Welcome…
Thanks for trusting me to capture these special moments for your family. Over the years I’ve found that a session will go smoothly if clients are prepared and know what to expect. I hope that this guide will answer any questions that you may have.
I will send you an e-mail the week of your session to confirm the date, time and location for your session. If you have any questions in the mean time, feel free to reach out.
xo, Karla
PREPARING FOR YOUR SESSION
I know getting ready for a photo session can be stressful, especially for moms. I’m going to guide you through the process to make sure you (and your family) are prepared so that your session will go as smoothly as possible and you’ll have some beautiful pictures to capture these memories with your family.
-Clothing choices are so important for a photo session. You will receive an e-mail with a link to my Wardrobe Style Guide that will help you plan outfits for your session. If you have any questions or need help deciding on outfits, please let me know.
-Make sure you’re prepared well in advance of the session so you’re not stressed the day of the session. When Mom is stressed, that affects everyone else’s mood.
-Have outfits picked out and tried on to make sure they fit at least 1-2 weeks before your session.
-Have outfits clean and ironed the day before the session to save you time (and stress) the day of your session.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT YOUR SESSION:
The session will be laid back and fun, so that we can capture real moments and natural smiles. Most of the time I’ll direct you to interact with your family. Of course, I will take some “everyone looking at the camera” pictures too, but I will let you know when to look at the camera and smile.
Before the session, think of things your children enjoy doing or talking about that makes them smile (saying “cheese” never makes real smiles).
Please know that toddler and young children don’t always want to cooperate for pictures… that’s ok and completely normal! Please don’t reprimand them during the session. We’ll try to follow their lead and keep the mood light to encourage them to participate.
Please let your spouse know what to expect at the session as well.
RESCHEDULES
WEATHER: If the weather looks questionable we’ll discuss reschedule options the day before your session. The weather forecast is often unreliable when forecasting rain so I usually wait until the day of the session to decide if we need to reschedule for rain. If it’s going to be really cold (which is rare in Houston!) we can also reschedule. Overcast days aren’t an issue so there’s no need to worry if it’s cloudy/ overcast for your session.
ILLNESS: Please let me know as soon as possible if someone in your family is ill so we can reschedule.
THE DAY OF THE SESSION
Make sure everyone is well rested and fed before the session. No one is happy when they’re tired and hungry!
Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to get ready and leave early so that you’re not rushed the day of the session. I know I’ve already mentioned this, but if Mom is stressed it really does affect the entire family and that’s not a fun way to start your session.
Now for the fun part… the session! I hope that you will relax and enjoy this time with your family. For most of the pictures, just pretend I’m not there and have fun with your family. One day when you look back on your pictures you will really treasure the pictures where you’re not looking at the camera and just enjoying being with each other.
AFTER THE SESSION
After your session, I’ll get started working on your gallery right away. I’ll narrow down the images from your session to my favorites to edit and include in your gallery. The # of images in a gallery varies with each session, but a typical gallery will have 40+ images. I’ll send you an e-mail as soon as your photos are ready.
What you’re going to do with your images is perhaps the most important aspect to consider when you’re planning for your session, but it’s all too often overlooked… all that time and money invested deserve a better return than photos gathering dust on a hard drive somewhere. You’ll never get the same feeling looking at your photos on a screen as you will seeing them on your wall or flipping through the pages of an album.
Although each collection comes with the digital images with printing rights from your session, there’s a big difference in quality when you compare prints and albums from consumer labs vs. professional labs. I’ve partnered with some of the best professional labs to offer beautiful products to my clients. Below is a sample of some of the items you can choose from:
PROOF BOX WITH PRINT PROOFS
A beautiful keepsake box with printed proofs and a USB of the images from your session
$250
CUSTOM FRAMED FINE ART PRINTS
Choose from our selection of gold, silver, white, gray and wood frames. Fine art print and 3″ mat are included.
starting at $300
HEIRLOOM ALBUMS
Layflat pages, available in linen, leather or velvet covers
10 pages included (up to 20 images)
$550
Additional pages $40 each
Debossed cover $50
I hope that all of this information was helpful in preparing for your session. I know that was a lot of information so here is a summary of the most important tips:
1) Be prepared in advance
2) Let your husband and kids know what to expect at the session
and most importantly…
3) Don’t stress and enjoy your session!
I’ll be in touch the week of your session to confirm date, time and location but if you have any questions at all feel free to reach out!
