Your engagement photos don’t need a famous location or a perfectly decorated house. Sometimes, the right place is the one you’ve just been handed the keys to.
Lauren and Kyle had recently purchased their home, and it was still pretty empty when we photographed their engagement session. There were a few pieces of furniture, plenty of open space, and one very excited dog who became a big part of the shoot. Honestly, that was a pretty great starting point.
The house wasn’t finished, but it was already theirs. We didn’t need to turn it into something else to make interesting photos. We just needed to get a little creative with what was there.
Getting Creative in a Mostly Empty House
I love layers in my photographs. I like having something that draws you in, then something else you notice when you look a little longer. So photographing an engagement session in a mostly empty house was a fun challenge for me. There wasn’t a lot filling the rooms, but that didn’t mean the photographs had to feel empty.
We worked with the furniture that was around, played with compositions, and used the open space as part of the photographs rather than treating it as something we needed to hide. It felt like starting from zero and building something together, which turned out to be one of my favourite parts of the session.
A simple space makes me look a little differently. How can I create depth? What can I include in another part of the frame? How do I make a photograph interesting without taking the attention away from the couple? I was still looking for all the things I love in my work, just with fewer things in front of me. And then their dog gave me a whole lot more to work with.
Engagement Photos with Their Dog
I love dogs. So when an engagement session includes a very enthusiastic one who wants to be involved in everything, we’re probably going to get along.
Lauren and Kyle’s dog became much more than someone we included for a few photos. He brought so much energy to the session, and I loved finding ways to include him while still keeping the photographs about the couple.
Sometimes that meant Lauren and Kyle in one part of the image and him doing his own thing somewhere else. For someone who loves layers, that was pretty perfect. Suddenly, there was another little moment happening in the frame, something playful and unpredictable that made the photograph more interesting.
That’s what I enjoy about engagement photos with a dog. It doesn’t all have to be about getting everyone sitting nicely and looking at the camera. There’s room for that, but I also want the personality, the excitement, and whatever happens when we let things unfold a little. We had a lot of fun with him, and he became a big part of what made this session theirs.
A Meaningful Location Matters More Than a Finished Room
What I love about Lauren and Kyle’s at home engagement photos is that the location connects to something happening in their lives. They had just bought a house together. Photographing them there, while it was still mostly empty, was a way of remembering that beginning.
Later, when the rooms are full and everything has found its place, these photographs will still show what it looked like when they were just getting started there. To me, that gives the setting something a beautiful backdrop alone can’t provide.
So when you’re thinking about where to take your engagement photos, don’t rule out somewhere meaningful because you’re not sure it looks like a “photoshoot location.” Your home doesn’t have to look like a magazine. You don’t need to finish decorating before it becomes worth photographing.
Tell me what the place means to you. We can figure out the creative part together. That’s a big part of what I love doing.
And please tell me there’s a dog.
Have a place in mind for your engagement session? Let’s chat about it and make something that feels like you.
More Engagement Photo Ideas
Your engagement session doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. We can stay home, wander around the city, or make a little adventure out of it. Here are a few other sessions where we worked with the place, the people, and whatever happened along the way.
Strong winter light, bold shadows, and a couple who were happy to try something different. Terri and Jeremy’s Distillery District engagement session was all about getting creative with what was right in front of us.
A handmade blanket, chilly lake air, and plenty of laughs. Cristina and Devon’s fall engagement session at Scarborough Bluffs is another reminder that the personal details are often what make the photos feel most like you.
From exploring the harbour to finding a quiet spot above Georgian Bay, Kasia and Kyle turned their Tobermory engagement session into a little adventure together. A very different setting, with the same room to relax, explore and make it their own.
