Christina and CJ booked their engagement and their November Cavalier wedding with me. We immediately clicked on our zoom call, and I was looking forward to working with them. One thing I thought was great about them was their enthusiasm for planning their Norfolk engagement session. A fun, planned city date, but make it editorial. As a Virginia Beach wedding photographer, you can start photographing in some of the same spots due to the demand. It is really nice when your couples want to do something different and really put some work into planning outfits, photo site, and even booking a hotel room at the Hilton.
I always tell my couples that your engagement session is the time you get to do what you want for your photos and have fun with it. Most people don’t have professional photos done, but you definitely want your photos to feel like you and of course I like to evoke the real personalities of my couples in their photos. Your wedding day is on such a timeline and really about celebrating, but the engagement session is all about the couple and having plenty of time to take REALLY fun and beautiful photos.
We met in front of Gershwins in Norfolk, Virginia. If you’re ever in the area, check it out. Live music, good food, and strong drinks. We planned the session during their closed hours, so we could do their photos without interrupting any guests (or being stared at while trying to be natural hehe). They were able to order some yummy martinis from the manager that opened the restaurant specially for us to photograph. As someone who is passionate about giving great customer service, I was impressed with the friendliness and hospitality of the manager on duty.
This spot had a dark and moody scene with some inspiration from a different era. I moved them around the restaurant to give them a chance to actually just hang with their drinks and also just being with one another while I photographed. After Gershwins, we went to the Hilton down the street and finished their session there. My goal was to tell the story of a couple having a really good time on their date night. You’ll see how it went in the photo gallery on this post. The couple photographed for a total of 2.5 hours and man it turned out to be such an epic gallery for the to receive and I CANNOT wait for their wedding this fall!
xox,
Jaclyn
City Engagement Tip from Jaclyn: Keep the session lightly guided by a thought out plan with A LOT of spontaneity to allow the session to flow naturally with your mood and vibe.
My Color Grading and Editing style usually involve using the light source as my soul inspiration. I usually like to edit with film inspired colors, but also edit clean and natural too depending on the colors and the session.
I’m hoping to visit NEW YORK CITY this fall, so if anyone would want any engagement photos there please feel free to hit me up. I've explored many parts of the city that doesn’t just include the typical tourist spots. My husband and I are experts on really finding some niche spots in towns and cities around the world. We talk to locals, do research, and just love pushing the limits of finding new things and places when we travel.
