Northern VA sunset engagement photos are the greatest! You and your future spouse embracing in front of a gorgeous sky painted in radiant hues? Engagement portraits do not get much better than that! It is no wonder that so many couples like you love the idea of scheduling an engagement or couples portrait session at dusk.
As stunning as sunset engagement portraiture can be, it is not always easy to pull off. We do not mean from a photographic point of view. With the right tools, we can easily give you pictures so beautiful that your friends die of envy. We have been photographing sunrises and sunsets for years and know how to incorporate them into engagement pictures. No, the challenge is the part that we can’t control. Ensuring that you have a stunning backdrop for portraits at dusk is not as easy as you might think.
Before each of us became a DC wedding photographer, we developed and honed our skills through nature photography. A lot of that involved getting up very early and taking pictures of the sun rising over the Nation’s Capital. Nearly every morning, we would go to the Netherlands Carillon in Arlington, Virginia, and point our cameras at the eastern sky. Anyway, day after day of that gave us a great understanding of the conditions that make for an epic sunset. So we know how to maximize the chances that you get a gorgeous tableau for your portraits.
With that in mind, we would like to offer you a few suggestions of things you can do to get the most out of a sunset engagement session. As with everything we recommend to future clients, these are not meant to put any extra pressure on you. You can and should leave everything to us. We are seasoned professionals who will make sure you get the portraits you dream of. These tips are simply a guide if you have specific ideas about the type of portrait session you want. So without further ado, here are five tips for getting epic Northern VA sunset engagement pictures.
Let’s start with the obvious. To get a gorgeous sunset in the background of your engagement photos, the sunset needs to be in the frame. Not rocket science, right? So the location of your engagement shoot needs to have an unobstructed view of the sky to the west.
The tricky part can be finding a place in Northern Virginia that has a clear line of sight. The topography of the metro area is such that the land rises as you move west. So the same river bluffs that make the Netherlands Carillon a primo spot for sunrise pictures make Northern VA sunset engagement pictures a challenge. We do know of some, though, and are always happy to help you find a place that works.
The second suggestion is related to the first. Part of getting a clear view of the sky is getting up above the surrounding terrain. Though some lower-elevation locations still work, your chances of a spectacular sunset are a lot better from higher up.
Northern Virginia offers a broad range of possible sites once you get past the Potomac River bluffs in Arlington. The wineries at the outskirts of the metro area are particularly good locations. Bluemont Vineyard, for example, has a terrace that looks to the western sky (and over the lovely Northern Virginia countryside). As you go further west and up into the Blue Ridge Mountains, the views only get more spectacular.
One of the trickiest things about sunset engagement shoots is the climatic conditions. Obviously, good weather is something you will want no matter where and when you have your engagement photo session. (Though we should note that neither rain nor snow nor fog are obstacles to us getting stunning portraits of you. Some of the best engagement pictures imaginable have precipitation as defining characteristics.) Scheduling a sunset session adds an extra layer of difficulty, though.
For the sky to light up spectacularly behind you, the conditions need to be just right. For starters, there need to be clouds. Without those, there is nothing for the setting sun to illuminate. The sky just turns a bit orange by the horizons. But you do not get the dazzling colors of a really gorgeous sunset. There cannot be too many clouds, though. An entirely overcast sky will lead to a very disappointing sunset. The most crucial factor, though (and this is the really tricky part), is having the clouds in the right place.
If they are too far from the horizon, they will very briefly turn a delicate pink before fading to darkness. In our experience, photos of them do not look that special. If the clouds are too close to the horizon, though, you will not get much of a sunset at all. The sun will backlight them, leaving the side facing you gray to black. They will also prevent the sun’s rays from illuminating many of the clouds higher in the sky.
Unfortunately, even the most detailed weather reports are not going to give you this kind of insight beforehand. The particulars of any specific day are just unknowable. So your best bet is just to look for a day slated to be “partly cloudy” and hope for the best.
The real magic during a sunset photo shoot does not start until after the sun has dipped below the horizon. That is when the rays get indirect enough to light the clouds with those gorgeous yellows, oranges, reds, pinks and purples you are hoping for. There is some beautiful portraiture to be created while the sun is still out. But the half-hour after sunset is the whole reason you schedule a sunset engagement session in the first place.
To get the most of that period, we suggest starting your session at least 30 minutes before sunset. That gives you (and us) plenty of time to prepare for the part that matters most. Once the sky starts lighting up, you and your future spouse will already be relaxed, in the flow of the session and comfortable with having your pictures taken. Any nervousness will be gone, and you will feel like professional models who look fantastic in every shot.
This is a bit of advice we give every client no matter what kind of engagement photo shoot they envision. The more that you are able to trust that we will give you stunning portraits no matter what hurdles might crop up, the more relaxed you are going to feel and the better you are going to look in the pictures. Leave all the worrying to us, and you are certain to love the end result.
This is even more true when it comes to sunset sessions. As we mentioned above, weather is a tricky thing. We have no way of knowing whether a sunset is going to be great on any particular day. We sometimes do not even know whether a specific one is going to wow you until minutes before it happens! And you know what? That is ok. We are still going to get portraits that will grace your mantel for decades to come. The period of time just before and after sunset is what is called “the golden hour,” meaning the light is especially indirect and flattering. That means that any portraits we take of you are going to look spectacular, beautiful sunset behind you or not.
We hope these suggestions help you in planning your engagement photo session. If you would like to hear other tips for getting the most out of your engagement shoot or want more information about booking a session with us, please do contact us!
Location: Bluemont Vineyard, 18755 Foggy Bottom Rd, Bluemont, VA 20135.
Keywords: Northern Virginia Wedding Photographer (3), Virginia Engagement Session (2).© 2024 Potok's World Photography - Wife & Husband Washington DC Wedding Photographers
