How to Prepare for your Engagement Session

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Clothing, Attire, & Accessories
We suggest one outfit or one casual and one "dressy" (dinner attire) outfit for each engagement session lasting at least 1.5 hours. (If less than 1.5 hours, one outfit is best.) For the casual look, jeans and a long-sleeve top in complementary colors works well. For the dressy look, men tend to look best in a button-up long sleeve shirt, sports jacket, with dark slacks, and dress shoes. (Don't forget to wear dark socks, guys!) Women's dressy attire can include any type of clothing you'd wear to go to dinner at a nice restaurant, usually dressy pants or a skirt with a blouse, or dress, with heels/flats.

We suggest a long-sleeve top as this allows the focus to be on your faces rather than on your arms. Dark, solid colors tend to "slenderize" and flatter the body, as well as "v-neck" lines. We ask that you wear clothing without logos or any large patterns, as this tends to be a distraction. Remember, horizontal stripes create the illusion of more "girth" and less height, which tends to widen most people. Most importantly, clothes you feel comfortable wearing will allow you to look your best in the photos.

If we will be shooting at a beach/lake/river, please bring along flip-flops as we may shoot you walking along the shore or in the water. Don't forget to bring towels that you can use to sit on and/or wipe your feet with afterwards. Also, flip flops double as "sore feet relievers" when we walk from location-to-location and after the shoot, especially for you women who will be wearing heels.

Please feel free to bring along any "props" or objects of sentimental value you'd like to feature in some of the photos. A common object brought is the original box of the engagement ring for the guy to hold in a "re-enactment" of the proposal. If it is forecasted to rain or has just rained, umbrellas are a great prop to use in photos.

Make-up/Hair
Something that many women find useful is to schedule a make-up and hair trial session with mua's (make-up artists)/hair stylists whom they are interested in working with on their big day. This serves a few purposes: 1. allows you to figure out if you'd like to work further with that artist/stylist; 2. allows you to play with different looks before trying them out on the big day; 3. allows you to look ultra fabulous in your engagement photos. Mac make-up photographs really well! Some women who decide not to use an mua for their big day choose to go to a local make-up counter at either Sephora or at a department store at the mall to get made-up, which can be a great affordable option. Most make-up counters will either provide you with a free make-over or complimentary make-over with the purchase of products over a certain amount. This has also been a great way brides have found their mua's. If you would like referrals of local mua's, please let us know.

Hands
As we will be shooting close-up shots of your hands, please make sure your nails are neatly trimmed & shaped and/or manicured. This is especially important for the ladies, as we will be featuring your engagement ring as a focal point in some of the photos.

After the e-session
If at all possible, we suggest you allow yourself time after the engagement session to enjoy the rest of your day/evening together. Since we shoot on-location at or near some great cities, it's great to have a chance to enjoy a meal at a nice restaurant, especially if you are already dressed up.

You will receive a CD of all your high-resolution images within 6-8 weeks after your e-session. Look out for updates of "teasers" on the blog: edpingol.blogspot.com. On the disk, you will find a folder of high-resolution images (for print use) and a folder of low-resolution images with our signature borders, which you are more than welcome to use for online purposes, as it gives us proper photographers' credits.

We look forward to photographing your engagement session!

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