Before your Session
What is a sitting fee?
A sitting fee is a fee for creation of your portraits. It covers the photographer's time in coming to the studio, plus time necessary to process your photographs digitally.
When is a sitting fee paid? Is it refundable?
A sitting fee is paid at the time of the photography session. A sitting fee is refundable if a cancellation is made 24 hours before your shoot and can be credited towards another date if a cancellation is made within 24 hours before your session.
What is the cost to have professional photographs done?
Most people will find it very affordable to have professional photographs done. The value to the customer is the in the quality of the portraits from a professional photographer. We work individually with our clients to insure that each purchase meets their individual needs. And the prices for our products and services are not outside of anyone's normal budget!
How far in advance do you have to schedule?
Typically, clients can schedule anytime and we try to be extremely flexible in scheduling around your schedule. You can normally schedule any time up to a few days before you want to come in. However, Senior portrait sessions and Holiday sessions do fill up quickly, so please call ahead to schedule during those times. All studio hours are by appointment only. Any time, if you need to stop by the studio, please call and we will gladly meet you there.
After Your Session
How do I view my photographs?
We can make the portraits available to you in one of two ways. We would be glad to meet you at the studio to review each portrait and discuss any questions that you have regarding portrait selection, sizes, packages, cropping, retouching, etc. We also have available on-line portrait viewing and selection. If you would prefer the convenience of selecting your portraits on-line, we will set up a secure section of our website for you to view and purchase your portraits. This is particularly convenient for sharing your portraits with family and friends who might not otherwise get to see your portrait session. With all portrait selections, we are available any time to meet with you or discuss over the phone any questions that you might have. Our goal is to meet your needs while accommodating your schedule.
Do you provide proofs from the session?
Not hard copies of proofs. We do all proofing online since we shoot all photographs digitally. The on-line viewing tool is available and allows the client to view all portraits shot during the session.
Can we buy a CD with our digital files on it?
Our policy is that we do not provide CD's with digital files on it to be printed by the client. The reason is that even if this CD were provided to the client, the availble mechanisms for printing these files would not reflect an appropriate quality for the print. Often, 1 hour printing services do not appropriate color balance the print and do not print a quality print. We want all of the prints that come from our studio to reflect our quality standards. Because of that, we believe that all prints should come from our professional printing service to be of the right quality for our clients. We do offer screen-savers, portraits set to music in a DVD format, and other products which will insure enjoyment by our clients while maintaining our quality standards.
How long does it take to receive our portraits after our order is placed?
Generally, 2-3 weeks. During busy seasons such as Mother's Day, Christmas, or the end of the school year for High School Seniors, it can take a bit longer depending on our professional lab's printing schedule.
Do you charge for touching up the photographs?
Minor retouching - such as removing minor blemishes, or background imperfections - we do free of charge. For extensive retouching, such as for a modeling session's portraits, would require a charge depending on the complexity of the task.
Other Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What should we wear for the photo shoot?
A: For families and groups, we recommend wearing a solid color shirt and similar pants. For instance, a family group could all wear black shirts and blue jeans. The shirts may be different styles (ladies may wear a black women's shirt, while the men wear a black men's dress shirt), but the continuity in color is what is most pleasing in the final product. White shirts and khaki pants, white shirts and blue jeans, or any other matching combination works best. In general, if you want your photograph on a white background, wear light colors. If you like the painted backgrounds, wear darker colors.
Q: What should my baby wear for the photo shoot?
A: As with any photograph, solid colors work best. If the baby is a newborn, we typically shoot with the baby in nothing, or a diaper only (see our website for examples). If the baby is older, solid colors tend to work best. Please also bring the baby's normal essentials such as a blanket, clean diapers, wipes, and a bottle (which helps us get a sleeping baby for portraits). We only keep minimal supplies at the studio.
Q: Do you keep the proofs from the session?
We do not print proofs. All files are maintained digitally. Some photographers discard your proofs after 30 days. We keep your session until you've had a chance to review and discuss your order. We realize that you also have a busy schedule and we try to accommodate that as much as possible with on-line proofing and no hard and fast deadlines where your session is discarded within a specific time frame. We will keep your digital files for 3 years, after which we follow our archiving policy.
Q: What type of clothing should I have my child wear?
A: For siblings, follow the "same color" guidelines as above. For individual portraits of children, white, cream, tan or denim all work well. Any simple colors are fine. Stay away from busy patterns or bright colors unless you've discussed those with the photographer ahead of time. In the finished portrait, we want your little one to be the focus of the attention, not the plaid shirt they were wearing!
Q: What if I wear glasses?
A: We can photograph clients wearing glasses, however, there may be a glare with the glasses and it can be hard to remove digitally. If clients wear their glasses to a portrait session, we can quote the time necessary to remove the glasses glare. Or you can temporarily remove the lenses for the photo session. Some optomitrists have frames without lenses in their businesses that they will loan to you for a photo session. Please check with them, or we can shoot with the glasses and quote the additional cost for removing the glare.
Q: Do you allow us to bring our family pet for the picture?
A: Yes. We love pets and encourage anyone to bring their family pet for their session. Please let us know ahead of time that you'll be bringing your pet, but feel free to include them in your portrait session. Also be sure to bring your pet's essentials such as a treat, a leash, or water for the pet.
Q: What if I have more questions that aren't addressed here?
Please just give us a call at 281-403-9724 and we will be glad to meet with you and discuss any questions that you might have. We highly recommend meeting with us before your session so that we can plan your session and have a good idea of what you're looking for.
Thanks for looking through our website. We sincerely hope that we get the opportunity to provide professional photographic services to you and your family. We look forward to working with you and getting to know you.
Paul and Stephanie King