In Home Engagement Session Ideas for Lifestyle Photography
Kerry & Patrick's Lifestyle Engagement Photography | Sloans Lake, Denver Colorado | In Home Session | Apollo Photo
In home engagement sessions are definitely some of my favorite to shoot! As much as I love the dramatic landscapes and nature sessions, there is something so intimate about being invited into a couple's home that they have created together and really seeing the inner workings of their daily lives and love.
It’s also a nice chance for couples to get in front of my camera. It definitely helps to ease some of the camera-shyness that most people feel before your wedding day. Plus, I love the chance to spend a little more time with my clients before their big day, too! As much as I love outdoor sessions, Colorado mountains, hiking and adventure sessions, I am equally as excited for lifestyle sessions. I get to hang out and snap away while they go about their normal routine, whether it’s cooking, cuddling up on the couch, going on a dog walk, or clinking their glasses to a great day.
Lifestyle engagement sessions also make for great save the date cards. To me, the most important part is the feeling of candid and natural moments, even if we have intercepted a little with our posing expertise.
Kerry is sweet and accommodating, and Patrick is composed and easygoing. Their rescue pup adores them, and the whole time we were there never took an eye off of them. Playing fetch in the backyard, going for a leisurely stroll near Sloan Lake, and hanging out in the spring sun were so easily woven into their engagement session.
I’m so excited to shoot their wedding in May at Skylight in Denver alongside Lindsey Bartell. This new venue boasts a modern urban architectural design with tall whitewashed brick walls, exposed ceilings, floods of natural light, and geometric pops with classic flair. Working in such a new space is exciting because it really is a blank canvas, which is one of the big draws that the venue boasts. They let their couples bring in their own vendors, and they get a full 24 hours to party as late as they want and not worry about cleanup that same night.
Since moving from New York City, I rarely get to photograph in urban settings anymore! I do prefer rural country weddings, but it will be a fun chance to get back into a city environment for their wedding. I do love the neighborhood that Skylight is nestled into: Denver's Sante Fe Art District, with loud pops of colorful graffiti, funky coffee shops, and busy streets.
Kerry & Patrick's Lifestyle Engagement Session | Colorado Wedding Photographer | In-Home Engagement Photography
I love shooting in home engagement sessions because they are intimate, personal, and always tell such a great story about the couple. When couples such as Kerry and Patrick welcome us into their home, we get to see the space that they have created as their own.
As much as I love outdoor sessions, Colorado mountains, hiking and adventure sessions, I am equally as excited for lifestyle sessions. I get to hang out and snap away while they go about their normal routine, whether it’s cooking, cuddling up on the couch, going on a dog walk, or clinking their glasses to a great day. It’s also a nice chance for couples to get in front of my camera. It definitely helps to ease some of the camera-shyness that most people feel before your wedding day. Plus, I love the chance to spend a little more time with my clients before their big day, too!
Most couples are engaged for around a year, and these photos are a sweet momento from that time in their lives which seems to go so quickly in the midst of all of the wedding planning, booking vendors, guest lists, timelines, and all of the other fun – but sometimes stressful – parts about planning the ceremony and party exactly the way you want it.
Kerry is sweet and accommodating, and Patrick is composed and easygoing. Their rescue pup adores them, and the whole time we were there never took an eye off of them. Playing fetch in the backyard, going for a leisurely stroll near Sloan Lake, and hanging out in the spring sun were so easily woven into their engagement session.
Lifestyle engagement sessions also make for great save the date cards. To me, the most important part is the feeling of candid and natural moments, even if we have intercepted a little with our posing expertise.
I’m so excited to shoot their wedding in May at Skylight in Denver alongside Lindsey Bartell. This new venue boasts a modern urban architectural design with tall whitewashed brick walls, exposed ceilings, floods of natural light, and geometric pops with classic flair. Stay tuned for pictures of their wedding in just a few weeks!
Engagement Photography: Apollo Photo
Lifestyle Photography: Eden Photography
Wes & Chelsea's Breckenridge Engagement Session in Colorado
Chelsea & Wes' Engagement Photography in Breckenridge | Colorado Engagement Photography | Mountain Wedding Photographer | Apollo Fields Weddings
What could be dreamier than a wintery snowy engagement session in the beautiful Rockies!? Breckenridge is best known for being a popular ski town in Colorado and gets a lot of tourism in the winter months. Chelsea and Wes were visiting from their hometown in Texas to celebrate and I was so excited to be able to shoot their engagements for them in this iconic ski town.
The town of Breckenridge is really settled around the slopes but makes it very easy to get around. There are cute little coffee shops, bars, and shopping stores to pop in and out of. We did our session down by the little river that runs through the town from all of the snow runoff. We were lucky to have a snowy day but nothing too severe.
I actually blew my tire out on the way to this session when a rockslide on i-70 came barreling down onto the highway. I was busy dodging the smaller rocks when I hit the mac-daddy of boulders and immediately popped the tire. I was stressing out because I knew I had to get up to this session and luckily, Terrence was able to throw the donut on the car and we drove to a little mechanic shop in Georgetown and the guy was able to hammer it out and refill the tire (he originally thought it wouldn’t be salvageable so you can imagine my excitement when we got back on the road for only $20)!
I was still able to get up to Breck on time (the benefit of leaving ridiculously early for shoots) and meet up with this fun loving couple. These two had such a great and easy chemistry with one another that made this wintery session a blast to photograph. It was chilly but they never once complained, and one of my favorite things about the dry cold in the mountains is that the snow doesn’t get heavy and soaked through your pants so it is easy to stay happy without needing a wardrobe change!
I can’t recommend this location more to anyone visiting Colorado and love to shoot in this cozy mountain town so please reach out to set up your own engagement and/or wedding in this great ski town!
Colorado Engagement Photographer: Erny Photo CO | Apollo Photojournalism
Mitch & Bobby's Engagement Session at Golden Gate Canyon State Park in Golden, CO
Mitch & Bobby | Colorado Engagement Photographer | Golden Gate Canyon State Park | Golden, Colorado | Apollo Fields Wedding Photography
Golden Gate Canyon State Park is a real gem for photos because you get such a wide range of landscapes to use as your backdrops. The mountains are lush on one side and arid on the other which gives a lot of variety for photos. There’s also some great areas with open space and good hiking trails to roam around and keep moving around.
This was great for us because Mitch and Bobby wanted to bring their rescue dogs to their shoot. They were recently engaged and so excited, and naturally, their fur-family would be included. We’re the same way! We couldn’t have imagined not having our dogs a part of our engagement session or our wedding. We’re total dog lovers (no surprise there) and love when couples want to bring their four legged friends along!
Mitch worked at a dog grooming and boarding facility and her and Bobby are enthusiastic about rescuing over buying dogs. It was obvious right away that their dogs have a great quality of life now because you could just tell right away how loyal they were. When I wanted to snag a few shots without the pups, Terrence held their leashes and they both couldn’t wait to get back to their owners! Being able to have the trails and paths to keep everyone walking was great for the pups, too.
One pro tip for this location is to meet at the visitor center because the cell reception in this state park is pretty much nonexistent. That is probably the one and only drawback of the spot, if you are meeting up with your photographer in the park instead of driving in together, it can make it hard to actually find each other. The visitor center is pretty easy to find (also, there is an entrance fee so do your due diligence) but it is really convenient for actually hooking up with one another so you’re not driving around the (beautiful) roads unable to find one another!
