–how early should i book my session: as early as you can. :) generally 2-3 weeks in advance for a weekday, 4-5 weeks for a saturday (saturday’s not always available).
–where do the sessions take place? i shoot mainly on-location in the utah county area (or salt lake county if we decide there’s a better suited location for your shoot). locations vary depending on what you’re looking for. we’ll discuss possible locations when you book your session.
–what time are the sessions? early morning or most often in the evenings. about 1 1/2 hours before the sun sets. or sometimes sessions are planned when kids will be the happiest (avoiding naptime and meal times).
–what should we wear? i’ll be the first to tell you i’m not an expert when it comes to clothing. my best suggestion: wear something casual, comfortable, and real (i.e. don’t all show up in matching white shirts since you probably wouldn’t do that day-to-day anyway). put your kids in things they’d normally wear and that reflect their personality. for family shoots, coordinate, but don’t all wear the same thing. my style is more fun and casual rather than “dressy”. for newborns, plain onesies with hats or blankets for accessories.
–what is the best age for a newborn shoot? 5-7 days. their still “bendy” and sleepy.
–how long does it take to see our pictures? usually 1 week after your shoot your pictures will be put in a password protected online gallery for 14 days. during the busier season of summer and fall, pictures will be in the galleries 1-2 weeks after the shoot
–how long do print and product orders take? your photos will be in an on-line gallery for 14 days. once an order is placed, print and product orders will be done within 2-4 weeks depending on what is ordered.
–what is your “style”? best way to tell is to look through my galleries and blog. i’m more candid, non-posing (is that even a word?), and photojournalistic. i like to let kids do their thing and let families interact. i give some general instruction and direction, but i like to capture things as they happen and not dictate things too much (because who really likes a pushy photographer that makes them do stupid things they don’t want to).
–why don’t you include the digital negatives? frankly, it’s a LOT of work to take great pictures and edit them all so they are “print ready”. in my world, things that take a lot of time should be compensated accordingly (and remember, i’m saving up to buy a boat…). the other reason: pictures on a disc generally end up in the big stack of other things on a disc. then they get dusty, forgotten, or lost and never printed, so what’s the point. my goal is to provide a great selection of images that can be narrowed down to ones you love and then provide products that will allow you to display those photos and keep them in your family for generations to enjoy (and possibly laugh at depending on what you wore and how you did your hair!). then, if you still want the disc, you can order that as well.
–should we bring anything? i don’t shoot with a lot of props, but sometimes it’s fun to bring something to “spice” things up. we’ll discuss any props when you book your session.