Looking for a Detroit engagement photographer who makes sessions feel easy, natural, and actually fun? You’re in the right place.
No stress. No awkward posing. My job is to help you see how good you look together.
We’ll learn what feels natural for you so you’re completely comfortable in front of the camera on your wedding day.
Booking Info | Portrait Locations | Main Portrait Section | Main Page | Contact
Congratulations! What an incredible journey you're about to begin together. I still get all gooey when I hear couple's origin stories. Getting engaged is a HUGE deal! Ready to start researching all the options for planning the most complex, exciting and expensive day of your lives? I'd love to help you through that process to make it more fun and less daunting.
Most of my clients fall into two distinct categories; those who LOVE getting photographed and those who LOATHE getting their photos taken.
Bet you can't guess which couples fall into which category!
Pricing If You Are My Wedding Clients!
$350 - Awesome! You qualify as a repeat client with a signed contract, so I take $50 off your fee. 1 hour photo session in outdoor locations where I know we are welcome. If you have a special, unique location in mind, you will need a two hour session.
Pricing If You're Not My Wedding Client!
$400 - Hey, some people elope or are getting married elsewhere, so I'm still happy to photograph your engagement! This price is for a 1 hour photography session on location in the places I normally haunt. For a list of those locations, please check out my favorite romantic locations. If you're looking for a unique location, you will need to book a two hour time slot.
I Want My Own Unique Engagement Session Location
$700 - No worries! Hopefully it's within a 30 mile radius of Troy (I can give you my address so you can figure it out and what the travel fee would be if it's further). This is a two hour photo session and means we can move around a lot more and hit more locations.
If you are looking to make this a engagement and family photography session, you will need to book the two hour session as the more people involved, the more photoshopping I'm going to be doing afterwards.
- All the edited, high resolution digital files are yours to use however you'd like.
- Online gallery with your images posted for a year.
- You can print from a professional lab connected to my site.
- Free downloads included.
- Digital files are delivered to you within a week.
- So long as you enjoy the heck out of them, that's all I ask!
I photograph engagement sessions all over the Detroit area, including parks, downtown areas, and unique personal locations that mean something to you.
- Two spots in Detroit… classic or artistic?
- Birmingham - Pick either a small city vibe or park in the middle of nowhere.
- Rochester - Your choice… town or nature.
- Troy - Choose either country or a fall wonderland.
- Location of Your Choice - For and extra fee.
The list of my favorite engagement photography locations include a wide variety of backgrounds where I know the light is great, it's access is easy, I can get a TON of great photos within an hour and we won’t get kicked out (always a bonus) and it's free.
♥ Wear outfits that you can move comfortably in, that don't clash with each other and preferably aren't white. I'm interested in capturing movement, so be ready to sit, run and have some fun.
♥ The goal of the session is to get you two comfortable in front of the camera and to explore your natural body language.
♥ We'll learn to trust each other and to push some limits. This way you can see what works for you (and what doesn't) before your big day.
♥ You'll be amazed how genuinely adorable you look through the eyes of a professional photographer. Seeing what photos really resonate with you, capture you well and why sometimes a photographer asks you to do something that feels strange can be stunningly beautiful.
♥ The engagement session is about exploration. I'll coach you so we can discover what wows you (and doesn't.
♥ What you may consider to be cheesy, might be the pinnacle of romance to another couple. We'll try it all. This is a steep learning curve, but once we've worked together for an hour, I promise you will find out what clicks for you.
♥ So you're not into PDA. No worries. Most of my engagement sessions are for couples that really aren't into it. An engagement session is a great place to discover that it's not so much the poses, but those micro moments found getting in and out of them.
♥ Engagement photography will help you feel confident in your photographer, but more importantly, that you two look fantastic together. It's a great piece of mind going into your wedding day.
Many of my clients tell me they've never had photos taken together other than as "selfies". Being photographed by a professional engagement photographer is totally different. This is to show you how awesome you two look together, to explore using your natural body language to express your love in a totally uniquely 'you' kind of way. Engagement photos help you get comfortable in front of the camera before your wedding day. Most couples only have a short time for portraits on their wedding day, so this session helps you learn what feels natural and looks great ahead of time. Also? By the time the wedding rolls around, seeing each other again is like seeing old friends. You know who I am, how I work and that I've totally got your back.
I've created a list of places in Detroit and the suburbs that offer a huge variety of looks so there is something for every taste and style. I have samples of my favorite engagement locations that have parking, easily walkable, a wide variety of backgrounds, are free and we are welcome to be there. Hopefully the variety of country, city, classic and rustic matches up with your sentimental vibe and feels very "you".
