When to Take Engagement Photos: Ideal Timing

Engagement photography can help you and your significant other celebrate becoming fiancés and announce it to the world. You can use your pictures to create custom elopement announcements, save-the-dates, wedding invites, or a personalized wedding website.

But figuring out exactly when to take engagement photos can be tricky. Are some seasons better than others? What’s the best time of day? Should you book your session close to the wedding date? We’ll answer these questions and more about the ideal timing for engagement photos.

Best Seasons for Engagement Photos

Some people consider spring and fall the best seasons for engagement photos because of the natural beauty of blooming flowers and bright foliage. Beyond that, the weather tends to be more moderate during these seasons. This gives you more flexibility in terms of what outfits you can wear, and you’ll be less likely to get sweaty or super cold during the shoot.

Unlike the summer and winter, sunset and sunrise in the fall and spring are at more reasonable hours (not excruciatingly early or too late in the evening). This can make it easier to book a photography session with prime outdoor lighting.

Of course, this all depends on the location. Some U.S. cities are sunny year-round, while others have more distinct seasons. Spring or fall might be optimal, but with some inspiration and planning, you can have a lovely engagement photo shoot any time of year. Just note that the time of year you choose may also impact the cost of the engagement photos.

The Importance of Lighting for Engagement Photography

Natural lighting is considered the best option for most photography. To optimize your engagement photoshoot even more, aim to schedule it during “golden hour.”

Golden hour is when the sun is low in the sky, which can be right before sunset or just after sunrise. The sun’s positioning diffuses bluish lights and makes warm tones (think orange, red, pink, and yellow) more visible.

Golden hour is one reason lots of folks schedule their wedding and elopement ceremonies right around sunset.

How to Choose the Best Time of Day for Your Session

If you want the best lighting, you may want to choose one of the two daily golden hours—the 60 minutes after the sun rises in the morning or the 60 minutes before it sets in the evening.

Consider the location too. Is it more crowded at certain times of the day? To prepare for your engagement photos, think about whether it’ll be easy to walk around and pose during the photo shoot without waiting for others to pass or walk out of frame. Then check the exact sunset or sunrise time for your location and go from there.

Planning Around Your Wedding Date

Couples who already have their wedding date booked can plan their engagement photoshoot around that. You may want to use the photos for your save-the-dates, invitations, elopement announcements, or wedding website, so it’s nice to have them on hand before designing those.

Save-the-dates are often sent out about six months before the wedding. If you’re having a destination wedding and want to give guests more time to plan the trip, you might send them up to a year before the wedding day.

For formal wedding invitations, mailing them 10 weeks (two to three months) or so before the wedding is standard. You can cut it a little closer with emailed or texted invites and giving guests the option to RSVP digitally through your wedding website.

In any case, book your engagement shoot far enough in advance that the photos can be developed, retouched, uploaded, and printed in time for your notices.

When to Schedule Your Engagement Photoshoot

Exactly when to take engagement photos depends on a few factors:

• How long you’re engaged
• How you plan to use the photos
• When you book your wedding venue
• When you send save-the-dates, invites, or other announcements

As an example, let’s say you get engaged a year before getting married. Two months into your engagement, you book your wedding venue. With 10 more months before the big day, you may want to schedule your engagement photo shoot for sometime in the next month or two. That way, you’ll likely have your photos available seven or eight months before your wedding.

Simplify Engagement Photography With Simply Eloped

Simply Eloped is dedicated to making it easy to plan each step of your wedding, from the proposal through the engagement to the big day. We have a number of customizable services to choose from, including photography and videography for popping the question, engagements, intimate weddings, and elopements.

Our engagement photography packages are available in locations all across the U.S. We have the ultimate guide of the best spots in each city and region and can help you book an experienced photographer. We want to help bring your engagement photo ideas to life!

Find a photography location in your area, select a date, and book your session. Make one step in your wedding planning process as simple as that.

Written by Karen Norian

Karen Norian is an elopement photographer and has photographed over a hundred elopements. Karen has also worked as an elopement planner for Simply Eloped. She's been quoted in the New York Times, Brides, Hello Giggles, Bustle, Yahoo, and more.