Engagement session timeline template

An engagement session is 90 minutes, starts 90 minutes before sunset, and has one change of outfit and one change of location in the middle. That is the whole structure. This template assumes a 7:30 PM sunset, 2 spots within a few minutes of each other, and a couple who have never been photographed on purpose.

Copy it, change the sunset, and send it to the couple with the outfit and location notes below.

The template

Time	Before sunset	What is happening	The light
6:00 PM	90 min	Meet at spot 1. 5 minutes with no camera: talk, check outfit 1, hands, hair, pockets emptied.	Still high and hard.
6:05 PM	85 min	Spot 1, outfit 1, 25 minutes. Standing, walking, close. The warm-up set.	Open shade: a building’s shadow, a tree line, a north wall.
6:30 PM	60 min	Change and move, 10 minutes. They change in the car or the restroom you scouted. You move the car and check spot 2.
6:40 PM	50 min	Spot 2, outfit 2, 20 minutes. The dressier outfit. Sitting, walking, foreheads together.	Backlight starts to work. Sun behind them.
7:00 PM	30 min	Golden hour set, 20 minutes. Wide frames with the sun in the corner, the walking-away frame, a spin.	Golden. Everything works.
7:20 PM	10 min	Last light, 10 minutes. Sun on the horizon: silhouettes, flare, one wide with the sky.	Horizontal sun. Expose for the sky.
7:30 PM	0	Sunset. Done. Stay 5 more minutes if the sky colors.

Outfits

• 2 outfits, not 3. A third costs 10 minutes of golden hour and gets 10 frames.
• One dressy, one casual. The dressy outfit goes in the golden hour slot, because that is where the save-the-date frame comes from. Unless the casual one is who they are. Then reverse it.
• Solid colors, one pattern between the two of them. No large logos. No narrow stripes or fine checks; they can moire on the sensor.
• Shoes they can walk in. Heels come in a bag and go on for the standing frames.
• Outfit 2 on hangers in the car, pressed. Not folded in a tote.
• Ask for a photo of both outfits a week before. You will catch the two whites and the two plaids in time.

Locations

• 2 spots within a 5-minute walk or a 10-minute drive of each other. Any further and the change eats the golden hour.
• Spot 1 needs shade 90 minutes before sunset. Spot 2 needs an open view to the west.
• Scout at the same time of day, a week before, or check the sun’s position with an app. The golden hour and sunset planning guide explains the method.
• Check permits. Some parks, gardens and downtown districts charge for photography or ban it. Confirm before you promise the location.
• A restroom or a car for the change. Plan it, or outfit 2 does not happen.
• A meaningful spot beats a pretty one, if it has usable light. The place they met, the bar, the apartment stairs. Ask.

Light

• 90 minutes out: hard sun. Open shade, or backlit with a reflector.
• 50 minutes out: backlight works without help.
• 30 to 10 minutes out: golden hour. Everything works.
• 10 minutes out to sunset: silhouettes and flare.
• Overcast: the whole 90 minutes works anywhere. Start whenever. Keep the order anyway, so the habit holds.
• Sunrise instead: reverse the table. Silhouettes first, then golden, then open shade as the sun climbs. Empty locations, fewer permit problems, and a couple who are quiet for the first 20 minutes.

The rules

• Start 90 minutes before sunset, not at 6:00 PM. The clock time changes every week. The offset does not.
• 5 minutes without the camera. The first frames of a nervous couple are the worst frames. Spend the 5 minutes anyway.
• Give actions, not poses. Walk toward me. Tell each other the worst thing about your commute. Fix the collar. Pick the other one up. The photographs are what happens between the instructions. Unless the couple asks for posed frames; then give them 3 and move on.
• Use it as the wedding rehearsal. Note who needs more direction, which side each of them prefers, and how long they last before they stiffen. That note goes in the wedding file.
• Deliver before the save-the-dates are due. Ask the date. Send a sneak peek within a few days; the sneak peeks guide covers how many.
• Scale it. One outfit and one spot is 60 minutes. A dog, a car move, or a sunrise start is 2 hours.

Questions to ask the couple

These belong in your client questionnaire, sent when the session is booked.

1. What date, and what time is sunset? We meet 90 minutes before.
2. Two outfits? Send a photo of both, on you, a week before.
3. Is there a place that means something to you? If not, I will choose 2 spots.
4. Dog, kids, a sign, champagne? Each is 10 minutes. A dog needs a handler who takes it home after its 10 minutes.
5. Which of you is more nervous in front of a camera?
6. When are the save-the-dates going out?
7. Is the ring in for cleaning? Bring it.