(Wedding) The Prenuptial Photo Shoot

I'm not a big fan of posing for photos.  I've never taken a single selfie in my life (a couple selfie is different - less gay).  But even though that's the case, I still know my good angles, I remember to always inhale when it's a half body shot and I know the smile I like to use. This is because we live in the age where photographs are the primary tool in expressing creativity and individuality.  

For an engaged couple, the Prenuptial photo shoot is an expression of their Love, uniqueness, and ability to project in front of a camera.  It's not as easy as magazine models make it look.  Even though Love is a pretty experienced selfie taker, she was also out of her comfort zone once we were in front of a professional photographer and we couldn't see what we look like when were posing.

So what does a couple do to prepare for this undertaking?

1. Book the photographer.  They tend to get very busy.  We booked our date after we paid our down payment.
2. Plan the location.  Some couples prefer an out of town shoot where they can use amazing sights as their background.  For some locations, couples need to file for a permit.  For us, our reception package at the Country Garden includes the use of the garden for prenup pictorials, no extra fees and no out of town costs.  We also used their doll house in our preparations and one of our photo sets.
3. Plan the theme.  The theme mostly depends on the location.  Some like it sweet and some like it comical.  Others sporty and others laid back.  Since we were in a garden, we opted for a laid back theme.  "Sa bahay lang ang peg".
4. Plan the props.  Love did a few rounds in Divisoria to buy the props we used for our rustic/garden theme photo shoot.  We had books, food, flowers, a picnic mat, some lanterns, and my guitar
5. Get camera ready.  Fit right in your outfits and learn to project in front of the camera.  Got the first one, the second one, not so much.
6. Book the HMUA.  Love used her trial make-up session for our photo shoot.
7. Plan the outfits.  Now this would be easy if you have all that you need in your closet (Love did).  We decided on 4 outfits:  

• Semi-pambahay - This is for the living room setup.  The most pambahay-looking casual clothes we had.
• Picnic casual - This is for the garden setup.  I had to buy a new shirt for this.
• Wedding formal - Still in the garden but Love will be in a wedding dress and I'll be as formal as I can.  I bought another new shirt for this T_T.
• Dinner formal - For the evening gazebo setup.

Here they are, one picture for every outfit.  These are raw and unedited pics. The rest will be used for the guestbook, AVP and for further social media promotions. Photo shoots are no joke,  it was very exhausting posing and changing outfits repeatedly the whole day but we were happy with the result and it's kinda fun.

Photography Team: Team Studio Portraits led by Jerome Delos Santos

Location: The Country Garden

Hair and Make-up Artist: Dan Jose

For the shoot itself.  Here are some considerations:

• Consider having an assistant.  He/she will be very helpful as a runner to buy food or other things the shoot may need.  Since we have none, we were the runners as well.
• For busy couples that don't have time to prepare for outfits and props, a stylist can be hired to provide a wide range of outfits and props.