Welcome to our frequently asked questions page!

If you don’t find the answer to your question on this page, please use the contact tab and pop me an email. I’ll be happy to help!

 

1. HOW DO I BOOK A SESSION?

Appointments are first come, first serve. A 25% deposit is required to secure your date/time. 
Once your Contract is signed and deposit is paid, your appt. is secured. (Please note: The deposit is non-refundable, as appointments are held as per your request.)

There are two ways to book it: 1. Click the Book Now button and it will either take you to a scheduling platform or a contact form to fill out which will come to me once you click on Submit. 2. You can fill out the Contact form with your requested date and info and I will be in touch with you to work out the details and get you booked.

Once you set your appt, an email with your booking confirmation, payment link and contract document is then sent to you. Contract is required to be E-Signed and deposit is required to be paid within 24 hrs to secure your session. Once you are fully booked you will receive a link to your very own Client Portal that will contain your documents and receipts.

 

2. WHY DO I NEED TO BOOK IN ADVANCE?

Openings are by appointment only and based on my availability. The best way to secure YOUR date and time is to book it as soon as you know your date and time that works for you and I will check my availability and confirm it if available. If possible, have some alternate dates and/or times ready in case I am already booked for your first choice. Once we come to an agreement, contract and deposit are required to hold your session details. 

 

3. DO YOU TRAVEL?

Yes, I do! Please be aware that outside of 30 miles, a travel fee may apply.

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4. HOW DOES THE GALLERY WORK ?

All images from your session will be displayed on a gallery for you and will be edited according to the package you have secured. A link and password will be supplied to you via email or text. You then make your image selection. Your package will include an amount of images depending on your package, but if you fall in love with more images and are finding it hard to narrow down your selection, you can always purchase ‘Additional Images’. Family and friends can also place their own order via the gallery. The gallery allows for full size downloads which makes this a more convenient and faster process for you to get your images sooner. Options such as, additional editing, a keep sake flash drive, and ordering prints are available to you via my gallery site with the click of a button. 

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5. DO YOU OFFER ADVANCED EDITING?

Yes, I do! Because this will involve an extensive amount of post-processing time, there is an additional fee for those requests. Please make these requests during your selection process via selection in the gallery. But what is the difference between basic editing and advanced editing? See my section below which details this topic for you. :)​

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6. Am I able to purchase more digitals than my packages allows?

YES! The Package price is set for the amount of images included but you can always purchase more. Additional EDITED (if you require more edits) are $25ea, however, if you like the images as is on the gallery, additional as is images are only $15ea.

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6. WHAT IS THE TURN AROUND TIME?

On average, I will have your gallery ready within 2 weeks. Please note: This can be longer in the busier seasons which can take up to 6 weeks.

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7. CAN I EXPEDITE MY GALLERY? 

Yes, you definitely can! There is a $150 fee to receive your images within one week or less. Please let me know at the time of booking!

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8. WHAT IF IT RAINS?

If Mother Nature decides to throw us a curve ball, we will always reschedule your session to the next available date and time. Please note, this could include a sunrise session if all sunset times are full.

 

9. WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?

I have a whole page dedicated to this question. Please visit it for more information and guidance,

 

Preparation

 

1. How do I prepare for my photo shoot? What do I need to do?

Each of us has our own routine but when you're preparing for any kind of photo shoot you really do need to consider the details. Hair, nails, waxing, skin, to tan or not to tan, etc. These are our recommendations:

• Hair cut/color: this should be scheduled 10-14 days prior to your photo shoot. This gives your hair the time it needs to settle in to the new style and texture.

• Nails: Take advantage of the purpose for having your shoot ladies. Go hit up the salon for a mani-pedi. Your hands and nails will be in the pictures and you want them to be polished and looking gorgeous. We do recommend staying away from heavier tones in photographs but, you know what works best for you. Can't decide? Go with a clean polish. The buffing and shaping alone will help immensely.

• To tan or not to tan. Tanning bed or spray? This answer is not going to be popular with many but we do not endorse tanning prior to a photo shoot. I know many of you are looking for that sun kissed glow but with so many of the results, we find that fake or real, tanning does nothing but age you. And fake tans, girl, no one and I mean NO ONE wants that weird candy orange glow in their pictures.​ Also, skin may appear blotchy after tanning and/or may peel. The last thing we want you to worry about is your skin.

