Session, Creation, Consultation Fee:

It's not JUST a session fee. There is so much more that goes into servicing a client before any prints or products have been purchased. The upfront fee you pay a professional photographer such as myself is to cover the time and talent of your portrait artist not only at the session but before and after as well. I provide a face-to-face or phone consultation before the session is even booked. I feel it is an important part of the process for the photographer to get to know the client and what they are looking for from the experience and if there are certain goals they have in terms of their portrait needs. It is also a chance for the prospective client to get to know me! It is a time when you, the client, can ask all the questions you need to and to figure out if we are a good fit. We should be a good fit, not only on a personal level, but in terms of what we expect of each other. I don't want to "surprise" anyone with pricing or policies so I try to review every step of the process. And I also want to make sure that I can meet your expectations.

As for after the session, there is a lot of time and effort that goes into preparing your images. I will immediately download them onto my computer and back them up on a disc so that they are safe from a hard drive crash or some other tragedy. I will review the images for quality and remove those that are not up to standard or that pale in comparison to a similar pose. I then do some light editing and prepare them to be printed. I use pro labs to print a set of printed previews (i.e. proofs) that will be shown to you during your sales session.

So, as you can see, besides the talent needed to take great photos and pose the subjects properly, there is a lot of time and effort, as well as tangible costs, put into each photo shoot before we even present the images to you for potential sales. I also want you to be aware that I have a tiered structure to these fees as I feel it is important to charge by circumstance and not have a higher fee to cover all situations. Therefore, I charge for the individual needs and goals of each unique photo shoot.

Here is a breakdown of the session types and fees for them:

STUDIO SESSIONS:

$75 One Hour "Standard" Studio Session.

One backdrop and appropriate props. Appointments M-F before 4pm. Limit of 5 people without being subject to group fee rates (see below).
ADD: $15 for evening weekday sessions
ADD: $25 for weekend sessions (additional $25 for holiday weekends)

$100 Baby Session.

This fee is for any babies 1 and under.  This includes a First Birthday shoot, even if child is over 1. This is a slightly higher fee because I tend to have to spend more time on these sessions. There is no time limit. Newborn sessions can take up to 3 hours! We need them to be sleepy, so we might have to wait, and for all ages there are feedings and diaper changes, etc. Adult family members are welcome at no additional cost.

ADD: $25 for an additional baby (such as in the case of multiples or cousins)
ADD: $10 for each additional child (such as siblings)
ADD: $15 for evening weekday sessions
ADD: $25 for weekend sessions (additional $25 for holiday weekends)

$100 Communion Session.

This fee is for weekday or weekend sessions as I know at this age, weekday session can only be done after school or on weekends. Also, there is a higher charge because it is a more comprehensive shoot and generally takes more time. There is no time limit for this session. Expect it to take 1-2 hours (usually longer ones are for girls), but most average at around 90 minutes. Any other family members are welcome such as siblings, parents, grandparents and godparents. Please add to session time if we are including family members.
ADD: $25 per additional communion subject. This is for example doing cousins at the same time, or twins.
ADD: $25 for holiday weekend.


IN-HOME STUDIO SESSIONS:

$225

This fee is for me coming to your home with my portable studio equipment. This would include a backdrop (with stand) and studio lighting. This requires a lot of work in terms of having to break down my studio, load the car, unload the car and set up at your home, break it down again, load the car, unload the car and set back up in my studio! Phew! So, that is why the fee is much higher. Some people just want the convenience so I do offer it, but would obviously prefer to do the shoot in my studio. I also will only bring limited props to an in-home session to again minimize the packing and unpacking. I do like to limit the time to an hour of shooting (NOT including set up and break down) but I'm flexible as the reasons people want me to come to their home are usually special circumstances for which we need patience!

ADD: $25 for evening or weekend sessions (additional $25 for holidays or holiday weekends)
ADD: Travel fee if location is more than 10 miles away (see below for rates).
ADD: Pet fee, if applicable.

LOCATION SESSIONS:

$150 Beach, Park, Your home

This fee covers me going on the road to a location of your choice. I only bring my camera and flash. Additional studio equipment is extra. Fee applies only to appointments for Monday-Thursday, see additional fee for weekends. All appointments (unless at an event or inside) will be shot in the evening when lighting is softer. For beach portraits, I generally shoot 90 minutes prior to sunset for single families, and start a bit earlier for larger groups. For park portraits, I assess the time of year, but can shoot anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 1/2 hours prior to sunset for optimal lighting. I will usually suggest 90 minutes prior to sunset for portraits at your home as well. Limit of 5 people without being subject to group fee rates (see below). Sessions usually last 45-90 minutes at the beach or your home and a little longer at the park because there is more walking around to different settings.
ADD: $50 for weekend shoots Fri, Sat or Sun. (additional $25 for holiday weekends)
ADD: Travel fee if location is more than 10 miles away (see below for rates).
ADD: Group fee for 6 or more people (see below for rates).
ADD: Pet fee, if applicable.

$200 Candid Storyteller Session.

This is a more photojournalistic style shoot and can take place at whatever location you'd like. I will do naturally posed portraits as I would in my other sessions, but I will take many more candids and create moments with your family that is more aimed at telling a story. I use ideas like "A Day at the Beach" or "Fun at the Park" or "A Day in the Life of..." so that we can design a book to document the memories. All of the above times of day, and additional rates apply, but bear in mind that these sessions do take a bit longer so start times are adjusted.

With  this session, you are required to purchase an 8X8 or larger press printed photo book.  Prices for the books start at $299 for 19 pages, designed utilizing 20-40 images.

ADDITIONAL FEES:

GROUP FEE: I charge extra for groups of 6 or more. This usually applies to an extended family situation. Having a large group of people changes the whole dynamic of the shoot. It requires me to work more efficiently so as not to lose anyone's attention span, to work in more variable lighting conditions, to handle all ages and personalities, and to showcase the talent needed to configure optimal posing. In addition, when looking ahead to after the session, I am then servicing multiple families during the proofing and ordering process. I try to keep this fee reasonable and way under colleagues who charge either $20 per additional family or $20 per additional person!

$3 per person for groups of 6 or more. The $3 fee IS applied to all subjects, not just the ones beyond the first 5. So for instance, the fee for a group of 11 people would be $33. This fee is ADDED to the session fee. Please note that if I'm doing a single family session and a couple has 4-6 kids, I usually don't charge extra because they are in the immediate family, but I will charge the group rate for a family of 4 that is adding a set of grandparents since they are considered "extended" family.

TRAVEL FEE: If I have to travel over 10 miles to a shoot, I currently charge 56 cents per round trip mile, plus any tolls (2012 rate). The mileage rates are based on, and change with, the IRS standard mileage tax deduction rates. There is a premium service charge for traveling in summer traffic and for going to shoots in Long Beach Island or further south.

PET FEE: We all love our pets. They are a part of our family! I love to include animals in portraits. However, I do charge extra because they are sometimes worse than adding a toddler to the mix! They do tend to make the sessions more difficult. Posing is more of a challenge and they generally extend the session time. For the most part, this fee applies to dogs. I have very rarely been asked to include cats or other pets so I may or may not charge for pets other than dogs.

$20 for first pet. $5 for each additional pet.

Please note that most towns restrict dogs and animals from being on the beach so it is your decision whether you want to risk getting a fine for violating that. I also ask that you be prepared to clean up after them if the situation arises!

*all prices subject to change at any time without notice