Awkward body positions should be something that is avoided during engagement photo shoots. Photo Courtesy of Guidepost.

Whether you’re planning on getting engaged soon or you’re already engaged, chances are you’ve probably thought about engagement photos.

There are some things in life that people say have no right or wrong way to do them. Engagement photos are not one of those things.

There are wrong ways to do them. And by wrong, I mean so embarrassingly awful it ends up on the Internet for people to laugh at you over.

After it was brought up over the water cooler by a coworker of mine today, I realized there are some general guidelines one must follow when it comes to the sacred art of engagement photography.

1) Do not copy movies. You’re your own people. Why mimic something weird like an upside down Spiderman kiss or dress up like someone who isn’t you? That’s just silly.

2) Don’t do awkward body positions. You’re a young couple in love. Not human contortionists. And even if you are, that comes AFTER the wedding. Not for your save-the-dates.

3) Don’t try to be too sexy. Kinda follows along the lines of the awkward positions bit. Stay away from outfits that are too revealing or photo shoots that require you to be completely drenched in water. Grandma won’t appreciate it.

4) Don’t look like you hate each other. Sure, some photos are funny when it’s obvious you all are just pretending. But for the actual portraits it may be nice to actually be cuddled up. Looking awkwardly at the camera with enough space between the two of you for an elephant to walk by does not scream “COME TO OUR WEDDING!” It’s more of like “Looks like they’re forced to get married for citizenship papers.”

You may think these tips are completely wacky, but trust me when I say you’ll thank me one day. Don’t believe me? Check out this site of awkward engagement photos. A lot of these people would have been saved if they just followed my advice a little sooner.