How to not feel awkward during your couple’s session

So you’re getting photos taken of you and your partner - great choice! Whether you just got engaged, want to commemorate an important milestone, or just because you know you’re looking so good right now - whatever the reason, I’m here for all of it.

For most us (myself included), the idea of posing for professional photos feels like a lot, especially if you're not used to being in front of the camera. While feeling a little bit awkward is totally normal, having an experienced photographer to guide you through your photos can make a big difference. When I’m working with any couple, my approach is less about posing and focusing instead on prompting for things I see you doing together naturally. While each couple is different, this list of prompts are ones I use time and time again to help get really fun, candid, and natural images.

My Go-To Prompts for Couples

The Walk Away

This is how I start every session with a new couple. Having you physically go out on your own helps with getting out of your head, plus it gives me a chance to see how you naturally connect to each other. From there, I’ll have folks either turn around and walk right back to me, or do a cute look over the shoulder moment. Either way this is a great base to build off from when we’re getting in the flow of taking photos together.

The Drunk Walk

This is one of my favorites to really help you get loose. Walking towards me, your job is to walk as erratically as possible while trying to hold the other person up/keep them from pushing you over. As soon as I say it’s a ‘drunk walk,’ people immediately understand the prompt. Not only does this add a lot of, um, natural movement (?), it immediately turns into a fun game and we get some amazing facial reactions.

The Surprise Bear Hug

This one you can make as silly or sweet as you like. One person stands a little ways behind the other, and tries to sneak up to surprise them with a bear hug. You can easily add on things like making it into a piggyback ride, or embrace the closeness and make it a sweet little moment to connect.

The Squish

All my couples will tell you that at some point during our session, I’ll yell out something to the effect of “get squishy!” What that means is however you interpret it - you can literally squish each other’s faces, or use it as a moment to get cozy together. Whatever you pick, we get a wide range of fun and sweet ways to capture the two of you being your natural selves together.

The Careless Whisper

If there's one thing I love to prompt for, it's getting you to whisper absolute nonsense in each other's ears. It does not have to be anything serious - my usual go to prompt for this is "whisper what you had for breakfast this morning." That's usually enough to get the other personal to genuinely laugh, if not the both of you.

When in Doubt, Let Loose

Sometimes all you need to get out of your head and into your body is to do something really silly and just move. Skip, dance, do a little twirl together, it's all good. These do not need to be documented movements, but sometimes I'll shoot through it and we end up with some of the best shots of the session - when you're just being your natural, candid, silly selves. These are the rare moments I love the most.

Which of these prompts are your favorite? Which have you used that you really loved? I wanna hear your experience when you've had your photo taken!