The Photoshoot Experience: What to Expect

My goal as a photographer is to create a fun and stress-free photoshoot experience and make sure you walk away with photos you absolutely love. Whether you have a vision for your photos, or don’t know what you want them to look like, we’ll work together to plan a photoshoot that is perfect for you.

I’ve written out everything you need to know about booking your photoshoot, having your photos taken, and enjoying your final images. Step by step, here’s what you can expect:

1. Book

Browse my photoshoot packages 

First, take a look at the photoshoot packages I offer and decide which one would work best for you. For seniors, I offer three packages varying in photoshoot length, number of edited images, locations, and outfit changes. All of my packages include your edited digital images delivered via an online gallery where you can download your images to your device, Google Drive, and/or Dropbox. You can also order high quality prints and photo products directly from your online gallery!

Click here to view my senior photoshoot packages and pricing.

Click here to view my headshots & branding photoshoot packages and pricing.

Click here to view my family photoshoot pricing.

Click here to view my couples photoshoot pricing.

Book your photoshoot online

To book your photoshoot, fill out the booking form on my website first to let me know what type of photoshoot you’d like to book and when you’d like it to take place. I will get back to you within 24 hours with the dates I have available in your time frame and the next steps to book.

Once we’ve decided on a date, I will send you a link to a booking page where you will select your photoshoot package and optional add-ons, sign the contract, and make the $200 deposit to officially reserve your spot in my calendar.

After you have completed those steps, I will send you an email confirming the details of your booking.

2. Plan

Schedule your video planning meeting

After your photoshoot is booked, I’ll reach out over email to confirm the details and send you a link to choose a time for our 30 to 45 minute photoshoot planning session on Zoom or Google Meet. For seniors, I encourage your parent(s) to join this meeting.

Complete the questionnaire

If you’re booking a senior photoshoot, I’ll send you a short questionnaire to fill out before we meet to plan your photoshoot. This should only take a few minutes to complete, and your responses will help me get to know you better and learn about what you have in mind for your photos. For example, I’ll ask you what kind of locations you prefer (like fields, cities, or forests) so I can prepare some great options for you to consider.

Meet with me via video call

This planning session serves two important purposes: first, it’s an opportunity for us to get to know each other a little more before your photoshoot, and second, it gives us time to decide all of the fun details! We’ll talk about your photoshoot location(s), timing, outfits, hair/makeup looks (if applicable), and everything else you’ll need to know.

You’re welcome to reach out to me at any time, and I’ll make sure all of your questions are answered when we meet. After our planning session, I’ll send you an email with all of the details we discussed. Then we can look forward to the day of your photoshoot!

3. Shoot

Leading up to your photoshoot, I’ll send you a few reminder emails that will include specific details like our meeting location and the photoshoot start time.

On the day of your photoshoot, we’ll meet at the first location and get right to it! If you’ve booked professional hair and makeup services, make sure to schedule your appointment with plenty of time in between to travel to your first photoshoot location.

During your photoshoot, I like trying out a variety of backdrops at each location. My goal is to find the best lighting and compose beautiful photos so you have lots of great options in your final gallery.

If you’re not sure how to pose, don’t worry at all! I’ll guide you through what to do in front of the camera the whole time by giving you prompts and demonstrating poses for you.

I typically like to capture a combination of posed shots and candid shots, so that way you have a lot of different looks in your gallery when you receive your edited photos. For seniors, I always make sure to take several classic headshots so you have many options for your yearbook photo. 

If your photoshoot collection includes multiple locations, we’ll wrap up at the first location and continue onto the next.

What if it rains?

If the weather forecast is calling for rain or other undesirable conditions on your photoshoot day, don’t worry! I’ll keep a close eye on the weather leading up to your shoot, and I will let you know if I anticipate any issues. The night before your session when we can look at the hourly weather forecast, I will let you know if rescheduling is necessary. In the colder months, I try to ensure my calendar has room to accommodate weather-related rescheduling.

4. Select Your Favorites

As soon as I get home from our photoshoot, I load all of the photos we took together onto my computer and back them up in two additional storage locations. This way I know your images will be kept safe! I take anywhere from 500 to 2,000+ photos per shoot, so I’ll start by narrowing these down to the very best shots. Then I will upload those unedited images to a review gallery for you to choose your favorites for final editing and retouching. Review galleries will contain anywhere from 50-300 unedited images depending on your package. If you have more favorites than are included in your package, you are always welcome to purchase additional edited images for $20 each. Unedited images are not for sale as they are my unfinished work.

Once you have selected your final images, I will begin my editing and retouching process to ensure each photo is looking as beautiful as possible. My editing style emphasizes vibrant, warm, and true-to-life colors with realistic and natural retouching. If you’d like to know more about what all is involved in editing and retouching, please click here to read my blog post “Post-Processing, Editing, and Gallery Delivery: What Happens After Your Photoshoot”

6. Download, Print, and Share your Photos

Within 2-4 weeks of you submitting your photo selections, I will email you your final gallery of edited images in the form of a private online gallery.

Download your Photos

You will be able to download web-sized and high resolution copies of your images directly to your device, Google Drive, and/or Dropbox from your online gallery.

You can also share the link to your gallery with family and friends, too, so that they can also download and print their favorite photos.

Print your Photos

Your online gallery also includes your very own professional print and product store! This is where you can purchase your photos as high quality, long-lasting, true-to-color print products.

Right from your online gallery, you’ll have access to a wide variety of top-of-the-line print products: loose prints, frames, canvases, acrylic and metal wall art, cards, and more! The products you order will ship directly to your door.

There are two ways you can order:

  1. Meet with me on Zoom so we can walk through the product options and differences, customize your prints and products, and place your order together.
  2. Place an order yourself. The online store is fairly intuitive and includes some helpful how-to videos, but I’m always an email away if you need any help.

Outside of your gallery store, I also offer custom design photo albums! These can be ordered directly through me, and they’re perfect for displaying all of your favorite photos in one place. Albums come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be totally customized inside and out. Learn more about my custom design layflat albums here.

Do you think we’d be a great fit? Click here to book a photoshoot!