How to choose a location for your engagement shoot

Most couples start planning an engagement shoot the same way: a Pinterest board full of other people’s photos. Cliffs, Big Ben, a field of lavender. It’s a fine place to begin. The photos you’ll still love in ten years usually come from somewhere else, though. They come from a place where you two feel like yourselves.

I’ve been photographing couples in London for over ten years, and these are the questions I ask before we pick a spot together. The example throughout is C&T  who spent an evening with me at Seven Sisters on the East Sussex coast.

Step 01

Start with what you love doing together

If you’d happily spend a Sunday walking by the sea, the coast is your location. If your best evenings end in a pub in Hackney, that counts too. A shoot built around something you already enjoy needs very little direction, because you already know what to do with your hands.

C&T love long walks and open space, so we went to the sea rather than the city.

Ask yourselves: where do we go when we have a free day? Where do we take friends who visit? That answer is usually a better brief than any mood board.

Step 02

Choose a place with a story

Where you met. Your first date. The street you lived on in your first year together. The spot where one of you proposed. A location with meaning gives the photos a second layer that only the two of you will read.

For London couples this is often a neighbourhood rather than a landmark: a bench on Primrose Hill, the canal in Little Venice, the market you go to every Saturday. If a place matters to you, I’ll find the light in it.

Step 03

Give yourselves room to move

The most natural engagement photos come from movement: walking, running, climbing over driftwood, sitting down on the stones. That needs space. Paths, open fields, beaches and quiet streets work better than a crowded viewpoint where you stand still and wait for a gap.

At Seven Sisters we had a long grass path along the clifftop, the river and an empty stretch of pebble beach. Nobody had to pose. They walked, and I followed.

Step 04

Look for variety within a short walk

One location with three or four backdrops within ten or fifteen minutes on foot gives you a gallery that reads like a story rather than one scene repeated. Look for open views for the wide frames, something textured for close-ups (wood, stone, tall grass) and a quiet corner for the intimate moments.

Seven Sisters is generous here: chalk cliffs, the river meanders at Cuckmere Haven, the coastguard cottages, a beach with old wooden groynes and fields full of cows. In London, Hampstead Heath or Greenwich Park can give you the same range in one afternoon.

[Not sure where yours would be?]

Tell me about the two of you and I’ll suggest the place.

Two or three locations that suit you, with the best time of day for each.

Step 05

Plan around the light

Choose the time first, then the spot. Soft, low light flatters everyone, so most of my sessions finish around sunset. In summer that means an evening shoot; in the middle of winter the golden hour can begin before three in the afternoon.

Overcast days are good too. The light is soft and even, which is ideal for close portraits. Midday sun on open ground is the hardest light to work with, so if noon is the only free slot, we choose somewhere with shade: trees, arches, narrow streets.

Step 06

Check the crowds and the rules

Famous viewpoints are busy, especially on summer weekends. A weekday evening or an early morning makes a real difference, both to the photos and to how relaxed you feel in front of the camera.

Some London parks, gardens and private venues ask for a permit or a booking for photography, so check before you fall for a spot. I’m happy to look into it for you.

Step 08

Dress for the place

Outfits should belong to the location. Soft neutrals, cream and linen sit beautifully against chalk, grass and sea. Deeper colours suit autumn parks and city streets. Fabric that moves in the wind (silk, satin, a long skirt) brings life into every frame.

Candice wore a silk dress with a long scarf at the back, and the wind did half the work for us. Bring a layer for later: on the coast the temperature drops quickly after sunset.

Step 09

Stay after sunset

Most couples want to leave the moment the sun goes down. Stay another twenty minutes. The sky turns pink, then blue, everything goes quiet, and some of my favourite frames from every session happen in that short window.

At Seven Sisters the last photos of the evening were taken in the blue hour, with the sea turning dark behind them and her coat finally on.

[Case study]

Seven Sisters, one evening

How the nine steps looked in practice: one location, one walk, four kinds of light.

[FAQ]

Questions couples ask me

[Your engagement session]

Let’s find your place

Whether it’s the street where you met, a London park on a quiet morning or the white cliffs at sunset, I’ll help you choose the location, plan the light and keep the day relaxed. You just turn up and be the two of you.