I know that when I am looking for a vendor or a service, the more information that is on the provider’s website, the better! Since I now have a few years of service under my belt, I would like to address some questions that I am frequently asked. Hopefully this will help answer some questions that you might have!
+ Do you have a studio?
Pink Shutterbug Photography does not work out of a studio. I am a natural light photographer specializing in outdoor portraits. I will come to your house, however, for newborn portraits; there are more details on that process below.
+ When can you do shoots?
Of course the answer to this question is a moving target, but generally I do the majority of my shooting on weekends. I cannot shoot on Sunday before noon. I sometimes have limited availability on weeknights during Daylight Savings Time. The location that you want to do your shoot at will also affect when I am available. The key to getting a shoot timed right is to contact me with enough advanced notice for us to properly plan, as described below.
+ How far in advance should I book with Pink Shutterbug?
Of course, in general, I try to be flexible, but I do have to make sure I’m also able to meet the needs of my family’s schedule – just like you! So here are some general rules of thumb for booking with me:
• Weddings – Contact me as soon as you’ve set your wedding date! This will give us ample time to set up a consultation, and, if you decide to proceed, your engagement pictures. If you are only interested in engagement pictures, I would recommend contacting me about 6 weeks before you would like the shoot to take place.
• Other Events – Please contact me about 6 weeks in advance. (But if you know about it before that, go ahead and contact me – the calendar fills up fast!) I sign a contract for events, so I need a little more time than I need to plan a portrait shoot so that I can put your contract together. (More information on what kind of events I am available for below.)
• Maternity – Contact me as early as you feel comfortable sharing about your pregnancy. I usually recommend shooting 4 – 6 weeks before your due date unless you are high risk or have some other extenuating circumstances; then you may choose to do it sooner. Go ahead and contact me when you are about 30 weeks along so we can make sure we get it set up at the right time!
• Newborn – Of course, the baby has to be there to be able to take them, so that is a little harder to plan! But if you would like me to do your newborn pictures, give me a heads up of when your due date is. As soon as it is feasible once the baby is born, have someone appointed to contact me so that we can set up the shoot. Most people like to shoot within the first 2 weeks of life because that is when baby is the sleepiest. But of course we will time it for how it works best for your family!
• Family and Individual Portraits – Please contact me at least 4 weeks in advance. This is especially important if you need the timing of the shoot to be precise; for example, if you have extended family coming in from out of town and they will only be here a week, the sooner you contact me about it, the more likely I am to be able to accommodate you during that time frame.
+ I want to do an outdoor shoot, but I have no idea where! What would you recommend?
Photography locations are everywhere, and I’m always game for trying a new place! But here are some tried-and-true locations to get your creative juices flowing:
Tallahassee:
• SouthWood
• Railroad Square
• Dorothy B. Oven City Park
• Maclay Gardens (there is a parking fee, and Jan. – April there is an additional garden fee)
• Goodwood Plantation
• Downtown (in front of the Old Capital and the surrounding blocks!)
• Behind the library on Pedrick Road
• Tom Brown Park
• JR Alford Greenway
• Lichgate Park
• Christmas tree farm in Havana (mileage fee may apply)
Crawfordville/Woodville:
• St. Marks bike trail (where it’s a canopy!)
• Park at Wakulla Station Trailhead
• St. Marks Lighthouse ($5 a day per car)
• San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park (fee to enter museum, but not the grounds)
• Wakulla River Park
• Wakulla Springs (state park fees apply)
• Old trucks on Crawfordville Highway
Blakely (availability here limited):
• Courthouse Square and other historic buildings
• Coheelee Creek Covered Bridge
• Kolomoki Mounds (state park fees apply)
+ Will you take pictures in my house?
I am more of a natural light photographer, so my preference is to do portraits outdoors. In situations of inclement weather, if it is possible, we will simply reschedule your shoot.
I generally do newborn shoots at people’s homes for the comfort of mom and baby. Newborns are tiny, so it is not difficult to find outdoor spots to use as a backdrop right around baby’s house!
