WHY YOU SHOULD PLAN A LOVE SHOOT WHILE YOU’RE IN CABO
MORE THAN JUST PRETTY PICTURES
You already have engagement photos. You have your save the dates. So, do you really need another photo session before your wedding?
We think there is a very good reason to make time for one.
A love shoot is not just about adding more photographs to your gallery. It is a chance to spend some time together, get comfortable in front of the camera, and most importantly, get to know the way we work before the wedding day arrives.
Because for most couples, being photographed does not feel completely natural at first.
And that is perfectly normal.
GETTING PAST THE CAMERA NERVES
One of the things we hear most often is, “We’re awkward in photos.”
Usually, you’re not.
You are simply not used to having someone follow you around with a camera.
The first few minutes of any session can feel a little unfamiliar. You become aware of your hands, your smile, where you are looking, whether you should be doing something. But then something changes. You start talking, walking, laughing, moving, and eventually, you stop thinking about the camera altogether.
And you’ll quickly discover what it feels like to be photographed by us.
Xico is physically incapable of hiding his excitement when he gets a photograph he loves, so expect a lot of “wow, wow, wow” from behind the camera. More than one of our couples has joked that they would like to take him home just to have someone hype them up every day.
Meanwhile, Mau is usually the one noticing the things you shouldn’t have to think about: a strand of hair that moved out of place, a twisted strap, the way a jacket is sitting. Those tiny details that can make all the difference in a photograph.
Somewhere between the encouragement, the little adjustments, the walking around and the conversations in between, the camera starts to feel a lot less intimidating.
That is one of our favorite reasons to photograph our couples before their wedding.
By the time the wedding day arrives, we are no longer starting from zero. You already know us, you know how we work, and being in front of our cameras feels familiar rather than intimidating.
And on a day when there are already a hundred things happening around you, having one less thing to feel nervous about makes a difference.
WE GET TO LEARN YOU, TOO
The session is not only practice for you. It is incredibly valuable for us as photographers.
Every couple responds differently to direction. Some people feel incredible with a little more guidance. Others relax the moment we give them space and let things happen naturally. Some love movement. Some feel more like themselves when everything is quieter and more subtle.
A love shoot gives us the opportunity to discover that together.
We learn which kind of direction makes you feel comfortable, what brings out your natural chemistry, and when we should step in or step away.
And by the end of the session, we usually have our own little language with each couple. A look, a word, or a tiny adjustment is often all it takes. Having that shorthand already established before the wedding day is incredibly valuable.
So when the wedding arrives, we already have a sense of how to photograph you.
There is less figuring it out and more simply being together.
MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR HAIR AND MAKEUP TRIAL
If you are already planning a hair and makeup trial while you are in Cabo, this is also the perfect excuse to make something more of it.
Beyond having somewhere to go afterward, photographs give you something the mirror cannot:
the opportunity to see how your beauty look translates on camera.
How does your makeup respond to natural light? How does it photograph from different angles? Do you love the intensity of it, or would you prefer something softer for the wedding day? Does your hairstyle still feel like you after seeing it in photographs?
A trial lets you see the look in person.
A love shoot lets you see how that look will live in your wedding photographs.
And if there is anything you would like to adjust, you still have time.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO FEEL LIKE AN ENGAGEMENT SESSION
This might be our favorite part.
Forget the idea that you need another formal engagement shoot.
Make it part of your trip.
Spend the morning together at your hotel. Walk through San José del Cabo before dinner. Have a drink somewhere you love. Run barefoot on the beach. Get dressed up and make reservations afterward. Or keep it completely casual and make the photographs feel like a little piece of your actual life together.
Cabo gives us so many possibilities that the session can feel entirely different from photographs you may have already taken back home.
It does not need to be a production.
It can simply be a really good afternoon together, with us there to document it.
AND YES, YOU GET REALLY GOOD PHOTOS TOO
There are all the practical reasons: getting comfortable with the camera, getting to know your photographers, testing your hair and makeup, and learning what kind of direction feels most natural to you.
But there is also the simplest reason.
You can never really have too many photographs with the person you love. <3
Photographs that are not tied to a wedding timeline or a specific milestone.
Photographs you can frame, keep, share on an anniversary, pull out on a birthday, or post on a completely ordinary Tuesday just because you love the person standing next to you.
Your wedding photographs will tell the story of one extraordinary day.
These can simply tell the story of you, right now.
And we think that is worth remembering, too.
XGP
xico & mau