Want to Save Time? How Our Three Step Process And Delivery Can Help
Photography sessions are a priceless way to capture the beauty and special bond of your family. But who has the time?? Between work, parenting, and everyday life, finding the time to fit a photo session into your busy schedule is one thing, but what about finding time to pick your photographs?
After over 20 years as a Maternity and Family Photographer I have curated my photography process into three easy and efficient steps that are meant to save you time, help you feel prepared, ease your concerns and end up with prints hanging on your walls (that we deliver!).
The Steps:
1. The Discovery Process - 30 minutes
After you have a session date scheduled on my calendar, you sign up for your Discovery Process meeting which we do over Zoom. During this 30 minutes, we meet each other and I get to say hi to all the children and/or pets. I like to talk about what kind of maternity or family photos you’re looking for and I will show you examples of different types of photos we can take together. I can help you pick out your outfits for your session, and answer any questions you may have. I also give you a tour of the studio so you can see the space and the different lighting options.
The purpose of this meeting is to ensure we’re on the same page and have all of the fine details figured out BEFORE your session date. That way, when your session date does roll around we can go in and create the photos you have in your mind efficiently. We are both prepared and come ready to make great photos!
2. The Fine Art Photography Session - 2 hours
The fun part!
Maternity and Family Photography Sessions usually last 1.5-2 hours. We have free gated parking available behind our building right next to the backdoor where I will come down and greet you.
Both the studio and my camera are set up beforehand so that when you come in we can get started. For Maternity Photography Sessions, I do like to go over some of the cues you will hear me give, as well as go over how to see the light. I also like to do a quick standing yoga pose to get everyone grounded. Note this is not really possible if there are littles, but we can try.
For Family Photography Sessions, I design the session around the kids and how they are feeling. I find that morning sessions are best for younger kids, as they are awake and more alert during this time. To make sure they feel comfortable, I start with the entire immediate family and one of the parents holding the toddler or baby, then I can work through your goals for the session. For example, the entire family of four, each parent with the baby, each parent with the toddler, individuals of each child, both children together. If grandparents come, I ask that they come after this and then work them in as well.
Note, littles will usually give us about 45 minutes of photographs. I can tell when they are done as they start to look away from the camera.
3. The Artistic Consultation - 1.5 - 2 hours
Immediately after our photography session, we will schedule your Artistic Consultation, out about 2 to 3 weeks. The weekend before this date, I will send you a link to your image gallery with two folders, one with the selected 100 images, and one with my favorites. I ask that you look at the images three times.
First, look at them quickly starting with the main folder and add everything you like to your own favorites folder. The second time go through your favorites folder and eliminate images that no longer speak to you. The third time is when you slowly go through the images and see if you miss anything and want to re-add it back or want to cull further.
On the day of our Artistic Consultation, we will look at your favorites folder together. (Currently, we are conducting the Artistic Consultations using Zoom to look at your photos together.) If I think it is missing an important image, I may want to bring it back in for discussion. The Artistic Consultation is a highly educational and fun process where we talk about how to see your images, how to look at the light, composition and moment.
I am here to guide you towards creating the best final pieces for you and your home including sequencing, cropping, enhancing and framing. Many clients who I have worked with throughout the years now, can do their own selection with minimum assistance from me.
4. Bonus step: Delivery!!
Our new 4th step is delivery! As a thank you to our amazing clients who have stuck with us over this crazy past year we have started hand delivering your orders (Seattle only). And it’s one of our favorite parts! We love getting to see your face when we give you your final pieces!
You can see some of our favorite final delivery moments and the images here.