FAQ

How are your portraiture sessions structured? What should I expect?

I try to promote a very relaxed, easy going portraiture session experience. It is very important for me that you feel at ease in front of the camera and with me because the photos I love taking the most are ones of you just being you! Usually the first 15-30 minutes of any given session are a lot more posed that the rest because I spend my time giving you pointers on what to do with the camera and offering you much deserved encouragement. Typically, after that “awkward” first quarter to half hour, everybody loosens up, grows comfortable with one another and generally just starts having a good time.

I also strongly encourage individuals getting their photos taken to bring an object that they can toy with — scarves, hats, jewelry, etc. all tend to get the job done. Just something that you can fidget with is generally a good thing. You’re also welcome to bring a friend along for emotional support, and I highly recommend doing so if you are a particularly shy individual. Bringing someone along who is extremely adept at bringing you out of your shell will help produce photos that your closest friends and family members will recognize as purely you.

I also strongly encourage my clients to get as involved in the creative process as they would like. I welcome all forms of ideas and brainstorms before and during our session. Generally, the ideas that you come up with are the ones that you get most excited about and therefore are the ones that turn out the best. This is why you’ll often hear me encouraging you during the session to choose a spot to take the photos at, because the backgrounds that you like the most, you’ll interact with the most. I am all about capturing your photos for you. But rest assured, I have plenty ideas of my own and will interject them as well! In general, though, it is best if we partner together to make the best possible collection of photos. :)

Can you explain how copyright releases work?

In general, a single copyright release is granted to a single household. So for example, let’s say you are a family of five and you order a family portraiture session. A single copyright release comes with this offering. It will be written out to the two parents and may only be used by individuals in that household, for that household. If grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. are interested in prints of photos from your session, you must direct them to the online proofing gallery. Of course, exceptions are made for gifts, however, please use your best judgment and remember that photos are my livelihood. I am happy to grant you access to print your photos at will as part of your session, but please bear in mind that by doing so, I limit my potential profits dramatically. So please be considerate and direct all other individuals interested in prints to the proofing gallery so that prints may be ordered through me.

Also note that when an individual leaves the home to which a copyright release was granted, they no longer have access to it. Take for example the senior portrait package, which, as you will notice, contains 2 copyright releases. This is because one is granted to the senior whose photos were taken, and the other to his/her parents. Copyright releases may not be passed from person to person or household to household unless very specific arrangements are made with me. Additional copyright releases are always available for purchase, however.

As a side note, before selling copyright releases to anyone but you, I will ask for your explicit permission that it is okay to do so.

Do you require a contract?

Yes. Every client must return a signed contract to me along with the deposit before the session is considered officially booked.

Can you explain your photo processing procedure?

I would be happy to! Many people tend to assume that in this digital age there is not that much work that goes into digital photography, but that assumption is flat out wrong. Here’s my general procedure:

  1. After the session, go through all the photos and select which ones will be edited. Usually takes about half the time that the session took.
  2. First round of processing: color. I tweak each of the selected images for contrast, color balance, tone, exposure and more. This usually takes anywhere from 3-7 minutes per image file.
  3. Second round of processing: black and white. I re-tweak each of the selected images for contrast, exposure and more. This usually takes anywhere from 2-3 minutes per image file.
  4. Third round of processing: sepia. I re-tweak each of the selected images for contrast, exposure and more. This usually takes anywhere from 1-2 minutes per image file.
  5. Next I convert all the images to high resolution, print quality JPGs which usually takes about 15 seconds per file.
  6. Then I make copies of all the images and convert them to low resolution, “facebook friendly” JPGs which usually takes about 15 seconds per file as well.
  7. Finally, I watermark each low-res image which takes about 1 minute per image file.

    8. So, for a two hour session that yields, say 100 image files, I spend anywhere from 13.5 to 23.5 hours. As you can see, it’s rather involved, and I take a lot of time making sure each image in all its forms are perfect.

    I don’t really need a copyright release, can I get a less expensive quote?

    While the copyright releases are bundled with the price tag generally, in some cases I am willing to negotiate a lower price without the copyright release. In these cases, normal discounts are not applicable at all. The two additional levels I am known to offer are:

    • Portraiture session with low-resolution, “facebook friendly” images for 75% of the sticker price.
    • Portraiture session with no files included for 65% of the sticker price.

    I will not go lower than that because of the invested time listed above. Remember — photos last a lifetime and really are worth paying for to get some truly wonderful ones!

    Note that these options are not available for the wedding photography packages listed.

    I don’t need x outfit changes, x locations, x people or x amount of time. Can I get a price reduction?

    Short answer? No. Those specifications are the maximum allowances for what the time and price will realistically allow, not a requirement. Those specs are only there so that a line may be drawn for when (in the cases of outfit changes, locations and people) to start charging additional fees, and in the case of the amount of time, when it is absolutely time to stop. Time is a little tricky and variable only because it depends entirely on the weather and how well you’re doing in front of the camera. It can be rather exhausting to be in front of the camera for long periods of time and I don’t want you to feel like you have to use all of your time, but also I want to make sure you have enough time allotted for if you are really easy going in front of the camera as well.

    Basically, those are boundary parameters, not negotiable ones.