Ultimate Winter Engagement Photos Guide & Inspiration
1. Top Ten Tips for Winter Engagement Photos
1. Dress for the weather!
2. Dress for the weather! (it’s that important)
3. Pick colors that stand out from the snow (avoid white and greys)
4. Bold colors really pop
5. Patterns can add a fun spark to your style
6. Pick the right time of day
7. Be prepared for snow
8. Have a backup plan
9. Think about the activities you can do
10. Have fun!
Why Take Engagement Photos
You and the love of your life have just decided to embark upon one of life’s greatest adventures – marriage! Before you do, you’re filled with love and anticipation. The feelings and excitement are flying and now is the BEST time to capture all those wonderful vibes! So celebrate this extraordinary moment in your lives together with stunning winter engagement photos 🙂
You may have lots of questions about how to take winter engagement photos. What to wear, where to do it, how to do it and more. First off, let me start off by telling you that you are making an exceptional choice! Winter is, in my humble photographer opinion, the most gorgeous month. Dazzling snow, bold outfits – it’s a combination that’ll get you super excited. So let’s start diving in!
These photos are more than just a time capsule of this great moment. They can be used for wedding announcement or just blown up and hung up on your best friend’s walls, as a reminder that you are officially (sort of) replacing them. This is also a great opportunity for you to try out a photographer and see if you two mesh really well. After all, this photographer might end up being your actual wedding day photographer!
Lastly, engagement photos can be so so so much fun. For real, just look at all the happy couples here! So let’s make some magic and get to it!
Why Take Winter Engagement Photos
As we already discussed above – winter is wonderful! I think Winter is the most beautiful time of year, even if it is really cold. Let’s say you are having a wedding during another month, whether it’s spring, summer, or fall. This is an opportunity for you to get photos during a different season with a whole different vibe. Maybe you just love snow and want to play in it forever. There are so many reasons to get winter engagement photos. All of them, wonderfully valid.
Where to take winter engagement photos
I may be biased, but I think the best place to take any photos hands down is Colorado. But if you aren’t in Colorado, here’s what you should consider –
What do you want to feel for your engagement photos? Winter is all about cozy warm or cool snowwy vibes. So when thinking about where to do it, do you want to be bundled up in a cozy inside near a fireplace. Do you want to explore a city? Or adventure and play in the great outdoors? Remember, you don’t have to be limited to just one location! When planning out your day with your photographer, think about going to two different locations.
What to wear for your winter engagement photos
Bold Colors! Winter environments, whether you are in nature or in a city, are typically a bit lacking when it comes to color. That means that you get an opportunity to shine bright! Choose colors that are going to POP – rich reds and greens stand at best, though you could do blues too. Especially if it’s jeans.
You’ll want to match or compliment the environment. So if you are shooting in a red area (think Colorado’s red rocks), you won’t want to wear red. Otherwise you’ll blend in.
If you are shooting in evergreen trees, avoid wearing greens because you’ll blend in with the background.
Winter typically means white, so avoid white outfits as much as you can, otherwise you may end up being a head bouncing on top of the snow. Unless, of course, you want that funny image.
Check out this comprehensive guide on Engagement Photo Outfits
If you wear patterns, keep it simple. Don’t wear really loud and obnoxious patterns. Those can play well in the spring or summer, but the winter has so much beauty that you don’t want to overpower all that behind you. More importantly, loud patterns bring attention to the clothes and not the love you are celebrating.
Compliment each others outfits – wear jeans and white shirts, dresses and suits, dresses and dresses, blues and browns etc… You don’t want one person to pop out more than the other, and you don’t want to be mismatched in colors.
Casual Winter Engagement Photos
Casual winter engagement photos are a great way to celebrate your love without having the pressure of getting too fancy. The key to keeping it casual is to wear pretty close to what you normally wear. That can be Jeans, a nice warm jacket. As long as you are coordinated and not blending in with the background, you can still look fantastic.
Outdoor Winter Engagement Photos
Outdoor winter engagement photos are all about taking advantage of the gorgeous scenery around you and playing in a wintery landscape. You’ll want to take into account the nature you are in and the weather you are playing in. Follow the rules outlined here to stand out in nature, as well as keeping warm. You absolutely don’t want to freeze. That’ll completely ruin your experience. Get out there, play and have fun!
