I love photographing couples, especially those who are celebrating their relationship at different milestones.
This can happen at any time in their lives.
However I have noticed it typically will be as an engagement session. A great opportunity to get used to your photographer of your wedding.
Then there is the wedding day.
Then there might be a gap until the next life event.
The best thing you can do to determine this for yourself is figure out who you are as a couple.
Have I mentioned you don’t need to be engaged or be getting married or have a huge anniversary party to get updated shots?
Thinking about who you are as a couple will help you determine when is a good time to get more shots of your relationship.
Anniversary photography is a great way to update things though. It can be turned into a date night, a family reunion or party with friends.
Once I did a concept shoot with a wonderful couple Stephanie and Reid. They wanted to celebrate their 10th anniversary. We looked through magazines and came up with some ideas. We ended up photographing in a very special place for them. We did some inside some outside. It was a great variety and super fun.
If your looking to have an anniversary photographer for yourself or as a gift to someone else this is a great opportunity. During an anniversary celebration you could treat it like a family or friend reunion. Bring everyone together. We can focus 15-20 minutes on the anniversary celebrating couple and the rest taking photographs of everyone and their respective family unit separately and with the couple.
Sure the wedding and engagement session can make you feel like your good to go for the next 5 years or next big life event.
But your relationship changes from month to month and year to year. Your not the same couple you were a decade ago, or even a year ago.
You might be learning new things about each other or experiencing something as a couple that enhances or challenges your relationship. This is part of life.
That photograph of you both on your wedding day is great. But every year your together is just as precious.
I remember Jeff and I had a rough first year of marriage, things that weren’t in our control as is often the case. We are not the same people we were back then and we are not the same couple. When we look back there are many photos of us before the wedding and not many of us during the first year. I wish I had organized photos of us during that time because it would have given us (1) something fun to do (2) a memory of the difficult times we OVERCAME.
You might like this idea for anniversary photos combos:
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