Client Lounge

Welcome!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for choosing me to photograph your memories. I know how valuable your time and investment are and I do not take this privilege lightly.

In order to be as prepared as possible for your upcoming session, please take a look at all the info below. If you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email or your client portal. I can’t wait to work with you!

Preparing for your session.

I am so excited to work with you. I truly believe that capturing our memories is incredibly important, especially as time goes by. My goal is to give you beautiful art that will capture you and your loved ones, exactly as you are, at this time in your life. Please read the below tips to help you best prepare for our session.

LOCATION: Your session will take place at a location of your choice. We will work together to select a location that works best for your family. I have several favorite outdoor locations in the WNY area and am happy to help you choose. I choose these locations based on several factors including light, available space, and the surrounding environment. For these reasons, I do highly recommend using a location I am familiar with. However, I am always happy to be flexible and if you have somewhere in mind, we can work with that!

Check out my blog post HERE for some of my favorite locations.

TIME: For outdoor sessions, I highly recommend starting approximately 60-90 minutes prior to sunset for the best outdoor light.

I do understand how tricky it can be to accommodate everyone’s schedules, so for extended family sessions, I can be flexible on times. Please understand that if outdoor sessions are done earlier in the day, the lighting will be different than the golden hour light you may see in my portfolio images.

WHAT TO WEAR: Time for one of the most important questions - wardrobe selection! I know this is a worry that many families have. Here are my best recommendations based on years of experience!

  • Be comfortable. My number 1 recommendation. If you’re not comfortable, it will show in the photos and you’ll be worried about adjusting your clothes the entire time. We don’t want this, we just want you to enjoy being with your family. Comfort is key for both adults and kids!

  • Be Yourself. Now isn’t the time to make a wild fashion change. You want your photos to reflect you and your family.

  • Choose coordinating colors, not matching. If you Google "color schemes for family photos”, you’ll find a bunch of suggestions to get some ideas. I am always happy to help too!

  • Choose colors that reflect your aesthetic. The hope is for some of these photos to be displayed in your home - so think about what may look good hanging on your walls or displayed on your tables!

  • AVOID: Clothing with large logos or letters, bright/florescent colors (these can create unflattering color casts on skin), anything with tiny checkered or lined patterns as these create a weird, wavy effect in photos.

  • Don’t forget to think about your shoes!

  • Check out my BLOG POST for more info on what to wear and please feel free to contact me at any time. I am happy to help and offer suggestions.

Tips for the Kids

  • Adults, keep smiling: Rarely do things in life go exactly as planned and photo sessions with kids are no exception. It’s best to embrace this and go with the flow. Many times, the best photos happen when kids are just being themselves and the adults are looking on, smiling. Kids pretty much look cute no matter what, so if you keep your smile on, we’ll end up with beautiful images.

  • Prepare them ahead of time: Let your entire family know ahead of time what to expect. Tell your children that your family is going to have fun, explore, and be playful together while a photographer takes their photos. Let them know that we will be taking some photos while standing, sitting, and exploring. I find that preparing kids and even spouses ahead of time is very helpful so that everyone knows what to expect.

  • Kid Group Portraits: If I am photographing a group portrait of the kids, I kindly ask that the adults refrain from standing behind me and trying to get the kids to smile. I appreciate the intent to help, however, this often results in photos with the kids looking off in all different directions, instead of at the camera. It can be confusing for the kids as they aren’t sure who to look at. If I need parents to stand behind me, I will always ask - and often do!

  • Hanger Management: Make sure your kids eat before the session and bring some favorite dry snacks (so it’s less likely to mess up their outfits).

  • Bring a special small toy or stuffed animal for comfort. Sometimes, these are a big help if a child is feeling nervous.

  • Most importantly, please don’t stress if your kids are running, playing and don’t want to smile. Kids can read their parents’ energy so easily and if you’re stressed about their behavior, they will pick up on it. My best advice is to allow them to just be themselves. Some of the best photos are of kids doing little things unique to them that we might otherwise not remember. This is what is important, even more so than everyone looking at the camera and smiling.

What to expect after your session

AFTER THE SESSION: After your session, I will get to work on culling your images down to the very best of the best (a minimum of 50 images, usually more), then editing those images and getting them up into your gallery. Once they're ready, I'll be in touch with the link to your online gallery. Your online gallery will be hosted on my website for 2 months.

SLIDESHOW: Your online gallery will come with a slideshow to music. When you're ready to view it, I encourage you to make an event of it! It’s best viewed on your tv or a large computer screen, rather than a phone. Gather the whole family around (sound up!)... the first time you see your photos is always the best.

Your slideshow will be available for as long as your gallery is open (2 months). You will have the option to purchase and download the slideshow for $100 if you’d like!

DOWNLOADING YOUR FILES: You will have the ability to download your images directly from your online gallery. I recommend you then save two copies to two different locations - I generally recommend that one copy be saved to an easily accessible drive (either on your computer or on an external hard drive), and that the other get saved to the cloud (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.).

COPYRIGHTS: Once you've got your digital files in hand, you are free to print them when, where, and as often as you wish - you can use them to make holiday cards, share on your social media pages or personal blog, etc. The only things you can't do are related to the resale of your photos or use for commercial/business purposes. For instance, if you authored a book, you'd need additional permission to use one of the photos on the dust jacket, and you wouldn't be able to enter one of the photos into a contest and win prize money for it. Otherwise, you've got free reign.

PRINTING YOUR IMAGES: In addition to the photo book that is included with your session, I offer professional prints and products that can be printed directly through your gallery. When you view your gallery, you will be able to see those options and have the ability to purchase additional items if you’d like.

While everything that I offer in my store is printed in professional labs and guaranteed to be beautiful, I also recognize that you may want to print your images yourself, and thanks to those digital files, you absolutely can! I recommend mpix.com for online prints. Be sure to de-select any color correction options, and be sure to upload the original files you downloaded, not copies. The files you receive from me should allow you to print up to 20x30" at minimum.

You will receive a questionnaire for you to complete a few weeks prior to your session. This really helps me to get to know your family a bit and I encourage you to be as thorough as possible.

Extended Family Session questionnaires will also have a spot for you to list the groupings that are most important to you to capture.

Please let me know if you have additional questions! I can’t wait to work with you and your loved ones!