FAQ

What areas do you serve?

I serve the basic Portland metro area — Eastside/Westside, Camas, Vancouver, Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tigard, Lake Oswego, West Linn, and Gladstone/Milwaukee for location work. Other areas, you can come to me at my SE Portland studio, or we can meet on location at one of my favorite places in town. Some times of year I can also do on location further afield for a small fee, as well as pictures on the Oregon Coast.

What to expect

I work to capture your child in a casual relaxed manner, with a range of emotion and expression. My goal is a genuine expression, one that will capture what you remember about your child at this stage of their life. I try to make them comfortable with some simple or silly conversation, or quietly follow them to catch them in the moment. Family images are combination of posed, and more relaxed moments. In every session I try to capture the love in your relationships. I encourage you to approach your session without piling on pressure, and allow yourself to experience each other, and have fun with each other. Your feelings will come through in the final images, and I’ve found that people who are the most photogenic are the ones that are feeling relaxed and unconcious (hard to do in practice if it doesn’t come naturally I know personally, but I know for me it helps to just feel and focus on my loved ones).

What to wear

Of course the selection of clothing is always up to you! However I have found that solid colors and small patterns let a child’s face remain the focus of the photo. Even a small logo or picture can jump out in a photograph. Denim and knitwear photograph beautifully. For shoes, often bare feet make the best footwear. When having portraits taken of your baby, try to dress them in something non-binding to make it easy to change, as well as make for unblemished skin if they are photographed ‘au naturale’. For family photos, coordinating solids are best. Make sure everyone wears either all dark pants, or all light pants. White socks should be avoided. Feel free to bring two or three outfits to change into, keeping your child’s tolerance for changes (as well chances of spitting up!) in mind.

How long does a session last?

Sessions usually last from 1 to 2 hours.

When will I get my pictures?

Approximately 60-80 preview photographs will be available for viewing 1-2 weeks after your appointment. I come to your home to help with the selection process, as well as help choose appropriate sizes, or even work with you to put together a wall collage such as you see in Pottery Barn. Orders must be placed at the time of viewing. A popular choice is a session album that includes all the images shown at your ordering session. You can also choose frames so that your images can be delivered ready to hang. A website gallery showing the pictures you’ve purchased will then be put online, so that you can easily show your favorites to out of town relatives. During this time period, I will also accept orders. Any orders placed after this time period will be subject to a $15 preparation fee.

What are your prices?

Session prices start at $150 for the typical 1-2 hour session, and include the in-home sales presentation. As an example, color or bw 5x7s are $30. The leather session album containing your favorite 30 images in 4×5 is $500, but is available at a reduced rate in my collections. All prints are retouched, professionally processed and sprayed with a UV protectant matte coating.

Do you offer any newborn baby portrait packages?

Yes, I offer a ‘Baby’s First Year’ package at a significant discount. Bring your child in as a newborn to 3 month old, again at 6 months, and at a year to capture the dramatic changes of their first year. Included are 22 custom designed cards that you can use for baby announcements or first year birthday invitations. All ‘Babys First Year’ clients also have access to exclusive discounted packages, with options to purchase an album that showcases your baby’s entire first year. Additional sessions can be added on as well (such as maternity). The fee is $395, with sessions added on for only $99 at the original purchase time. The catch? All sessions must be on weekday mornings.

How can I best preserve my images for the future?
The best way to preserve your child’s images is in a archival photo album. Digital formats change (anyone have boxes with unwatchable video’s from their childhood?), CD’s can fail in a little as 5 years, harddrives fail constantly, but an album will safely display your child’s baby images for generations.  I use professional photo labs to make sure your images last as long as possible. I practice this in my own life (all my son’s best images are printed by my lab and preserved in albums). My art paper prints are predicted to last over 100 years without fading, and are the ultimate archival choice for a special image. For those that want a digital copy of some form as well, I do offer DVD slideshows as well as the digital negatives. All album packages also include a few web-sized prints for your iphone or blog as well.

What options do you offer for holiday cards and birth announcements?

There are several choices available for cards. Imagine a Hallmark style card starring your family. You can have a 5×7 custom designed folded card which will incorporate one or more images from your session with a message and artful design. These are also available in a matte metallic paper. For sharing many images, you can have an accordian style card with each side custom designed. A beautiful and classic option are my 5×5 and 5×7 Crane art paper folding cards. Your choice of portrait will be archivally printed with an artistic edge on the fine cotton rag paper.

Do you do black and white photography? Digital or film photography?

As a photographer, I enjoy both black and white as well as color photography. I shoot all my sessions using digital technology. At your order session, I will show you your images in both color and black and white so that you can see both and choose what you like best for an image.

Do you offer canvas portrait prints or portraits on watercolor paper?

Yes, any of your portraits can be printed on canvas or watercolor paper. This giclee fine art style print are made with an archival standard large format inkjet printer and should last for several generations. A beautiful new look for canvas prints are the gallery wrapped canvases– the image wraps around the sides and it can be hung directly on the wall without a frame. Its a great modern look.

How do I schedule my session?

Simply call and set a time. Your $150 session fee will reserve your session time.

What if I need to cancel?

I understand that life with children can be unpredictable. Please call 48 hours prior to your appointment for a rescheduling, though I welcome reschedules day of for serious illness and flu symptoms in the family. No shows will lose their retainer.