Engagement Photo Trends 2025: Unexpected, Casual, and Deeply Personal

For the most part, until recently, traditional engagement photos looked about the same: serene beaches or lush parks or manicured gardens. Yes, those classics are stunning but another personal experience now trades them in. Couples marrying in 2025 are trading out of this hyper filtered, impossibly stylized and formulaic approach for unexpected venues, often casual, that really do the story of how they are together more justice.

Photographer Clara Avery recently documented one such session at a local regional airfield. “They explained to me they met in flight lessons (he was her instructor) and wanted to do their formal session where they met,” she says. And it’s one piece of a larger move away from aesthetics-only sessions, toward sessions grounded in experience and emotion.

Photographer Kristina Lowell observes the emotional appeal behind the trend. “This year alone, I’ve shared oyster tastings with couples, toured meaningful neighborhoods around the city and spent the day on a family ranch. That’s not about lines, so much as memory.”

Photographer Malik Rios certainly thinks so. “One pair invited me to the groom’s mother’s lake cottage. They had taken dozens of vacations and romantic weekends there, and couldn’t think of a better place for photos. You could see the authenticity in every frame.”

The new crop of personalized engagement shoots is steeped in making a session meaningful. It’s not just a photo op — it’s a memory. The era of defaulting to iconic spots for the ’gram is over. Instead, couples are choosing locations that are meaningful to them.

 Moving From Picture-Perfect to Personally Perfect

Engagement photos were often taken in beautiful, public spaces like Central Park and monuments. But there is a change in approach. “We're watching couples forgo the big white wedding in exchange for a neighborhood café, a favorite dive bar, or a spot where they first kissed,” says Avery. “Beauty is about emotion, not just physical,” he said.

Rios says this trend is long overdue. “Typical parks can be impersonal. When you are shooting at a place where the couple shares history, it brings dimension and depth. It tells a story. One of my favorite ideas was from another photographer who referred to these as 'adventure shoots'— shoots that feel more like an actual experience.”

Casual Wardrobe, Realer Vibes

And this shifting trend isn’t only about geography. It’s transforming the way couples dress for the camera. Out with the fussy white midi dresses, gone the starched suits. Instead, people are dressing … well, what would you call the opposite of trying too hard?

“I recommend my clients don’t feel like they have to wear white,” says Rios. “You’re going to wear white 12 times over before your wedding day — why not wear something that represents who you truly are?”

Avery agrees. If you spend your life in jeans and sneakers, let’s make those fabulous ones — while we’re at it, let’s get real. Doing so will make you look more natural, and the pictures will feel more genuine.”

The photography style is changing, too. In the current market, Lowell observes a surge in demand for photos that are much more cinematic and emotional. “Couples want images that convey a feeling. It might involve using flash or wide-angle frames, or motion blur. The result is storytelling as alive and immersive.”

How to Find the Right Location for You

So, how do you find a nontraditional spot that is right for you? The answer is to consider the common routines and experiences. Do you take your dog for a walk in the park down the road, every weekend? Do you adore the snug little pub down the block? Do you have a cabin or vacation place that feels like your own?

“Hotel lobbies, old houses, neighborhood streets — whatever has emotional significance will do,” says Rios. “I’ve traveled out of state with couples who wanted something different at a special retreat. It’s all about meaning."

Lowell concurs: “There is no wrong choice. As long as you have a connection, your photographer will capture the essence of your relationship.”

In 2025, engagement photos are not so much about manufacturing a perfect scene, but rather about commemorating the journey of you as a couple. For, regardless of the scene before me, it is often the story behind the lens that really makes an image somehow unforgettable.