If you’re a bride that is a little anxious about how your man is going to react to this whole “picture” thing, you’re not alone. Whether it’s your engagement photos, wedding day, or even just family photos… these tips on how to prep your man for portraits will help you!
Most men aren’t overly excited to take photos for two hours, mostly because they don’t have an expectation of what’s to come and why it’s so important to you. But I have great news for you…. you both are more photogenic than you think! I am constantly surprising couples by discovering their hidden modeling skills and my most common response from the groom is, “That wasn’t as bad as I thought! It was actually fun.” Boom! Mission accomplished! When the groom says that taking pictures was FUN, I have done my job well!
Your engagement session is supposed to be enjoyable and relaxed (like a fun date night!), not forced or awkward. As you prepare for your shoot, there are a few things that you can do to help your groom know what to expect.
Have A Viewing Party
First of all, I highly recommend sitting down with your man for fifteen minutes to educate and empower him. Tell him why you chose me and my style of photography. Show him your three favorite sessions that I’ve done, explain why you love the photos so much and express to him how much this session means to you. This will allow him to gauge what his expectations should be.
Plan for Timing to Avoid Extra Stress
I also recommend that you allow for plenty of time to get to your session! There is nothing worse than when a couple shows up late, and they have been arguing in the car! That is definitely going to put your groom in a bad mood!
To help eliminate as much extra stress as possible before your session, I put together a free BGP Portrait Session Checklist. You can snag it down below to make sure you have everything you need for your engagement session set and ready to go in advance.
Looking for Outfit Tips?
While I share a few tips on how to coordinate your man’s outfit with yours and what outfits photograph well on my blog. You can find SO many more practical tips on how to style his outfits at WhatMyBoyfriendWore.com. All of his content is great and he teaches you exactly how your man can level up his outfits and he includes links to everything.
Last, but not least, remember to have patience with him, and don’t assume that he’s not going to have a good time… I think you’ll be surprised how much you will both enjoy your session with me!
Even though taking photos might not be his favorite thing… YOU ARE! The most common thing I hear from guys before portrait sessions is this: because of a bad experience in the past, they don’t like taking photos or don’t feel like they’ll be good at it. By the time the session is over, though, most guys can’t believe how fast it went and just how much fun they had! Hopefully, by sharing these few quick tips on how to prep your man for portraits, your next session will run smoothly and feel more like a fun date night together!
