FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY

In many ways, you can choose whatever you'd like. Many families choose to match their clothing, but of course, it's not necessary. Many people choose the traditional white shirt and khaki shorts. If you are choosing a color, avoid extreme colors like neons. Blues and pastels work really well. Also, keep in mind that it can be windy on the beach, so overly baggy clothing will flap in the wind. As for footwear, we'd suggest something that looks beachy--boat shoes, sandals, flip flops, or even barefoot! Just make sure everyone in your family is on the same page when it comes to color shades and how dressed up you will be.

I will meet your family at your rental house or the closest beach access. Then I start with the people that I call "the glue". Most of the time that's Grandma and Grandpa. Then, I set them down in the sand and photograph them. Then I add in their children. Then I add in their husbands and wives. And then, we add in their kids. And if there's anybody else, I add them in.  We'll work down from there into smaller family units. It's like a big game of musical chairs. You won't have time to get bored, and I'll keep everyone laughing the whole time so we have the most natural smiles. If you have some creative ideas you'd like to try, let us know ahead of time, and we'll do our best to accommodate them during the shoot.

We reschedule. I will contact you in the event of bad weather. I try to keep the end of my week open so that we can reschedule if necessary. On your contract, there's a place for you to share what days you will be in town and available if we need to reschedule. 

It's difficult to put an exact number on that because each portrait session is different, and each family is different. My clients tell me that I work really hard to get the maximum number of quality shots possible. Then, I'll choose the best of the best pictures, excluding any that are duplicates or seem substandard. Next, we hand-adjust the color, exposure, lighting effects, composition, and clarity of every single picture we give you. We want to make the pictures look as natural as possible.

I normally average less than 4 weeks to post the online gallery, but that varies based on the season. Summer is our busiest time. Sometimes we're able to post highlights of your photos on social media within a week of your shoot. If you order a DVD, it will be ready and mailed about a week after the online gallery is posted.

DVD...it's not necessary. You can download all of your high resolution pictures from our online gallery directly to your computer. However, some clients like option of having a hard copy. As for prints, you don't have to get those from us either. Your "right to print" clause in the contract allows you to take your photos to any store to print them yourself. Just bring your contract with you to the store in case the photo clerk asks to see it. However, if you'd like professional quality prints, you can order them through the online gallery. Everything you order will be shipped directly to you.

We offer a $25 discount to active military personnel, all first responders, and clergy members (hey, my wife is a youth pastor, My neighbor is in the military, and some of my best friends are cops and EMT's so we get it!).