Besides being comfortable, don't clash colors with each other, avoid logos (unless someone is sponsoring your wedding if that's a thing?!) and women… keep your dresses at least to your knees. Why? We'll explore lift poses, dance moves, sitting and movement. I cannot tell you how many brides to be are wearing dresses so short we see it ALL even when she lifts her arms up to hug her partner. Give your dress the coochie test (arms up, twirl, sit, etc) to see if we can see what color your undies are. If we can, it won't work for what we'll be doing. Men? Take everything out of your pockets. I mean everything. Otherwise you'll look like you stuffed a hamster in your pocket.
This largely depends on what you're using them for and when the wedding is. If you've got a year before the wedding, I often suggest using the opposite season (except winter unless you are very hardy!) of your wedding. That way the photos will look totally different from your wedding photos. Most couples using the engagement pics for "save the date" cards need to have those out at least 6 months from the wedding, so factor that in as well.
The short answer is that you won't, I promise. Will I ask you to do some awkward poses? Sure! Awkward is in the eye of the beholder. You may even think something is cheesy as hell until you see the photo of yourselves doing the dip. I'm always astounded by how willing couples are to give pretty much anything a try. If you look at it and think, yup, that's so cheesy, well, we'll skip it on your wedding day. But you also may look at that photo and remember how hard you were laughing and how adorable you look. You never know until we try. And your favorite photos will probably be after you've had a nibble of that cheesy pose and are so relieved it's over. Sharing a good giggle about engagement sessions produces a LOT of really great photos. We'll ditch the cheese for the wedding day, but it's sure fun playing during the engagement session.
All my engagement sessions from the best locations list I provide are are hour long. That works for almost all my clients. Those that have a sentimental attachment to a different location (where you met, proposed, etc) will need to book a two hour session. This is for a couple of different reasons. Usually this means permissions, permits, or the location is further away from me and I need to book out the whole afternoon. Sometimes it just means it's a totally new-to-me location and it takes a bit more time to poke around to find the right light and find all the cool spots.
I was a full-time photojournalist long before I photographed weddings, and that background shapes everything I do. While I love creating artistic, one-of-a-kind artistic epic portraits, my real passion is candid, documentary wedding photography - the kind that captures real moments as they actually happen. You’ll hear this style called documentary, candid, editorial, true-to-life, storytelling or "authentic" (too trendy for my taste). What it really means is this: your wedding photos look like your wedding day. Real connection. Real laughter. Real people being themselves. The style recipe is easy; A lot of documentary wedding photography with a side helping of artistry and a couple of spoonfuls of whimsy on top.
If you'd like to see visual examples of the difference between the wedding photography styles "traditional", "photojournalistic" and "fine arts", I have a
blog post showcasing these different styles.
I work solo, blend into the background, and let moments unfold naturally. Couples often tell me I’m "everywhere - but so stealth we didn’t even realize we were being photographed" … great for camera shy couples. Here's a fun article about what it's like to work with me. I’m known as one of the best-rated, most affordable Michigan wedding photographers in the Metro Detroit, Michigan area. What isn't my wedding style? Chasing trends like "dark and moody", "light and airy", "boho" or "cinematic". I want you to be able to look at your photos forever and feel the feels, not notice the weird filters.
A week. Yes, all your edited, ready to use digital files are back to you within a week. I have an extremely quick turn around time to get your pictures to you.
♥ I’m not watching for perfect poses — I’m watching for the split-second looks you give each other in between them. That’s where the good stuff lives.
♥ Most of my couples start out thinking they’re awkward in photos. (Spoiler: they’re not.) They just haven’t been shown what actually works for them yet.
♥ I’ll guide you when you need it, but I’m not going to micromanage every second. If you feel over-directed, you stop looking like yourselves — and that defeats the whole point.
♥ Your photos are delivered within a week. Because waiting a month to see how great you look together? Hard pass.
♥ I’m not chasing trendy edits or filters. Your photos will look like you — just on your best day, in great light, with a little bit of magic.
♥ Also… I don’t worship golden hour. It’s pretty, sure. But great photos come from connection, not just orange light.
♥ If you’ve ever seen photos of you together and thought ‘that doesn’t feel like us’… that’s exactly what we’re fixing here.
× If you want to be completely directed or heavily posed photos, I’m probably not the right photographer for you. I want you to look like yourselves.
× Looking for trendy editing styles or dramatic filters? Sorry, that's just not my thing. My editing style reflects the true to life colors of the day.
× Want a big photo team surrounding you for the full, production-style experience? I like to cover a lot of ground (literally) and keep things moving to keep you entertained and fresh.
