You can be confident as all get out in front of the camera, and I’d still highly recommend you get engagement photos done before your wedding day. 

Take Nick and Bianca, for example. 

“Ali Miller is truly one of the greats. I have worked with many photographers over the years through my own career and believe me when I say, Ali has a life changing passion for the people she photographs and it comes through ten fold in the images. From the very first second she stepped into our home, I felt at ease. She gives easy to follow directions that make all the difference in the details and she truly captured the depth of our love with what felt like minimal effort from all of us. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have Ali photographing one of the biggest days of our life. She really is in a league of her own.” -Bianca

Bianca is a fitness influencer in Nashville, so she’s certainly no stranger to the camera as it is. And I couldn’t tell you why Nick is so dang comfortable in front of the lens– he just is! Between the two of them, there was certainly no need for me to dole out engagement photo poses for them to try on for size (not that I would have anyway!).

Even still, despite the fact that this stunning Nashville couple was basically made to be photographed by none other than me, myself, and I, their two hour engagement photoshoot as a part of my signature wedding package was an absolute MUST. 

And here’s why:

NO. 1: They were able to get acclimated to my shooting style as a cinematic, TRULY documentary-style photographer who is very anti-engagement photo poses. 

Documentary style photography has become something of a trend in the wedding photography industry, but there are very few photographers who are actually capturing photojournalistic, documentary-style photos while wearing that label. 

That’s where I’m different (and largely why people hire me for their once-in-a-lifetime day, if we’re being perfectly honest). 

My shooting style is as documentary as it gets, focused on reframing authenticity as the new luxury. I’m all about posing with purpose (not with Pinterest) in the interest of getting photos that actually feel like a whole lot of something.

How do I achieve said ‘purpose,’ you ask? Happy to tell you.

I’ll help you get in the bare bones of the engagement photo “pose” (for lack of better term) before leaving the two of you to it. The real magic happens when I banter with you from behind the lens (and banter, I will!), calling out prompts and asking conversational questions that allow you two to get lost in each other, acting exactly how you’d typically act together if I wasn’t there, third wheeling better than any third wheel has ever third wheeled before. 

And Nick in his suave suit and Bianca in her elegant dress would, in fact, typically act like the coolest couple around without even trying (because they are), while exploring the bar scene in their South Nashville neighborhood of Wedgewood-Houston. 

So that’s exactly what we did, me snapping away while Nick and Bianca strolled through the streets and popped into Never Never for cocktails in coup glasses and kisses in the corner.

I mean… THE HEELS. THE DRESS. THE CHEMISTRY. To die for! 

All I really did during this photoshoot– apart from put my artistic eye to work and know how to operate my camera really really well, of course– was direct Bianca and Nick where to stand in order to make the most of the space, or queue up a question that would prompt them to explore more movement and interaction together. 

But the rest was all them– cozied up in a booth with their cocktails and strolling through the streets in their sunnies, just like they would on their typical Thursday night. 

NO. 2: We ditched the engagement photo poses for the sake of telling their story.

It was important to both Nick and Bianca that they be captured in their most natural of natural habitats: At the home they own together in South Nashville, snuggled in with their TikTok famous cat, Tea, and their pup, Whiskey. 

This is the space where they are most themselves, together. This is where they’ve become an ‘us,’ where they’ve shaped their legacy as a couple, and where the once unnoticed moments get their day in the sun (literally). 

Not only is it obviously a huge honor to have been invited into said space, but to actually photograph them in it, denim and natural light and pet fur and all? Now that’s the real honor.

I give my whole damn heart to every person who steps in front of my camera, and the coolest part is they give me theirs right back. Nick and Bianca were no exception, inviting me into a space that is theirs and theirs alone.

When you opt into my most in-demand wedding package (comprised of ten hours of wedding day coverage, a two hour engagement session, a second shooter, and more), you really get the chance to tell your cinematic story as a couple– both the fireworks and the quiet embers of being together.

NO. 3: There was more than enough time for spontaneity. 

As a part of my signature wedding package, the two hour engagement photoshoot includes two outfits and two locations. BUT because we had extra time, we decided to squeeze in a little extra spontaneity, too.

So much spontaneity, in fact, that we may or may not have snuck into an apartment complex’s pool to close out the engagement shoot with some serious cinematic magic. 

(I mean, talk about a movie scene moment that belongs on the cover of a magazine, if I do say so myself)

And that wouldn’t have been possible if Nick and Bianca hadn’t decided to embark on my signature wedding package, with two whole hours to be left to their own devices and me trailing along to capture it all. (And it turns out, when left to our own said devices… We break a couple of rules to get the shot.)

I have no regrets. Just the pictures to prove it.

While the temptation might be to forego the engagement photos– whether because of budget or because you aren’t using photos on your save the dates, anyway– engagement photos are about so much more than that. 

They’re about putting the world on pause, ditching the engagement photo poses and letting yourself do what the two of you do best– being together. They’re about marking this chapter of your sweeping love saga with photos that capture your magazine-cover-worthy romance. They’re about capturing moments that maybe even you have been overlooking– the way his eyes crinkle at the edges when you don’t even know he’s looking or the way she only throws her head back when you’re the one who is making her laugh. 

And they’re about the legacy in your love story. Because there is a legacy in there; I promise you that. 

To learn more about getting engagement photos for the ages like Nick and Bianca, inquire about my signature wedding package here.