How should I prepare my home for our in-home session? To help you feel supported in preparing for in-home sessions, I have created an In-Home Session Prep Guide with ten tips to help you prepare your home and your family for in-home sessions. I will email you the guide after you book your session.
How long will my shoot take? Family photo sessions take approximately 90 minutes from the time we meet to the time we finish shooting. If possible, please allot 2 hours for the shoot, though we will likely finish earlier.
Should I wear makeup (parents)? It’s best for you to wear the same amount of makeup that you would wear on any given day, and to bring your usual makeup for touch-ups. Also, it's great for everyone in the family to bring (and wear in advance) Chapstick or lip gloss so that lips are not chapped in the photos.
When do I pay the session fee? When we have set a date for your shoot, I will send you a link requesting that you pay the $300 session fee required to secure your session date and time. You can pay for the session fee with a credit card or Venmo. At the same time, I will send you a link to sign my standard client agreement. Both the session fee and signed agreement are required to book. There is a $200 rebooking fee for sessions that are rescheduled within less than 24 hours notice. For sessions cancelled within 24 hours, the $300 session fee is nonrefundable.
What if I need to cancel my shoot? You may reschedule a session once without charge as long as it is no less than seven days before the shoot. In this case, your session fee will be transferred towards the new session date. If you reschedule a second time, your session fee will not be refunded, and you will need to pay a new session fee if you would still like to shoot.
When do I choose and pay for Collection 1 or Collection 2? When I send you your proof gallery within 2-4 weeks of your session, you will then decide whether you would like to purchase Collection 1 ($595) or Collection 2 ($795). The payment for your Collection is due within 3 days (72 hours) of receiving your gallery. If you purchase Collection 1, you must select your 25 images within 7 days. I will then apply final edits to the 25 proofs you select (Collection 1) or to the full gallery (Collection 2).
If I purchase Collection 1, do I have to choose from the color edited version and black and white version of the 25 files I am selecting? Yes. If you purchase Collection 1, you select a total of 25 files. This can be either 25 color files, 25 black and white files, or a combination of the two. Many clients who purchase Collection 1 select approximately 15-20 color files and 5-10 black and white files for their final gallery.
If I purchase Collection 2, how do I select the 10 5x7 prints included in the Collection? I will provide instructions to you via email. You can select 10 different images, or, you can decide to print 10 copies of the same favorite image - perhaps you would like one for your home, one for your office, and the rest for gifts for family, for example.
What edits do you make? For your proof gallery, edits include color toning, cropping, and may include head swaps if I think that a composite of two images would be preferable. After you decide on the Collection you would like, I may make additional edits, including, for example, removing stray hairs on faces, removing lint, removing distractions in the background of an image (like, for example, a parking sign), and light skin retouching (ex. removing a pimple). Edits do NOT include (but may be requested for an additional fee), body shaping and removing tan lines, for example.
When will I receive my final gallery? Within one week of your selecting your Collection, I will send you your final gallery. All files can be downloaded in both a high-resolution JPG file version (best for printing) and low-resolution JPG file version (best for sharing on social media and emailing). The timeline is as follows: Within 2-4 weeks of your session date, I send you your proof gallery -> Within 1 Week after I send your proof gallery, you make your final selections -> Within 1 Week of your making your final selections, I send you your final gallery of 25 edited images for you to download via a Shootproof.com link. Your gallery will then be live for 30 days, during which time you can download your files and purchase prints and products, if you wish. Please make sure to save and back up your images. I cannot guarantee that I will have your files after three months.
Will my session be cancelled for bad weather? In the event of inclement weather, the session may need to be postponed. When this happens, you and I will work together to determine a new date for the shoot.
What if my child doesn’t smile? During every session, I take a mix of smiling and non-smiling photographs. While I do all I can to make your child smile (including wearing head boppers, making funny voices, or anything else that is age-appropriate!), your child might just prefer to be more serious during our session. Rest assured, this can lead to deep, introspective expressions that are beautiful too.
Do you recommend that I print my photos? Yes! Digital files are useful for sharing images online, but they are not permanent. The quality of digital files changes over time, and they may get corrupted or hard to access (remember when digital files were on floppy disks!?). Printing images not only ensures that your legacy will be preserved for generations to come, but it allows you to enjoy the photos every day as you see them on your wall or framed on your nightstand. Even if you decide to print images and only enjoy them for a few years before replacing them with new images, the few years that you enjoyed them will be well worth it.
