what is a photoshoot with us like, how does it all work?
Regular shoots with us, through the end of April are $95, TWENTY edited images 🙂
First, we do, pretty much, every kind of photography. Kids and Family, Couples, Individuals, Senior Portraits, Pets, Newborns…..
We do FULL shoots. For the most part, we never do “minis,” and there are a few very good reasons.
A full shoot for us is usually scheduled for an hour….they typically take about 40 minutes, but we have FLEXIBILITY built-in……sometimes you have to change a baby, sometimes a 2 year old is a 2 year old, sometimes half the family comes late……..we schedule for an hour, because sometimes we need it 🙂
We shoot in our Studio, which is in the Lakeview Business District, Battle Creek.
But FAR MORE OFTEN, we shoot on location. We use the parks that most photographers use, but then we also do things most photographers DON’T. We shoot in the FOREST for example.
We go on adventures.
We also shoot OUT OF TOWN…the pricing can be a little different, and sometimes we allow even MORE time. Our most popular out of town shoot is Lake Michigan.
To schedule a shoot, you tell us what you wanna do, then YOU pick a day and time. It’s incredibly easy that way, because we’re FULL time. Fitting into our schedule is easy, fitting into YOUR schedule is harder, so it makes the most sense if YOU………pick a day and time.
For most things we recommend avoiding the middle of the day….but ANY time is possible.
And for Lake Michigan shoots, most of the time we use the last two hours before sunset.
After you pick a day and time we yell “YESSSSSS, that works!!!!” And we put you on the calendar.
Another thing that separates us from most photographers, is in MOST cases, we don’t require a deposit. It’s on the calendar, and you’re good to go….we just need to know WHERE. Sometimes that takes a conversation….sometimes you just KNOW where you wanna go.
For a lot of locations, we send you a custom map, or image.
Dave will be on time. Dave is on time, 99.74% of the time…..he’ll be AT THE ENTRANCE, unless we give you different instructions. Please don’t be early, and wander off, lol. That’s a super common thing……Dave gets to the ENTRANCE and he’s ON TIME, and an anxious Mom gets there 20 minutes early, and wanders INTO THE PARK. Then you won’t find each other 🙂
Our shoots are a combination of POSED PORTRAITURE…..everyone wants some standard, looking at the camera, everyone together, well shot, portraits.
AND…..candid images…..usually the activity and attention of the kids will determine what happens first. Don’t stress if kids aren’t sitting still immediately….shoots are an HOUR and for Dave, and hour is a lot of time, and his patience with kids is legendary. Sometimes it just takes time, but you’ll get there 🙂
Once Dave feels you have more than enough material, he’ll start asking you “what are we missing.” That’s SUCH an important question….because you can have a lot of great pictures, but NOT have the one special thing that was in your mind……but if nothing like that exists, you can safely call it A WRAP 🙂
Some people pay when they shoot. We’d rather you did cash, if you wanna pay right then. MOST of our people pay ELECTRONICALLY, and they do it AFTER we send the finished images. That’s entirely up to you 🙂
To be clear…..MOST of our people don’t pay ANYthing until the pictures come back 🙂
Our turnaround is fast. FAR faster than the industry average, which hovers around 3 weeks. We turnaround, typically, in FOUR DAYS. And we deliver by uploading the images to Google Drive, and sending you a LINK to the folder. We do EVERYTHING through Facebook Messenger.
If you don’t have a link in four days, don’t be shy…..PESTER US. Sometimes we miss something, and we don’t mind being asked 🙂 Rarely we have to say “I’m sorry, we’re a little behind.”
What you get: Our product (for most normal shoots) is a guaranteed TWENTY, edited images…as large files with a full release. That means you can SAVE those, back them up to some other storage, and USE them in any way. Share them, post them, PRINT them.
We do NOT………….EVER…………..PROFIT in any other way after you get YOUR images. They are yours.
If you have technical questions about how to save or store or use or print your images, we answer questions like that for free….and we’ll give you recommendations for PRO LAB print services. Right now we recommend MPIX.com
After all of that……………….we ALSO keep your images. Our goal is to safely archive everything. HOWEVER….we don’t GUARANTEE that. The ultimate responsibility for protecting your memories is yours……please save them in MORE THAN ONE PLACE 🙂
If you do, somehow lose your pictures….you can contact us and we’ll re-upload them. If it’s been more than ONE YEAR, we usually charge a small fee. (like right now it’s $5)
And if for some reason you need a USB DRIVE instead of an upload, to receive your images, you can schedule to meet Dave at the Studio and pick one up. We DO, also, charge $5 for that 🙂
Hopefully, this answers just about any question…..but if you DO have more, message us through FB.
And remember……nothing is real until you PICK A DAY AND TIME!!!!!!
