Your engagement photo shoot is a time to relax, have fun and enjoy this exciting pre-wedding time. Your engagement pictures mark the beginning of the very exciting process between your decision to formalise your union and the beginning of your lives as husband and wife. Here are a few fun ideas for a perfectly romantic photo shoot, which should still convey the personalities of both you and your partner, so that they are meaningful to the both of you, your friends and families:

Painting the Town Red

Visit the centre of town together and have fun, ignorant of the world around you. Take a bus and snuggle in the corner, visit the zoo, feed one another tasty treats from market vendors, graffiti messages to each other on the city walls (use paint that can come off), sit in a coffee shop and giggle or watch the sun set from a park bench. These all capture the loving vibe between you within a 'natural' environment. They can also be made to look very modern and progressive and present countless opportunity for fun backdrops and effects.

Caught in the Act

Make your photographs look as if they have been snapped by pesky paparazzi as you and your partner try to escape them. These should also include sneaky shots that were taken without your knowledge; e.g. walking hand-in-hand out of a club, stealing kisses from one another in a car or sneaking behind a tree for a laugh. This is ideal for fashion-conscious couples that feature in the social world of the town in which they live, as it oozes a kind of "Beckham couple" appeal.

Driving Nowhere Slowly

Hire or borrow an old Volkswagen Minibus and use it as a prop for every photograph. Lie on the roof sunbathing, sit and chat in the front seat, have a picnic with the bus in the background, cram it with friends, kids or dogs, snooze in the back area or work on the car together.

Get Your Adrenalin Pumping

If you are a couple that enjoys sports or outdoor activities, use this in your engagement photo shoot. Play tennis or golf, go for a hike, river rafting or even bungee jumping together and give your photographer free licence to implement his innovation and imagination in using these situations to create something really special for the two of you. While cycling in full spandex gear may not seem to be the most romantic scene, it certainly changes when she sits on the handle bars while he pedals.

Can You Stand the Heat?

Make a day of cooking or baking in the kitchen. There are so many opportunities to flip pancakes together, cover one another with icing sugar, feed one other chocolate sauce or sprinkle vermicelli over yourselves as you kiss in a shower of colourful 'rain'.

Feature First

Use one fun item to be a feature in every picture. This will have people searching for it and will introduce a definitely element of fun and frivolity to the occasion. This could be a garden gnome, a pair of yellow stilettos, a white umbrella, a green balloon or a blow-up penguin. This works for zany couples that are known for their crazy, humorous side.