kisses easily on cue or a couple where I need to get the moment sideways, by making one of you laugh. Which side of your face you unconsciously turn toward the camera. Whether you hold hands with fingers laced or palm over palm — sounds trivial, but it's the difference between a photo that looks like you and one that looks like a stock image.
On your wedding day I have maybe 25 minutes for couple portraits between the ceremony and the reception, and the light is going fast. I'm not running experiments in that window. I'm executing things I already know work on you two specifically. That head start is worth more than any piece of gear in my bag — and I say that as someone who's written a whole post about why light and timing beat equipment.
5. It's the only shoot where you control everything
Your wedding day is a negotiation with reality. The ceremony starts when it starts. The venue has a hard out at 10pm. Your uncle will stand up in the aisle with an iPad during your vows and there is nothing either of us can do about it.
An engagement session has none of that. We pick the location. We pick the hour. If it's overcast, we move it. If you want three outfits and two locations, we build the timeline around that. I shoot most of my LA sessions in the last hour before sunset — around 7:45pm in June, closer to 4:45pm in December — because that light does half my work for me, and at an engagement shoot I can actually plan for it.
Location-wise, the spots that consistently deliver: El Matador and Point Dume in Malibu for the late-light beach look, the Arts District downtown for texture and brick, the trails above Griffith Park for the dry-gold hills, the Venice canals for something quieter. A note LA couples learn the hard way — many of the prettiest spots, including the botanical gardens and several county parks, require a permit and a fee for anything that looks like a professional shoot, and rangers do ask. I handle that as part of planning, but it's worth knowing it exists.
6. It tells you whether you hired the right person
Most photographers won't say this out loud, so I will: an engagement session is an audition, and it should be. You're about to hand one person the only record of a day you can't repeat. Ninety minutes with them, months in advance, tells you things a portfolio never will.
Do they show up on time? Do they direct you clearly or leave you standing there guessing? Do you get the gallery when they said you would? Are they pleasant to be around for ninety minutes — because you'll be around them for ten hours in a suit in August.
If the answer to any of those is no, you found out with time to fix it. That's not a small thing. And it cuts the other way too: I've had couples come out of a session and immediately add coverage hours, because they finally understood what they were buying. That's part of why we run photography and cinematic film under one roof at ConneryFilm — when the same team meets you at your engagement session, you're not re-introducing yourselves to a second vendor on the wedding morning and hoping two companies who've never worked together play nicely at the altar.
When I'll tell you to skip it
I'd rather be honest than sell you a session you don't need.
- You're eloping in six weeks and every dollar is going to coverage on the day. Put it in coverage hours.
- You genuinely hate being photographed and no amount of practice will change that. Some people would rather have fewer, more candid pictures. Fine — tell me, and I'll shoot your wedding accordingly.
- You've already got great recent photos of the two of you from a trip or another photographer, and you don't need save-the-date images.
Everyone else: do it. In Los Angeles a standalone engagement session typically runs somewhere in the $300 to $900 range for 60 to 90 minutes, and it's bundled into most full wedding collections — including mine — which means a lot of couples are entitled to one they never book. That's the real waste. Not the money. The unused session sitting in a contract.
What you get back
A typical session with me produces 40 to 80 edited images, delivered in about two weeks. That's plenty — you need a handful for save-the-dates, a couple for the website, one for your desk, and the rest live in the gallery. If someone's promising you 300 engagement photos, ask what they're counting; I've written before about how many engagement photos you actually need, and the honest number is lower than most couples expect.
Two outfits is the sweet spot. Three if we're doing two locations and you're quick about changing. More than that and we spend the golden hour in a parking lot with a garment bag.
Common questions I get about engagement photos
Do we have to do engagement photos if they're in our package?
No. It's included, not mandatory. But if you've already paid for it, skipping it is the one choice I'll gently push back on — you're leaving the free rehearsal on the table.
How far before the wedding should we shoot?
Four to eight months out is the range I aim for. That leaves room for save-the-dates and puts the session far enough ahead that we're not stacking it on top of final-detail chaos. Six months is my default answer.
Can we bring our dog?
Yes, and bring a friend to hold the leash and take the dog home after the first twenty minutes. Dogs are fantastic for the first stretch of a shoot — they break the tension better than anything I can say — and then they get bored exactly when you're getting good.
What if it rains or the marine layer rolls in?
We reschedule, or we lean into it. Overcast light in Santa Monica is soft and even and frankly easier than harsh sun. A real storm is different — that's a rebook, no charge. LA gives us maybe a dozen genuinely rained-out afternoons a year, so the odds are with us.
Should we post them, or save them?
Post them. It's one of the few parts of wedding planning that's purely fun, and your people want to see it. I'd just decide together beforehand which images are yours alone — there's more on sharing engagement photos online if you want the longer version.
So, why do people take engagement photos?
Because the day itself moves too fast to learn anything on. Because you deserve one set of pictures that's about your relationship instead of your event. And because when I meet a couple at 6:30pm on a beach in Malibu in March, with no timeline and no guests and nothing to manage, I get to find out who they actually are — which is exactly what I'll be photographing at their wedding in September.
If you're planning a Los Angeles wedding and want to talk it through — session, coverage, film, or just what any of it should cost — I'd genuinely love to hear from you. Call or text 818.749.7039, or have a look at the work at ConneryFilm.com. No pressure, no script. Just tell me about your day and I'll tell you honestly what I'd do.
Meet the Author: Connery Davoodian Hello, I'm Connery Davoodian, the visionary behind ConneryFilm, and I'm thrilled to share insights from my 17-year journey through the world of wedding photography and videography. My passion extends beyond simply capturing images; it's about artfully weaving your unique love story into a timeless, cinematic masterpiece. My artistic path began long before I ever picked up a camera, deeply rooted in music as a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. This diverse background in directing, producing, and editing has cultivated a unique perspective, allowing me to approach each wedding not just as an event, but as a dynamic narrative waiting to be beautifully told. This blend of technical mastery and creative storytelling is the heartbeat of ConneryFilm, ensuring that every frame, every shot, and every film is infused with depth, emotion, and unparalleled artistic integrity. At ConneryFilm, we believe your wedding memories deserve nothing less than bespoke luxury. My philosophy centers on capturing the authentic, unscripted moments – the genuine smiles, the tender glances, the joyful laughter – that truly define your day. While we obsess over exquisite details and sophisticated aesthetics, our true joy comes from making you feel completely at ease, like a "friendor" who genuinely celebrates alongside you. This calm, organized presence allows your true personalities to shine, resulting in images and films that are as real and vibrant as your love itself. Based in the heart of Los Angeles, California, my team and I are privileged to serve couples across the globe, bringing our signature high-end wedding photography and videography to destination weddings worldwide. Through these blog posts, I aim to share invaluable insights, luxurious inspiration, and practical, fun advice to guide you through your wedding planning journey, helping you make informed decisions about preserving your most cherished moments. Thank you for trusting ConneryFilm to be a part of your extraordinary adventure. I'm excited to share my knowledge and passion with you, helping you create memories that will last forever.