Frequently Asked Questions
Where are you located?
My studio is located at Suite 710 of 404 North Main Street in Oshkosh, WI. While I’m based out of Oshkosh, I do frequently travel for outdoor golden hour sessions!
What is the average investment?
Digital Collections range from $250-$2500. The average collection investment is $750.
Payment plans after the session as well as pre-payment plans before the session are available upon request.
What is your turnaround time?
I value quality over quantity. On average, it takes about one hour per image to edit. Before I retouch your images, we start the process of you deciding which images you’d like to keep forever. After your session, you will receive an online proofing gallery within 7 days that will include 75-150 proof images from which you will select the images you’d like to purchase. The proofing gallery will include every image from your session unless it is an exact duplicate, out of focus or unflattering (blinking, crying, etc.). Proof images are used for proofing purposes only to pick your favorite images. Proof images will not be available for purchase or download in the proofing stage as they do not fully represent my work. Any proofing image is available for final image selection and they will each receive the full treatment of editing following purchase. The wonderful thing about an online proofing gallery is you can view them from the comfort of your home. Once you’ve finished selecting your favorite images, an invoice will be sent via email for the digital collection you have chosen. After full payment has been received, the final editing process will begin. The chosen final images will then be retouched and returned within 30 days of receiving full payment for the digital collection you've selected. Your final images will be sent via private downloadable gallery with a print release.
Will my images have a watermark on them?
Any purchased final image will not have a watermark however the images within the proofing gallery will be watermarked.
Do I pick my own outdoor location?
I will have you choose from greenery, cityscape, botanical gardens or beach at booking. I will pick the location that will best fit your location preference based on which location is looking best at the time of your session.
There is a lot that goes into location scouting such as making sure it’s a pretty spot that would photograph well with the sun coming in from a specific direction. Finding locations that are either public or getting permission for private land. Finding specific location characteristics based on the type of session, such as low greenery or flowers for children’s portraits or extra tall trees for family portraits. As well as checking the spots before each session to make sure there is no flooding, the areas haven’t been control burned or mowed down, etc.
I location scout many beautiful Oshkosh spots to be sure the location we would use is looking good before I bring you to the location. Location information for Oshkosh locations will be sent one day before your session via e-mail as I check each spot before every session to be sure the location is looking as I expect.
If you pick a location outside of Oshkosh, I have location recommendations in Malone, Green Bay, Appleton or Sheboygan as I know these spots will be maintained and looking good. I have already location scouted these areas so I know where the good spots are and that the lighting is coming from the correct direction. Since I’m unable to location scout before every session outside of Oshkosh, it’s important to choose a location from my recommendations. Location information for sessions outside of Oshkosh will be sent following location selection at booking.
If you have your own location in mind such as a family farm, I’d love to hear about it! Once you tell me about your location, I will explain the specific lighting conditions I will need for the best outcome.
Is there a travel fee?
Any Oshkosh location does not have a travel fee. Any location outside of Oshkosh, Wisconsin will have a travel fee of $0.50/mile applied. For an exact travel fee, please reach out.
What time will our session start?
All outdoor sessions start about two hours before sunset. Session start times will vary due to the ever-changing sunset times. For example, a session in June will start around 6:00pm while the session could start at 2:30pm in December. I’m experienced with flash but I much prefer the look of natural light outdoors. Therefore, the time of day in which our session occurs is very important!
How long is a session?
All sessions (excluding newborn sessions) are approximately two hours in length. This allows me to get children more comfortable with being in front of the camera as well as have a more diverse gallery for you to choose your favorites from. Many parents do not think their child will make it through two hours but they do, it goes by faster than you’d ever expect. I do not like to rush through a session, I want you to relax and enjoy your time so you’re leaving with happy memories.
Would we reschedule due to weather?
If it’s cloudy weather: No, we will not reschedule.
If it’s raining: Yes, we will reschedule.
If there are wind speeds over 20 MPH: Yes, we will reschedule.
When are office hours?
Office hours are Monday-Thursday 9:00am-5:00pm. All e-mails received during office hours will be returned within 24 hours. If an e-mail is received Friday-Sunday, it will be returned on the following Monday. I frequently photograph outside of office hours but session planning will occur during office hours.
How do I book a session?
Session booking is done through e-mail. To start the process, please submit a note through the contact page. Please try to book months in advance for a summer or fall session. If I have availability, I’ll send over a booking link at which time you’ll pick your session date, sign the contract agreement and pay your session fee to lock in your session.
Who will submit the senior yearbook image?
After you purchase the yearbook image of your choosing, you receive the full resolution digital image to submit to your senior’s high school. If you’d prefer I submit your senior’s yearbook image, there is a $50 yearbook submission add-on option where I will submit the yearbook image for you. Please inquire about more information on the yearbook submission process if you have any questions.
Can we order prints and products through you?
Yes, you can! (I absolutely love designing albums!) Please inquire for more information on prints and products.
Do you offer boudoir sessions?
Yes, I do! Investment information for boudoir sessions can be found on the investment page. Due to the sensitive nature of boudoir sessions, please inquire to view my boudoir portfolio.
What will be changed in the editing process?
