Frequently Asked Questions

How far in advance do I need to book my portrait session?

It all depends on our schedules. Sometimes I can make accommodations to fit people in within a few days notice, other times it can take up to three months.

Where can I have my session?

Anywhere you like! We can photograph at your house, at a playground or park, at town square, up Cache Creek, up in Grand Teton National Park or wherever you think would be a good match for the look and feel you would like to have in your pictures. Feel free to call or email me and we can brainstorm about potential locations.

With my children’s sessions, I find it works well if we start photographing inside at your house where your child is the most at ease, and then head outside to a place nearby where there are nice views or fun backgrounds that we can utilize (cool buildings, a nice forest, an old fence...)

What time of day is best?

I am a huge fan of natural light and love to photograph outside as much as possible. The best times of day to photograph outside are generally in the mornings and evenings. The light in the morning tends to be a little crisper, while afternoons and early evenings can have a warmer, more relaxed feel.

But the most important factor to keep in mind, is that we want to choose a time when your family will be at their best (ie when they will be well rested and sufficiently fed :-)

For my children’s sessions, we go with whatever time of day the little ones tend to be their happiest and try to work around their regular napping and eating schedules.

One thing to note though, if you are set on having the Tetons in the background, it works best to schedule a shoot in the afternoon or evening when the mountains are backlit. In the morning since the range is East facing you would have to be looking directly into the sun in order to have the mountains behind you which is a.) uncomfortable for you all and b). not flattering light as it creates harsh shadows on your faces.

What should we wear?

I suggest wearing simple, textured apparel that reflects your personality. For example: jeans, layered hand knits, corduroy, and wraps with a loose weave. Choose clothes that are flattering to your figure. Avoid clothes with logos or high-contrast patterns or stripes. It is most important that you will be comfortable and that everyone coordinates with what the rest of the family has on. It doesn’t have to be too matchy-matchy, clothing all in the same color family or style work great (or a couple of color families often work well too.) One of my favorite ways to coordinate is to have one person wear a nice dress or shirt with a pattern on it and then have the other family members wear clothes that are different colors from the pattern (just try to avoid patterns of thin stripes, tiny polka-dots or other small patterning can cause nasty moiré in photographs.)

Try to choose colors that work well with your skin tones. Shades of natural colors, including sky blue, rich browns, and olive greens work well, as do navies, whites, and grays. In summer, pastel colors can be really nice. In black and white images, medium-dark tones like denim blue, sage green, grey and brown work best. Bright, poppy colors can be really fun too as long as they work well with your complexion. Try to think about what colors will help you stand out from the background of the photos... ie in June, when everything is lush and green if we are going to go for a natural landscape in the background, I would suggest skipping the sage green sweater. In winter, when everything is white and snowy, you will disappear in the white one-piece, but a bright sweater will add nice color and really stand out (in a good way!) Just try to avoid bright colors near your face (specifically stay away from bright red, greens, or hot pink) as they can create unflattering color casts especially on a bright sunny day.

A lot of people ask about the classic all white or all black look. Either are fine if that is what you are looking for, but just remember that black clothing has a very dramatic look, and white doesn’t offer a lot of definition and can get dirty really fast with little ones... On the other hand, a benefit to having some white in your outfits is that white acts as a natural reflector and is good because when light bounces off of it, the light does not have a color cast like it can with other strong colors.

Natural day makeup looks best for shoots outside and color images in general. For black and white images, makeup that you would wear going out for the evening is best. Even for those who don’t wear makeup, you might want to consider wearing a little lipstick or mascara for definition. Wear bare or light colored nail polish if you are going to wear nail polish; unless you know that you are not going to be wanting any up close black and white images. In black & white photographs red nails will look black.

What about the wind?

I'm so glad you asked! Just kidding, no one usually asks about the wind, but it can be really windy here--especially in the afternoons/evenings when we are often shooting. Please consider wearing your hair up or back if you are not 100% set on wearing it down. It will make the shoot far more enjoyable if you are not wrestling with trying to get your hair down the whole time and you will get far more (and better!) photographs if there are not hairs flying in everyones' faces.

How long until we get to see our images?

Usually it takes about a month for me to process and edit the images from a shoot.

Where will I be able to see my images?

Once I have edited your images, I will upload a gallery to my proofing site and send you an email with the link and instructions on how to order. Galleries remain online for 6 months and can be passed along to friends and family or whomever else you would like to share your images with.

How do I order?

You can place your order for prints and other products (albums and Fine Art prints are two of my favorite options!) right from your proofing gallery.

Do you have a minimum purchase requirement?

I cringe at the thought of people investing in a session and then having all the digital files only to end up doing nothing with them (or take them to a crappy/discount kiosk or online store to make low quality products with them!) We are all so busy these days and despite our best intentions ("I'm going to make my own album of our session!" or "I will order a bunch of prints for our house later when I have time to really sort through them all." etc. etc.) often times we never get around to doing the things we think we are going to, or would like to do. I want you to have beautiful, professional tangible photographs that you will be able to enjoy even when you are not connected to one of your many devices. I want you to walk by them everyday in your hallway or turn over and see them on your bedside table when you wake up in the morning. I do not want them to just live on your hard drive or computer! That is why I strongly encourage you to invest in a least some tangible professional prints and/or products from your shoot. Additionally, it is important to me that you know, that even if you start with the best professionally edited files and make your own prints, canvases etc., you more often than not will receive products of inferior quality. Trust me, much more goes into the making of an heirloom quality product. For this reason, I encourage you to order through me the photographs you plan to have prominently displayed in your home. This way, you also benefit from additional retouching I do on any images you order as prints or other products, including all the images that go into my albums if you choose to purchase one. If you just want to make 4x6 prints of an image to put in with your holiday card, or something like that, by all means print those yourself using the image files provided.

How long does it take to get my order?

It depends on when I receive your order and when my next print order is scheduled for, but generally turnaround time is within a few weeks. Let me know if you have any hard deadlines you are trying to work with!

How do I get my order?

You can either pick your order up in person or I can drop it in the mail, whichever is easiest for you.

Who retains the copyright to the images?

I retain the copyright to all of my images. However, you will be able to download the complete set of digital files directly from your gallery and you will be granted a license to reproduce the images for your personal use if you need one. You are not permitted to enter the pictures into any competitions, or to sell them onto third parties such as stock libraries.

Anything else I should bring?

A fun prop! Or two! A wagon, a cute hat, a big lollypop, a funky chair, a pet or anything else you can think of... And snacks and drinks for refueling, wipes for keeping everyone clean, and if you are at the potty training stage, then a change of clothes is always a good idea.

One last note :

Please make sure if you are bringing anything extra that you have it in a backpack or bag that either I can carry for you, or that we can easily stash nearby during the shoot as we are often shooting while we are walking to different spots etc. and I would prefer if you were lugging a bunch of stuff in the photos!