Engagement season is upon us. I love getting to travel around Houston finding new and exciting locations for portraits.

We have traveled throughout the Greater Houston area to seek out some great locations to take engagement portraits.

After several years of photographing engagements and portraits in the area, we have come up with a list of our favorite:

For an edgie/grunge/hip feel: The Graffiti park off of 59 and Leeland, on the East side of Downtown. The location is always hopping with people taking video and photos. I have taken a few couples here for their engagement portraits. Another location is in Richmond, just over the Brazos river there is a location that butts up against the train tracks that I love shooting at. This location is great because it has so much. You can take pictures by the tracks, the buildings in the area are all different colors and textures.

For a green/garden feel: Herman Park has a lot to offer. There are a few locations in the area that are gorgeous (especially when the azaleas are blooming). Some of the parks in the area require a permit to take professional photos at, however.

If you are looking for a more forest like look: by me is Jones Creek Ranch Park, but also one of my favorite locations to take engagement portraits is at Memorial Park (which is where my parents were married).

For a country/rustic feel: The Fullbrook neighborhood entrance (in Fulshear) has some rustic structures, however I am always looking for rustic locations. If anyone know’s of a barn with wooden fence and maybe some animals, I’m always game.

Hey Y’all! Let’s talk about types of wedding photographers.

No, I’m not talking about journalistic vs posed. I’m talking about the monetary types. There are 3 different types of wedding photography payment plans out there. Make sure to do your research and ask as many questions as you can from your potential wedding photographer before booking them.

1. There is the type of wedding photographer who charges everything up front. They tend to look like the more expensive photographer, because they do not charge anything on the back end. Sort of like flying Spirit Airlines vs Southwest. These are the Southwest airlines of photographers. They offer prints and digital copies, and usually their package information is spelled out very clearly. I am a believer & practice this method.
2. There is the Spirit Airlines version of wedding photographer. This photographer looks cheaper from far away, but as you start adding amenities the price starts adding up. You may be charged for the photographer to be there and a small number of digital images from your wedding, then you can add digital images and print images for a price. This is a perfect photographer for someone who just wants a few cherished moments from their wedding and are on a tight budget. Be careful, make sure to ask up front before signing any contracts how many images you get with their package, and exactly what comes with it.
3. The last type of wedding photographer is a hybrid of #1 and #2. This photographer offers a standard package with most of the amenities you get from the #1 type of photographer, however they also offer reproductions and wedding albums on the back-end with an additional cost. They may tell you they will give you all of your edited images, however you may have to pay to download them or have them printed.

The most important thing is to consider what is most important to you, and make sure to ask all the right questions. Would you like to know what to ask photographers? click on the link below to go to a previous blog post about it.

What questions should you ask your potential wedding photographer?

Ever wondered what to ask a potential wedding photographer? Well have no fear, here are 20 sample questions you can use (in no particular order).

Click here to download the free easy to print PDF

1. Are you available for my wedding date?
2. Do you travel to my location?
3. Do you use off camera flash?
   1. Why is this important? You want your photographer to be using a flash that doesn’t flash directly in your face if you can avoid it. Off camera flashes have the ability to bounce the light off a ceiling so you don’t have harsh shadows.
4. What is your most popular package?
5. What amenities do you offer in ALL of your packages?
6. Are there any amenities that I can add to packages that don’t already offer them?
7. Do you take engagement portraits/ bridal portraits?
8. Do you have insurance (this is really only important if your venue requires it)
9. Do you offer packages with second photographers?
10. What is the turn-around time for your images?
11. Do you edit your images?
12. Do I have the rights to all of my images or only a select number
    1. Some photographers charge a smaller fee to photograph your wedding, then charge clients per image. Some photographers charge a higher up-front fee and include edited images.
13. How do the images come to me when they are done?
14. Do you offer prints beyond what is in your package?
15. Do you offer wedding albums?
    1. What does your wedding album look like?
16. Do you share images on social media?
17. Do you offer same day edits?
18. How long have you been a wedding photographer?
19. Have you ever worked at my venue before?
20. Have you ever photographed a wedding like mine before?

If you haven’t already read the previous blog post (3 steps to hire a wedding photographer) check it out now!