Proposal Photography Checklist: What to Send, Carry and Do on the Day

The briefing pack is the one that saves the most trouble. A photographer who has everything in one message can scout, plan the angle and prepare a fallback without chasing you for details, and without any risk of a message landing on a shared tablet at the wrong moment.

Send it in one message, from a device your partner does not see.

1. A recent photo of each of you, full length if possible. The photographer has to pick you out of a crowd at a distance, often from behind.
2. What you will both be wearing, at least the colours. Tell the photographer if you are not sure what your partner will choose; they will look for you by your outfit instead.
3. The exact spot and a second spot nearby, as map pins, with a screenshot if you have one. "The lakefront" is not a spot; "the second bench east of the pier" is.
4. Your arrival: which train, boat or lift, and roughly when you expect to reach the spot. Say how firm that time is.
5. The signal: one ordinary action, agreed in advance, such as taking your partner’s hand at the railing. Agree one back-up signal as well.
6. How you will stand: which of you will face the view, and on which side you plan to kneel, if you kneel at all. See list four for why this matters.
7. What your partner does not know, so the photographer can avoid giving it away: whether it is a surprise, whether they suspect, whether a stranger with a camera would catch their eye.
8. Anyone else involved, such as family hiding nearby or a friend filming on a phone, so the photographer can keep them out of the frame or deliberately include them.
9. Your phone number and the messaging app you use, and a quick word on how you want to be contacted on the day. Many people save the photographer under a neutral name.
10. Anything that limits movement: a knee you would rather not kneel on, a fear of heights, a long dress or a child in a carrier.
11. Language: which language your partner speaks, if the photographer will talk to them after the yes.
12. Anything you do not want photographed, and any preference about images being shared publicly. Usage terms are set out in your proposal; tell the photographer early if privacy matters to you.

None of this has to be perfect. Missing details are exactly what the briefing call is for.

A proposal photographer covers the moment as a continuous sequence; they do not need a shot list to do that. What helps is telling them which of the photographs around the moment matter most to you, so they plan the time after the yes accordingly.

The moment itself (covered by default):

• the approach, before your partner knows anything;
• the kneel or the question, with the landscape readable behind you;
• the reaction, which is often stronger a few seconds after the question than during it;
• the ring going on;
• the first embrace.

Worth asking for specifically:

• a wide frame that shows where you were, with the view as large as the two of you;
• a close-up of the ring on the hand, in natural light, before you leave the spot;
• a few frames of the two of you simply walking away together;
• a portrait with anyone who was secretly present, if family or friends joined;
• a second setting nearby for the portraits, if your package allows time for it.

Worth telling them you do not want: anything that feels posed to you. If you would rather have candid frames than directed portraits, say so; the photographer adjusts how much they guide you.

Two days before, confirm with your photographer:

• the date and your arrival time at the spot, and that you will not meet before the question;
• the forecast and, for a mountain, what the webcams will be checked for on the morning;
• the fallback spot and the fallback time, and who decides, by when, if the weather turns;
• the last lift, train or boat back, if your spot depends on one;
• that both of you have each other’s current number.

The day before, check yourself:

• the tickets are bought, or you know exactly where to buy them without your partner noticing;
• your cover story still holds, including why you need to be at that spot at that time;
• a dinner or plan after the proposal is booked for after the light, not before it.

In your pockets on the day:

• the ring, in a soft pouch in an inside jacket pocket rather than a hard box in a trouser pocket, which shows in every photograph;
• your phone, charged, with notifications from the photographer silenced or hidden;
• a warm layer if the spot is on a mountain or a boat;
• tissues;
• any transport ticket or pass you will need to get there.

If you want the ring in a box for the photographs, carry a slim box and practise opening it one-handed, with the ring facing your partner.

This is the part most people have never thought about, and the one that decides whether you get the photograph you imagine.

• Look for the message that says the photographer is in position, then put your phone away. From now on you do not look for them.
• Walk to the exact spot you agreed. Not ten metres short because a bench looks nice; the photographer has planned the angle for the pin.
• Turn your partner towards the photographer, not away. The picture people remember is your partner’s face as they understand what is happening. Most spots are planned so your partner faces roughly towards the camera or side-on, often while looking at the view, and you have your back or shoulder to it. If someone is standing in the way, move a step rather than turning around.
• Kneel on the side away from the camera, if you kneel, so your body does not hide your partner. The photographer will have told you which side that is.
• Open the box towards your partner, holding it low enough that it does not cover their face.
• Slow down. Pause before you speak, and stay kneeling a moment longer than feels natural. The photographer needs a second or two of stillness to make the sharpest frame.
• Give the signal and then forget it. If you forget it altogether, the photographer keeps shooting the scene and picks up the sequence as soon as it happens.

If someone walks into your spot just before you arrive, use the second spot you agreed; the photographer will follow.

Agree three short messages in advance so you can send them with one thumb, without explaining anything in front of your partner:

• "Running late", with the number of minutes, if a train or lift is delayed;
• "Second spot", if you are going to the fallback;
• "Not today", if the moment does not feel right or the weather has closed in.

The last one matters. A proposal that is postponed because your partner is tired, cold or upset is not a failure, and the photographer would much rather reschedule than photograph a moment you do not want. How rescheduling works, and whether it costs anything, is stated in your proposal before you book.

The photographer keeps shooting for a minute or two, then comes over and introduces themselves. From there the session becomes relaxed portraits.

• Let your partner react before anything else. No phones, no calls home in the first minutes; the photographs of those minutes are the ones you will keep.
• Tell your partner who the photographer is and that the photographs are for the two of you. Knowing the camera was part of your plan usually makes the next half hour feel easier.
• Put the ring on before the portraits, and ask for the close-up while you are still at the spot.
• Walk to the second setting if one is planned, or simply let the photographer lead you through the next half hour.
• Call family afterwards, and consider holding off on public posts until the people who matter have heard it from you.

If you booked photo and video, say in the briefing whether you would like the call home filmed as well.

The edited photographs arrive in a private online gallery; the delivery time is agreed in advance and stated in your proposal. A few things to check when it arrives:

• download the full-resolution files and keep a second copy;
• read the usage terms in your proposal before printing commercially or using an image for anything other than personal sharing;
• if you want a sneak peek for your families, ask the photographer whether they can send a few images first.

When you are ready to plan, send a free availability request with your dates and the place you have in mind. Proposal photography starts from CHF 650 for about an hour, from CHF 650 in the mountains, and with video from CHF 850; pricing lists what moves the figure. For locations and the rest of the service, see our proposal photography hub and the page on proposal photography.