I have had success using a white backdrop indoors. If you are interested in this, find the bedroom in your house that has the best natural light during the time of day that I will be coming. The backdrop is achieved by stripping down the bed to nothing but a white fitted sheet. Use thumbtacks to attach the white flat sheet to the wall behind the bed. I am, of course, happy to do this for you when I get there, but doing it before I come will help to move things along! This works well for babies and small children. Even when I am using a backdrop, I still prefer to do some outdoor portraits as well so that you can get a variety.
+ Will you take pictures at the beach?
I would be happy to, but this will require advanced planning and a mileage fee. Get with a friend or two and schedule your beach shoots back-to-back; that way you can split the mileage fee amongst yourselves!
+ What should I/we wear?
If you see how I dress regularly, you will not be asking me this question! But style aside, my general rule is to avoid a lot of prints. Solid colors go together easier. I also ask that you consider where we are shooting when you decide on an outfit. If we will be doing a lot of walking (and at most of the venues, we will!), you may not want to wear stilettos. I also do a lot of poses with families that involve sitting or even climbing, so short dresses are not always practical. If you are bringing a very small child or baby that you will be holding in pictures, hold the child for a few minutes while looking in the mirror. If your baby is anything like mine have been, he/she will be quick to show you if your top will work for pictures!
For maternity photos, if you prefer to do bare belly pictures, you will want to wear (or have on hand) either a button up top or a fitted tank/tee that can be easily rolled up. Maxi skirts are also a good option for your bottom half if you are doing bare belly photos.
The majority of newborn photos are done in nothing but a diaper, so don’t stress out too much about clothes! If you do want some pictures of your baby with clothes, pick something that fits very well, even if it’s a simple little onesie.
Beyond that, I find it hard to give advice because everyone has very different taste, which is one of the reasons my job is so wonderful! I recommend doing a search on pinterest.com if you need inspiration. Wear something that you feel good about yourself in, because you are much more likely to pose naturally if you can feel confident about what you’re wearing. Although clothes are important, my goal with my photos is to bring the focus to your face.
+ Do you provide props?
I have a number of hats/baskets/blankets/etc. that I bring to all newborn shoots. I also have a limited number of props for babies or small children. When we plan your shoot, it will be helpful to me if you list the ages and genders of the children that will be involved. If there is a specific prop you are interested in, please let me know ahead of time; even if I have used it in the past, it does not mean I will automatically bring it to your shoot! Although my main goal is to capture the families I photograph looking natural and happy to be together, if you have an idea for a themed shoot involving props, please bring them! I love it when we can combine our creativity and come up with something awesome!
+ Why does it take so long to get my pictures back? Can I get them early?
Part of the service that I offer is to proof your pictures for you. Each image that you receive will have gone through its own editing process. That, of course, takes time. I try to be as efficient as I can in getting your pictures to you, but this is not my full time job and I have to have a reasonable amount of time to be able to do quality work. I will communicate with you about how long it will take me to get your images to you, and I work very hard to stay faithful to that time frame. If there are extenuating circumstances that cause me to need more time, I will communicate that with you.
If you are using me for a wedding or event, I will actually spell out in our contract the approximate amount of time it will take me to complete your images and make them available to you, so there will be no surprises.
No, there is not a way to expedite the process of getting your pictures. If you need one particular picture for a specific purpose, I would be happy to include it in your preview album, which you will be able to download within a week of your shoot. But your full CD of images cannot have a “rush order.”
+ Why can’t you just let me download the pictures as soon as you take them? Better yet, can you shoot with my camera and then simply leave the images with me?
Every photographer is different, and there may be some photographers willing to fulfill these requests. However, when you hire me, you are not hiring me simply to take your photos. You are hiring me to provide a service. This service includes the post-shoot editing process. It is an important part of what I do.
I also use my own equipment because your pictures will be much better if I am using what I am familiar and comfortable with.
+ I need some high-resolution images, and I need them now. Why don’t you just send me the original images?
It is my policy not to release original photos. As an artist, it is important for me to be able to complete the creative process with an image before it is released. I typically select some of the best images from your shoot and give them to you in high-resolution. If there is an image that you want to make a large print of and you aren’t sure if the resolution is high enough, e-mail me the file name and I will make sure you have what you need!
