 What To Expect
You should expect to set aside an hour for your session. Or 2 hours for babies up to 4 months. A portrait session can be a lot of fun if planned right. We want to focus on capturing you and your family being themselves, not stressing about what they're wearing or if they're smiling. We want you to have fun, laugh and play! Whatever it is that you will want to cherish as a memory or capture for your children to remember someday, we want to help you capture it.
Before your session
We will start with a pre-consultation sitting down together for about 30 minutes in our studio (phone and at home consultations are also sometimes possible depending on the circumstances). During your consultation we will plan where you want to display your portraits and based on the location we will choose colors that match the decor, a style that fits your tastes and guide you in what to wear and where to have your session. The best thing to do to get ready for this is to put thought into how you want to remember your child or family right now. This is also a great time to tell us about your family and the various personalities.
The day of your session
If family pictures are being taken, prepare Dad! Commonly, he'll expect to come and do a 15 minute “mall style” photo shoot and be done. Please explain that this is not at all what the session will be like. Our sessions are fun and not high pressure; however, they are much longer than the typical Picture People or Olan Mills mall sessions.
Our style of shooting is very relaxed and fun. We will be at your location of choice at the scheduled time. We’ll spend some time getting to know everyone and taking some warm up test images partly for us and mostly just to get everyone used to the camera. Then we will spend about an hour playing and interacting with your family while photographing them. Clothing changes are allowed, but they do count towards your time. Breaks may be taken for snacks and drinks as necessary.
After your session
Your proofs will be available to view in our studio approximately 1 week after your session. While we often photograph several hundred frames, we will edit those down to the very best before you come in. Most sessions yield approximately 40 images for you to choose from. In the studio we will guide you through the process of selecting your favorite images, picking how to display them and in what size. This appointment is usually a little over an hour long, but it's best to leave 2 hours just in case.
You should plan on making your purchase decisions during this viewing appointment and bring along all necessary parties. If possible it's best to leave your kids at home with a babysitter as they will probably get bored in our darkened viewing room and can be a big distraction. For investments over $500, all images ordered will be retouched and placed online in a gallery for your extended family to see and order from. All images that are unordered after 30 days, will be erased.
We want you to be in love with your images! We do not require a minimum print order. Portraits are an investment and meant to last many generations. Most people spend in the range of $750 to $1500 to furnish their homes with both desk and wall size portraits or albums. There is no limit on what you can purchase.
If you are not able to come to our studio we do offer an online ordering option. However it is highly discouraged as you will not be able to visualize many of our products without seeing them. In the studio we use special viewing software that allows you to see your images displayed to scale and in various frames and mattes. If you provide us with an image of your wall, we can even show you your portraits to scale on your own home wall! Online galleries are available with the following caveats: There is a minimum order of $500 required for online galleries. This amount is due at the time of the session and will be credited towards your order. The gallery will be up for one week only. If decisions are not made in that one week, there is a charge of $75 to put the gallery back up for an additional three days. Any images not ordered 30 days from the posting of the gallery will be deleted from our system. |