✓ Worried you'll feel awkward but you want to look amazing.
✓ You care more about real moments than perfect poses.
✓ You want guidance, but don't want to feel staged.
"Hi Marci! The photos turned out amazing! I'm so excited to show them off!
Thank you for being so great with us and working around the weather! I'm actually glad it happened this way!!" - Review from Christy
Not all of my wedding clients opt for engagement photo sessions (many don't live in Michigan, but commute back for their weddings), but when they do, it's a nice way to get to know each other and spend time learning some short cuts we can use on the wedding day. My engagement sessions last an hour and I can't remember the last time I had that much time with a couple alone on their wedding day. It's a luxury that almost never happens. I like that my clients get to see that we can collaborate with each other and when they get their photos back the next week, they can see what they think worked and what didn't. I personally really like working with a couple's natural body language of love. But sometimes it takes a while to adjust to PDA with someone documenting you while you're experimenting. I love that we both can learn together what seems and looks forced and how to instead make something that's more YOU. The learning curve is pretty steep and we can do poses in an engagement session that we just cannot do on a wedding day, but most importantly, let's let YOU see just how fantastic you really do look together!
Couples sometimes want to go to unique places that mean something special to them (often it's a first date location, or where they got engaged), but more often than not, we'll go to one of my favorite locations where I know I can get a huge variety of images and textures within the hour's session, where I know we're welcome to be (and don't need permits) and where you can get changed if need be.
Clearly from looking at this engagement slideshow of my metro Detroit couples, not all of them have the same goals, interests or comfort levels with PDA. Not all of my clients are excited about lounging in the water. Not all want formal shots. Not all kiss their dogs as passionately as their fiancees! Everybody is different and so are the photos. Some couples want to be coached and posed. Others want it to be a bit more spontaneous and more of a lifestyle photography session. Here's what they do have in common. All of the engagement session are photographed towards the end of the day at an outdoor location. You'll notice a lot of sunset type shots. Usually this is because couples end up in my last time slot of the day and also, sunsets are freaking romantic, right?!
If you've fine tooth combed this slideshow and are familiar with my wedding work, you might notice that my only same sex couples in the slideshow are actually my wedding clients. For some reason even though I do photograph a lot of same sex weddings, most of my LGBTQ+ clients do not opt to have engagement sessions done. I have done them before, but I think many of my LGBTQ+ clients really struggle with PDA in the very public areas that I typically use as backdrops. Society is changing, but perhaps a bit too slowly to totally feel comfortable rocking out your love in parks. If you do have a quieter, more private location you've found, let me know. I'm sure we can work something out. Meanwhile, come on world, get with the program. Love is love is love!
Most clients will be using their photos for save the dates or gifts for family members. Do you want the photos to be the same season as your wedding, or are you looking for a variety? I would strongly suggest NOT doing this in the winter as wet, red, drippy noses aren't as attractive as they sound. 40 degree weather is about my limit (and my clients). While it's great for cuddling, nobody wants to change clothes or even take off mittens and coats. So for comfort sake, I would suggest avoiding December-April.
Peak leaf season is from October 6th to about November 6th if we're lucky. Keep in mind that this is also peak wedding season, peek senior season and peak family season as well. So plan pretty far in advance! I only take portraits M-TH (you can surely guess what I'm doing on the weekends), so time slots do fill up quickly. Leaves typically show up and the grass turns green around May 6th. July and August are usually beastly hot, so this is when I try to schedule sessions in the water. Getting me out of the water is usually the most challenging part.
The locations on my list almost always have public restrooms around so if you'd like to change, you can. I choose locations for their variety of textures, great light, easy access and they are FREE! If you know of a place that meets all this criteria and is within a 20 minute of Troy, let me know. Public spaces are being closed right and left to photographers, so I'm always on the hunt for new great locations.
If you think you're awkward and feel super self conscious about getting your photo taken, you keep good company. Almost all of my clients are nervous and not sure what they'll actually look like. Most haven't been professionally photographed in a really long time and not together. There is a learning curve and we'll go through it together. It really does make the wedding day just that much easier.
Many of the photos in this slideshow were taken at the usual places I go to photograph my engagement sessions, but you'll see Belle Isle come up a couple of times here. They require a permit for photography on the island and they are a royal pain in the behind to get ahold of. If you do end up needing it to be Belle Isle, I do require that you book a two hour session and take care of getting the permits. They've made it unnecessarily challenging and it's very difficult to book back to back sessions. If they change their goofy policy, I will add it back into my list of favorite locations.
© Marci Curtis