An Engagement Photoshoot in the Jardin Public, Bordeaux

In this article, I would like to show you my work as a photographer through an engagement session in Bordeaux. So that you understand exactly what it involves, I will also explain the idea behind this kind of couple photoshoot.

What Is an Engagement Session?

Let’s get straight to the point. What exactly is an engagement session?

It is a couple photoshoot before the wedding.

Romantic, gentle and full of light, it is made up of posed moments and moments caught on the spot. The aim is to bring out the couple’s emotions.

Because the images from an engagement session are taken well before the big day, they can be used on a wedding announcement or on an invitation to the wedding cocktail hour.

Most of my couples prefer to get to know me through an engagement session about a year before their wedding. It is very common in wedding photography: it allows the bride and groom to build trust with their photographer, and it also helps them get used to the camera.

As a professional, it matters a great deal to me that my couples feel at ease in front of my lens, and with the way I lead the photoshoot.

An engagement session in Bordeaux itself is a rare request. Most couples would rather have their couple photos set against the ocean, Arcachon Bay or a forest in Gironde.

For their engagement session, Tamara and Nicolas chose the centre of Bordeaux and its Jardin Public, near the Place des Quinconces.

A Couple Photoshoot in the Jardin Public of Bordeaux

Wanting their engagement session to take place in Bordeaux, Tamara and Nicolas decided to borrow the scenery of the Jardin Public.

Just a five-minute walk from the Place des Quinconces and the Allées de Tourny, the Jardin Public is the central park of the people of Bordeaux.

For our photographs, we wandered all around the garden, to find backgrounds that were sometimes green and leafy, sometimes made of stone.

The Jardin Public is bordered by handsome old buildings in Bordeaux’s pale stone. At its heart are large lawns, listed and protected trees, and beautiful flower beds.

Not far from the garden’s second entrance, on Cours de Verdun, an artificial stream was built, home to ducks and geese. A small white footbridge leads to the central island and its children’s merry-go-round.

Meeting Tamara and Nicolas

Originally, this lovely Franco-Canadian couple had chosen me as the photographer for their wedding, planned for the summer of 2020. At the time, the health restrictions on travellers from abroad had not been lifted that summer.

Unfortunately, Tamara and Nicolas did not check with me before choosing the new date for their wedding, and by then I was already booked by Marie and Olivier at Château Gassies.

Nevertheless, I was delighted to take these beautiful engagement photos for them one year later, just two days before their wedding! The day before the wedding, I delivered the photos to them, so that they had every tool, in terms of photographic experience, to make the most beautiful couple photos with their new wedding photographer.

So here is a little piece of advice for everyone getting married who might face a postponement imposed by the authorities: talk to your suppliers, especially if you really want them to be there. As far as I am concerned, I would have been so happy to be by their side on the day!

I really appreciated the kindness and natural elegance of Tamara, who happily played along with the photos.

The Jardin Public suited this kind of session very well. We were also lucky to find very few people there, as the session took place in the morning.

Read also

• All my engagement sessions
• Engagement session gallery
• Marie and Olivier’s wedding at Château Gassies
• Château Gassies