+ What is a Preview Album?
I typically will upload a Preview Album to OneDrive within the first week of your shoot so that you have some pictures to enjoy while you are waiting on the others! You are able to download photos off of OneDrive at full resolution; please make sure you are using the “Download” button instead of the “right click and save” method, as some people have accidentally downloaded them at a lower resolution.
An important note about your Preview Album: My OneDrive account has limited space, so I periodically have to delete pictures to make room for others! Once you have received your image CD, please know that your Preview Album will be deleted off of SkyDrive. All of the images from your Preview Album will also be on your image CD. But do not embed a link from the pictures on SkyDrive to your blog or anything else – because it will, eventually, disappear!
+ What is the difference between a Mini-Shoot and a Full Shoot?
A “Full Shoot” is at a location that we work out just for you and takes about an hour to an hour and a half. That allows time for you to change clothes if that is what you desire. If I schedule Full Shoots back-to-back at the same location, I allow 2 hours between each one. If you are doing an evening shoot, I try to schedule two hours before sunset so we have nice evening light.
You can find prices for Full Shoots on my pricing page. You will receive a disk of a minimum of 40 proofed digital images as a result of your Full Shoot.
A “Mini-Shoot” is a half hour session. I usually plan, in conjunction with my church, a day of mini-shoots in late October or early November for the purpose of taking photos for Christmas cards. The proceeds from this day always go towards the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, and I always have a great time with the families! This year, I added a day of spring mini-shoots to raise money for my church’s mission trip to Haiti. This was very well received, and, as my church is maintaining a partnership with Fond Baptiste, Haiti, I hope to continue this as a tradition each year.
Mini-Shoots are offered at a reduced price from Full Shoots. You can usually expect a mini-shoot to yield about 15 proofed digital images. When I schedule a day of mini-shoots, I announce it on my business facebook page as well as my website. You can facebook message me or e-mail me to book a time slot; the slots will go first come, first serve.
On occasion, people ask me about doing a mini-shoot on a day that mini-shoots aren’t scheduled. Whether it be that you do not have the budget for a full shoot but would really like a few portraits of your family or child, or because the type of shoot that you need simply will not take very long, (like a Gender Reveal,) sometimes you might prefer a mini-shoot. Although I will not be able to drive across Tallahassee for one lone mini-shoot, I will try to work with you by making suggestions of times and places that I am available. For example, you may be able to meet me half an hour early where I am scheduled to do a full shoot, or we may be able to meet in SouthWood right after the church service that I attend. I also live close to one of the picturesque spots on the St. Marks Bike Trail, so I may be able to step out and meet you there for some quick pictures!
+ What is the Birthday Package, and why are you not shooting events in their entirety anymore?
After the birth of my fourth baby, my husband and I made the call for me to stop shooting parties. The reason is two-fold: 1) as a homeschool mama of four, I have a VERY limited amount of time that I can devote to shooting and editing right now, and 2) I need to be spending that limited time fully focused on my priority as a photographer: portraits.
HOWEVER, that has left me with a conundrum because so many sweet clients have asked me over the past few years to help document special birthdays in their lives. I know some people don’t have quality cameras and want to have documentation of all the hard work they spent preparing for their party. The purpose of the Birthday Package is to create a “best case scenario” for everyone. The client receives portraits of the birthday girl or boy in their special birthday attire, detail shots of their decorations, and (depending on how you choose to time the shoot,) pictures of their guests as they arrive. On the other hand, it is a manageable amount of time for the shooting and editing of photos, and is a much better fit for me and the demands of my family right now.
My suggestion is to have me arrive an hour before your party starts. I can take detail shots of the decorations you worked so hard on, as well as family portraits. On this timetable, I will also be there for the first half hour of your party, so I can take pictures of the birthday girl/boy with families as they arrive. I can also capture the cake cutting/smash if you wish to do it at the beginning of your party.
This package includes an hour and a half of coverage at your birthday party location and a DVD or online download (your choice) of proofed images. (Minimum 75 images.) I am not able to offer “extra hours” or full event coverage at this time. If you are looking for full coverage of your event, I would be happy to refer you to photographers who may be available to do that.