Planning for your Photo Session
A Guide for What to Expect, and How to Plan for the Best Session!
Your Timeline
Before You Book
Welcome!
First we chat—phone, text, email all work for me.
Next we schedule! We’ll balance what fits your schedule best as well as what you envision for your session.
Last, you’ll receive an email with your scheduled session, my contract, and invoice for your retainer (typically just $50!).
Everything can be completed easily online!
For more complex ideas, I’m happy to schedule a coffee meet to discuss in depth.
During Your Session
Take a deep breath.
Having your photo made evokes all kinds of reactions. We can get nervous, grumpy, overexcited, or just plain over it. And it’s all okay!
No session feels perfect.
But trust me. We are going to roll with the punches, and have a good time doing it.
With 10+ years experience, I’ve got poses and prompts to put your family at ease and allow you to enjoy the moment fully.
After Your Session
Let me know if you want a sneak peek—I’ll place one up on social media and tag you as I work on the rest of your images.
Between 2 and 14 days from your session, your gallery will be ready! This timeline just depends on how busy the season is.
You can choose your images and download right away!
I always offer a hand-selected variety of prints and product, which is produced by Miller’s Lab, a professional lab based in KS and MO! Turn-around on product is typically as quick as 24-48 hours!
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Turn-Around Time
Galleries can be returned to you as soon as 48 hours from session, but during busy seasons, can sometimes take 2-3 weeks.
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Per Gallery
Galleries include 25-50 images for a one hour session, and about 30-80 for longer sessions, so you choose your favorites for your Collection.
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Arrival Time for Prints
Prints and product are made through Miller’s Lab, located right here in KS & MO, and shipped overnight! You can have your prints in hand in as little as 24 hours. *Delays can occur. Be sure to ask.
Getting Ready
What to Wear?
Your clothes should be comfortable, fit well, and wrinkle-resistant. Wearing the correct undergarments will also help eliminate underwear lines, or see through issues, all which require extra editing. Neutral colors are recommended, unless you’re going for a particular look (in which case, let me know so we can plan!). For more on the subject, check out my detailed blog post here! Or check out my Pinterest Board for visual ideas!
Make-Up
Wear make up that matches your skin tone as closely as possible and set with a powder to reduce shine or an oily appearance, which can show up sometimes with flash photography. For the same reason, be careful with applying sunblock, shimmer, glitter, and other reflective make up. Try out new looks/techniques several times before the session, and don’t be afraid to take it up a notch!
What to Expect
Fun! We always start out with a posed shot or two—it’s what we’re used to so we just try to jump right in and get over those nerves. Once it feels familiar again, I start to add in different ‘prompts’—suggestions to get you interacting with your family or spouse and soon, you’ll be laughing, and getting great, sincere images that you’ll come to cherish for the rest of your life!
When to Arrive
I arrive to every session about 20-30 minutes early in order to have my gear out and ready when you arrive. In order to help us get started on time, it’s great if you can be there about 10-15 minutes early—this gives everyone time to fix clothing and make up, change a diaper, get a drink or use the restroom, or to just take a big deep breath and let go of the stress of getting (what feels like) a million small people dressed in difficult clothing. lol Oh I know, I’ve been there too!
Keep in Mind
It will not be perfect.
Your kids may be upset, bored, or wound up like a spinning top. You may just not be feeling it today. And that is okay!
It takes just 1/2000th of a second to snap a photo. And those moments where you’re kissing away tears can be just as special as the big grin that comes after.
What about the weather?
The majority of my sessions are outdoors, and with Kansas weather, the forecast can sometimes throw curve balls! That’s okay. I am happy to change location, or dates. I do try to leave extra days open for reschedules, so as long as you can be flexible, so can I. If you are hoping for a particular session type (like a sunset session) be sure to let me know so I know that we need to move dates should clouds or rain move in.
Common Misconceptions.
“Can you just Photoshop it?”
Yes—and no. I do edit every single photo, but I try to get it perfect in camera in order to make your gallery turn around time as fast as possible!
That means when you have a blemish or your toddler bumps his forehead that morning—I can fix it! But fixing hair, zippers, bra straps and more can add considerable time to the editing process—and make it longer till your images are in your hands!
So before every session, we take a few minutes to fix clothing, hair, and make up, as well as remove hats, sunglasses, and items from pockets. This simple step in the moment can save hours of editing later!
Extensive editing can be requested but anything above and beyond typical requests can be subject to an additional fee.
“Can’t you shoot any time of day?”
I do! But one important thing to note—is that if you want a particular look or aesthetic for your session, we need to plan on the proper time of day and setting to achieve it.
Some times of day—like Noon—can result in harsher shadows and difficulty with squinting, especially among kiddos, whose young eyes are more sensitive to the sun. While other times—like sunrise and sunset—can cast a beautiful golden glow on your image, and still other times, like late afternoon or cloudy days result in a great, easy to work with, soft light.
I can and do work with all lighting scenarios and often use off-camera flash to balance or add drama to my images, but some scenarios can be very difficult and should be planned for. To learn more about what time of day to choose, check out my more detailed blog post here.
“You just edit with a ‘filter’ right? Shouldn’t we get our images back super quick?”
Photographers today often do use or create presets in order to give their work a similar look and feel. However, these aren’t like Insta filters with a one-click and done effect.
While I may use a preset to get the general feel I want—it still takes many changes to get the image just right. Additionally, I spend time doing some skin and hair retouching, removing any background distractions, correcting or removing issues (like a forgotten cell phone in the pocket).
Each image can take between 2-15 minutes each, which adds up quickly when dealing with a whole gallery. Some more complex work can take much longer per image. During busy season, this can affect everyone’s timeline to receive their galleries. So patience is key! I will update you as I begin work and as I make progress!