After your session has taken place, we start the process of you selecting the images you’d like to purchase with a proofing gallery. Your proofing gallery images will be unedited with the exception of exposure and shadows brought up so you can fully view the image. Every purchased image will be fully hand edited in my warm and bold editing style. When you select your images, you’ll be making your selections based on facial expressions, pose, hair placement, clothing placement and approximate crop. I like to give my clients the full control on image selections before I start the editing process that way you’re able to view all of the images we took at your session. Your proofing gallery will include a before and after sample edit from your session so you can envision the finished product. The images truly come to life once the editing process is complete!
Following purchase, every image will be hand edited. The list below will explain more about how I will be editing your images.
Color correction.
Balance of shadows and highlights.
Color enhancement & warm tones added.
Crop straightening.
Skin retouch such as blemish removal, skin smoothing, yellow/orange/red skin tones evened out, facial shadows lightened, dark limb shadows lightened & facial highlights or shadows adjusted.
Lightening and sharpening of the eyes.
Sharpening of certain features such as the eyebrows or eyelashes.
Teeth whitening if requested.
Removal of certain objects such as tears, bugs, strangers in the background, etc. if needed.
Finished with a warm painterly touch.
Do you offer face swapping?
Yes, I do offer face swapping upon request but face swapping is not always possible in every image. Many factors will determine if it’s possible such as lighting, placement of the face and body, etc. I’d be happy to let you know if it’s possible once you’ve found the two specific images within your proofing gallery that you’d like swapped. Face swapping is considered an extensive edit and would have an additional fee of $25/image applied.
Is there anything you do not change in editing?
I edit to enhance the beauty of the moment the way it was captured. While I do remove things such as acne, mosquitos or strangers in the background at the beach, there are a couple things that will not be altered in post processing and will appear in the images as they do in real life. Many of these are easily avoidable with the correct preparations!
Body alteration such as weight loss or wrinkle removal. While I do retouch the skin with blemish removal, skin smoothing and adding a beautiful skin glow, I do not offer body alteration editing such as weight loss or wrinkle removal.
Tan lines. I will tone down the extra saturation of orange or red skin tones when needed but the lines will appear in the images as they do in real life so it best to plan ahead in preventing sunburn but if you are looking to hide tan lines, I'd recommend choosing an outfit that fully covers them.
Hair alteration. Hair will appear in the images as it does in real life, here are a couple tips to help you prep for your session! For the ladies, curls give the hair lots of texture and looks beautiful on camera. Don’t forget to get your roots touched up if needed! I’d recommend staying away from trying a new hair color right before your session incase you don’t like the way it turns out. There are many great hairstyles that will help keep the hair out of your little one’s eyes such as curls with a bow to hold back their bangs, bubble braids or space buns. If the wind speed is above 20mph on the day of our session, I will recommend we reschedule as the wind will affect hair placement, unless you’re going for the wind blown look!
Clothing placement, wrinkles and undergarments. It is important to choose an outfit that stays put and doesn’t need constant adjustment. To avoid wrinkles, I highly recommend picking certain textures of clothing which will be explained in detail in your style guide you’ll receive at booking as well as steaming your clothing before the session. Avoiding undergarments showing is easily avoidable when you wear the correct cut undergarments and stay away from fabric such as spandex. Diaper covers/bloomers are always recommended for the little ones in dresses!
Chipped nails or nail polish. This is very easily avoidable- a quick nail clipping, polish or polish removal before your session will do the trick!
Marker or Dye on the skin. The week leading up to your session, be mindful of marker, dye or oil that may stain the skin (such as working on cars or children dying easter eggs). It is nearly impossible to remove large dyed areas of skin in editing so please be sure to remove any stains on the skin before your session. (Pro tip: Hairspray goes a great job removing permanent marker! Google will have many recommendations on how to remove different stains.)
Glasses glare/tint. I would highly recommend not wearing glasses during your session especially if your glasses have anti-reflective coating or tinted lenses. Glasses are naturally reflective to any light source which may result in the following issues; the camera may catch focus on the lenses of the glasses instead of the eye (which could result in a smaller proofing gallery due to more unusable images) or the lenses may show a detailed reflection of what is in front of you such as trees, buildings etc. I photograph with movement and take many candid photographs so stopping the moment to adjust the glasses to avoid glare will prevent many candid moments from happening naturally. If you would like to wear your glasses, that is not a problem just please note that reflections and tint will appear in the images as they do in real life.
An injury such as a bruise or scrape on the face or any blemish touching a crease of the body, body swelling or bloodshot eyes. I will remove any blemish I’m able to remove but some blemishes such as a large bruise on the face or a bruise/scrape in an intricate area like the eye make it nearly impossible to replicate as I need a matching area to swatch from or duplicate. If an injury takes place after booking your session which would affect the session such as a bruise on the eye or a broken leg, I’ll have you reach out as soon as possible to discuss our options such as a more accessible location or rescheduling our session.
Braces. If you do not want braces to be in your images, a closed mouth smile or waiting until the braces have been removed will do the trick!
If you have any questions about what will or will not be changed in editing, please don’t hesitate to ask!