This past February Claire Kerbs and I spent an afternoon doing a ferry photo session with our friends and the sweetest couple around, Keola and Matty. We ended up shooting for about 5 hours. During this time we took the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island, walked from the ferry terminal to Pegasus Coffee where we got drinks, took the ferry back to Seattle, and finished at Pike Place Market where we took more photos and enjoyed Hom Bow from the iconic Mee Sum Pastry.

This ended up being one of my favorite photo sessions ever, largely because it just felt like an afternoon of hanging out doing fun things together! That’s my number one tip for couples planning their engagement session, especially those who want a more cinematic documentary look to their photos: make a date out of it. When your time is based around activities like sightseeing on the ferry, going on a coffee date, eating pastries on a door stoop, etc. you’ll be less focused on photos and more focused on enjoying each other’s company.

I think that a ferry ride and cozy coffee shop date is the perfect combination for an overcast winter day in Washington but there are so many things you could do to turn your photo session into a date!

Here are a few ideas

Recreate your first date
Plan a picnic
Go for a bike ride together
Visit a museum or aquarium
Go on a date to you favorite coffee shop, bar, or brewery
Read books together
Visit an observatory
Make dinner together
Go rollerskating or skateboarding
Plan an art date (painting, pottery, etc.)
Cruise around in your car (especially fun if you have a special vehicle)
Go swimming in a lake (or visit a hot spring in the Winter)
Get ice cream
Visit an arcade
Go someplace you’ve always wanted to visit and sightsee
Book a flight over your city
Have a bonfire
Rent a sailboat
Go rock climbing
Go for a ride on the ferry
Stay out late and stargaze
Go to an amusement park
Backyard movie night
Go bowling

The options are truly endless. The most important thing is that your session date sounds fun and is something you would normally like to do as a couple!