Winter Mountain Engagement Photos
Nothing evokes a more extraordinary winter feeling that snow-capped mountains. Sure, I’m a bit biased living in Colorado, but can ya blame me? For these photos, you’ll want to take into account everything we already talked about (staying warm, dressing appropriately, not blending in with the background) and also altitude and weather conditions. Mountains are notorious for having fickle weather patterns, so make sure you prepare ahead of time for snow and icy conditions. You’ll also want to consider how high up you’ll be. If you are going to be several thousand feet above sea level (for instance, many mountains in Colorado are around 10,000 feet), you’ll want to give yourself time to adjust to the altitude.
How to Stay warm during your Winter Engagement Photos
This is one of the most important parts of taking your winter engagement photos. If you aren’t warm, you’ll be too cold to have fun. Make sure you bring o wear these things:
- Hats
- Gloves
- Base layers
- Hand warmers, toe warmers, body warmers
- Scarves
- Warm coat that can also protect against snow, rain, or hail.
- Merino wool is one of the best fabrics you can use – it’ll keep you warm, wick away moisture, and not be smelly (yay!). Highly recommend merino wool
Winter engagement photos fabrics
Winter is all about cooler temperatures, so you’ll want to dress warm! Merino wool is my absolute favorite material. It’ll keep you warm, wick away moisture and sweat, and still smell good. It’s especially great in the outdoors.
Sunrise or sunset winter engagement photos
Winter means shorter days and much colder temperatures. Sunrise in the winter time means you don’t have to wake up too early, but you’ll probably be playing in very very cold temperatures. So just make sure that’s the vibe you want. Sunset means that temperatures have warmed up quite a bit, though the weather may be less favorable by then. I’d normally recommend sunset in the winter time just because it’s more comfortable and you still get those incredible vibes.
How much do winter engagement photos cost?
Engagement photos can vary in cost depending upon the photographer, package and location. Costs can range from $100 to over $1,000. When evaluating an engagement package, take into consideration their experience and what they are offering. Have they done this before? Especially with winter engagement photos, which tend to be harder physically and technically, do they know what they are doing? Will you get assistance in planning throughout? Do you have the option of changing clothes? Will they recommend locations? Of course locations also matter. Photos will be more expensive in NYC, California, Hawaii, Colorado and other locations.
I charge $600 for one hour, though I highly recommend booking for 2 hours, which is $900. I’ve been photographing elopements for years in Colorado and beyond, and help you put together the best possible day.
How Much Time Do You Need for winter engagement photos
This is an awesome question, good job you! I always always recommend at least 2 hours. You could do it in less, but you will want at least 2 hours.
Every couple requires time to warm up for their photos. On average I’d say it can take between 15 – 20 minutes. I try to help create an environment that’s faster, but some couples just need more time. Could be more so if it’s cold out. There’s a lot of love that you two have, and it takes time to capture it all. Especially if you don’t want the same generic poses that we see all over social media.
Most important – you don’t want to be stressed you are running out of time! A great session will be fun and exciting, you won’t feel like it’s work or you are struggling to smile. You should be doing it naturally. So do yourself a favor and make sure you have enough time to capture everything the right way.
Some winter engagement activities require more time than others – snowshoeing can be slow. Snowmobiles take time. Just walking on snow is slower than regular walking. Last, you also get practice with a photographer, perhaps the photographer you were thinking of booking for your actual big day! So definitely consider taking as much time as you need to capture the love you two have.
Winter Engagement Photos Ideas:
Just because this isn’t your actual wedding doesn’t mean you have to go short! There are lots of things you can do for your engagement photos, and I highly recommend doing at least one. This is a perfect time to capture you and your love doing what fills you with joy. The more you incorporate the things that you love to do, the more your photogs will represent you both and just as important – you’ll have a damn good time!
Here’s a list of things you can do during your engagement photos:
My Winter Engagement Photos Packages
My engagement photo packages include the following:
1. Location recommendations
2. Out recommendations
3. At least 2 outfit changes
4. Timeline recommendations
5. Planning recs throughout
6. Free hi-res photo downloads
7. Sneak Peaks within 7 days
8. Full gallery within 8 weeks.
Starting at $600 for one hour, within 1.5 hours of Denver.
Most popular package is $900 for 2 hours.
Travel fees for locations outside 1.5 hours of Denver
Are you ready for a consultation one one of Colorado’s Best Engagement photographers? Want to learn more about the right Colorado Engagement Package for You? Hit me up! I’ll chat with you for free to see if we can make your elopement dreams a reality.
