Along with every wedding booking comes the question, "Where should we do our engagement photo shoot?" There are so many great places here in South Florida to take engagement pictures. Some people visit South Florida with beach photos in mind. Other recently engaged couples could care less about this beach. They imagine a beach photo shoot and think about getting windblown hair and sandy feet. For these non-beach goers there are alternative locations that are also very beautiful. One of my favorite locations for South Florida engagement photos is the Morikami in Delray Beach.
What I like most about the Morikami is that there are so many unique places to take photos. The Morikami features several waterfalls and a beautiful bridge with is great for taking beautiful picturesque engagement photos. During your Morikami engagement photo session couples have the option of taking their pictures around the main museum or taking the long walk around the lake. I have found that making the trip around the lake while taking photo usually takes about 1-1/2 to two hours. Along the walking trail newly engaged couples with find many different lake views from all different angles. There is also a bamboo forest and many different rock formations. In addition there is a Japanese tea house with a bonsai gallery. Since the Morikami closes at 5PM it's a good idea to get an early afternoon start.
If you are planning a South Florida wedding then the Morikami is a great place to consider for your wedding ceremony and reception. Tying the know in from the the Morikami's large lake always looks fantastic. Large weddings at the Morikami usually start in the evening with the photography starting at 3:00PM. When getting married at the Morikami you are often treated to a stunning sunset.
In addition to engagement shoots and weddings the Morikami in Delray Beach is also known for small weddings or elopements. I have photographed many small weddings and elopements at the Morikami as well. Usually the smaller events take place under a beautiful tree in the bonsai garden which is next to the tea house.
The value of doing an engagement photo shoot.
Over the years working as a South Florida wedding photographer, I have learned that doing an engagement shoot is the single best way to learn whether or not you chose the right photographer. I recently had to shoot a short after the wedding photoshoot because the bride and groom thought they hired the best photographer. Unfortunately once they received back their photos it became apparent that they made a mistake. They hired me to do a make up photoshoot and and also hired me to retouch the mistakes to other photographer made. Most of the errors from the other photographer are silly easy for me to fix mistakes. Pizza boxes sitting in the background, light stands in the photos, bad lighting. When looking over the other photographers work It's very apparent that the other photographer was also not skilled in getting the correct exposures. This is a problem because it's difficult to correct a badly exposed photo. If the image is underexposed by only one f-stop it could be fixed. However beyond 2 f-stops the image will start start to fall apart when you try to lighten the photo. By the term fall apart I mean the image will become noisy, sort of grainy, but without the acceptable look of film grain.
How can this happen?
When I looked over the other photographers website I wasn't surprised to see beautiful looking photo-journalistic images. The photographer captured some very attractive looking images that showed emotion, great locations and some very creative poses. Looking at the other photographers website it's easy to think, this person is very talented. It's too bad that while there website images look great the end result is a disappointed couple. Had the bride and groom did an engagement shoot they would have realized that they made a mistake.
If your are not located near Delray Beach or the Morikami is not your taste here are a few other places that are good for engagement shoots.
Vizcaya - Located in Miami, Vizcaya sits on a beautiful bay and is one of my favorite places in Miami for both weddings and engagement shoots.
Delray Oaks - Less popular but interesting.
The Bonnet House - Located in Broward County, actually Fort Lauderdale. I love this place. Lots if trees and a beautiful lake.
Wynwood Walls - Even of you are not looking for take engagement pictures, this is a really cool place to check out.
Worth Avenue, Palm Beach - This is the single most popular place in Palm Beach County for engagement shoots.
Prado Park - I love this place. It's a pain in the A for me to get here but I shot a small wedding and we started photos here. Awesome.
Hugh Taylor Birch Park. Very nice, I always enjoy this location.
The Bamboo Gallery - This is also a great garden setting location.
Secret Garden - I have not shot here often but it's beautiful.
The Ancient Spanish Monastery - Oh yea, this place rocks. I have shot several weddings here and I can tell you. there is no limit to the amount of photos that can be taken here!
Sundy House - Located in Delray Beach, this is one of the most beautiful gardens in the area. After or before your engagement shoot you can enjoy all that downtown Delray Beach has to offer. This place also had the best Sunday Brunch ever.
In closing, I hope you have found this article helpful. If you are planning a wedding, elopement, or need engagement pictures taken please call me at 561 737-5561
I would love to hear from you!!
Jeff