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2. BE WELL RESTED AND FED

Don't come on an empty stomach! I can't stress this enough! Especially if you are bringing children to the photo shoot. Also, bring snacks and your patience.....crying babies can be interesting in a shoot....not crying parents. :) (Don't forget to bring a bottle of water for the thirsty ones)

 

 

Some Important Suggestions

 

 

1. ASK DAD TO BE A CHEERFUL PARTICIPANT ;)

Sorry Dads.......Well, not all Dad's fit this mold, but if you or yours do....please, please be cheerful and participate. I know this is not usually a "Dad thing" and they dread "the family photo session", but please understand how important capturing your family is. These images will be a legacy to the children when they are grown one day. They will be cherished for years to come.

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2. BRING PROPS/ACTIVITY THAT YOUR FAMILY LIKES DOING TOGETHER AND YOU WOULD LIKE IN THE PHOTO SHOOT

This gives you something to do with your hands and feet, engages the little ones, and brings an authentic smile to your face. Whether it be games, sports, reading, eating a tasty treat.....whatever it is, having an activity for the whole family enhances the authenticity of the photos resulting in some beautiful photographs.

 

3. PLAN BATHROOM VISITS ACCORDINGLY

Bathrooms are not always readily available on some on-location shoots, particularly beach photo shoots. 

 

4. BE OK WITH GETTING SANDY

If a beach session is what you want, you will be sitting in the sand. It's ok! We come prepared with brushes and towels to dust you off with. Remember, just have fun!

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5. BE PREPARED FOR "UNSCRIPTED" STYLE OF PHOTOGRAPHY

My personal favorite! Not every picture needs to have everyone looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. If you are engaged as a family and loving on each other, your eyes will be on your family members and your smile with being natural. These are the photographs that you will cherish most because they show emotion and depict your family connection and your love.

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Basic editing vs advanced editing explained

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The terms ‘Basic’ and ‘Advanced’ in terms of editing are used quite often in the photography world, but can mean wildly different things. Some photographers even use them meaning the same thing, which can be very confusing to a couple getting married unless the photographer is specific about what they mean or unless you ask them to explain. So, in this post, I will explain what I mean by ‘Basic’ and what I mean by ‘Advanced’. After reading, you will have a better understanding of what the terms can mean (as I said, it can vary from photographer to photographer), so that you know what questions to ask to better understand what you will receive.

 

I edit every photo that I send to a client. To be specific, I correct for lighting/exposure and color temperature, crop the image if necessary, as well as adding my own ‘signature’ touches to the images. 

 

Editing a photo, as I use the term, can take as little as a few seconds or a few minutes, depending on the desired effect. It may not seem like a lot of time, but when spread out over 800 to 1000 photos, it means hours and hours of work.

 

My first step in the ‘Basic editing’ process is to cull the photos. This means I go through all of the pictures that were taken and determine which pictures will be delivered. While the percentage of photos I keep has increased over my years as a photographer, there are still the occasional shots that do not get delivered – someone stepped in front of my camera, everyone has their eyes closed, etc. etc – hey, sometimes things happen. If your photographer is not culling your images for you as part of editing then you will be left to sift through all of the pictures yourself. Also, if a photographer is not culling the images, it is probable they aren’t editing them either since one of the main reasons for culling images is so that you don’t waste time editing photos that will not be delivered.

 

When simple editing won’t do the trick, retouching begins. For me, basic retouching means up to 10 minutes of work on an image – removing blemishes, brightening teeth, smoothing skin, or even removing an unsightly wire…

 

I usually only get into ‘Advanced editing’ for a handful of images per wedding or upon request from a client. Personally, I charge an additional fee for this type of work. Why? Because this type of editing can take several hours of work to make sure you get perfect images. 

This type of editing can include all or some of the following:

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• Teeth whitening

• Removing stray hair on a face, shoulders, back

• Professional skin editing (blemishes removal, smoothening)

• Background enhancement (solid color replacement, extending)

• Weight reduction

• Small objects removing

• Pro correction

• Working on the details (in this case objects removing from the clothes)

• Liquify effect

• Stylization (following the client's style)

 

Every photographer’s definition of ‘Basic editing’ and ‘Advanced editing’ can mean different things. What is important is to be sure that you understand what your photographer will be delivering to you and what they mean. Hopefully, this post has given you a basis to start from in your discussion with your photographer. If you have any questions about this topic, please don't hesitate to call to discuss!

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