Warm and bright, less posed, and more natural. Some people categorize this as Lifestyle.

I will give you prompts of things you can do and will guide you into poses that look natural. My best advice is to let yourself enjoy the moment! Be present! If you are having fun, it will show in your facial expressions and body language. Make sure you wear something you feel really good in, that way you don’t feel like you have to constantly fiddle with your outfit. Constantly having to hide a bra strap or adjust down your shirt can seriously cramp your style and take you out of the moment.

I believe that maintaining high quality gear is hugely important to my business. I use a Canon R6 and a 28-70 zoom lens.

I’m a golden hour chaser! I love the golden glow that happens 90 minutes leading up to sunset. When scheduling your session, I first look up the time of sunset and base it on that. On some rare occasions I do morning shoots, but for the best light that should also happen within the 90 minutes after sunrise. And to be honest, I’m not much of a morning person. If you are doing an in-home session, the best time of day is around noon. We want lots of light coming in, but we don’t want the sun so low that we are getting direct light in through the windows.

I do not currently have a studio, but there are local studios available to rent by the hour if you were hoping for an in-studio session. Check out The Valentine Room or The Newburyport Studio. The cost of the studio rental would be added to the fee.

I can’t emphasize enough to make sure you are dressed warm enough if your session is during the cooler times of the year. Although you might be able to handle the cold for a short while, you will quickly start to look cold! Our body language changes when we are cold and it’s obvious in photos. I see this, especially with children. Warm kids make for happy pictures! Remember layers! Consider leggings instead of tights under dresses. Add a cardigan, jean jacket, or other casual jackets over their outfit. If it’s a Christmas card photo out at a tree farm, it would be appropriate (and adorable) to be bundled up with hats and mittens too.

In general, I recommend you lean towards neutral/natural colors (white, cream, gray, tan, pastels). If you’re a bright and bold family, consider having a base of neutrals and adding pops of colors. Strive to all coordinate and look good next to each other, but DO NOT all wear the same thing. Trust me, everyone in jeans and a white top is not the way to go.

For maternity sessions, I recommend long flowy dresses that are neutral/natural tones. The movement of long dress photographs beautifully (great for non-maternity photos too!).

When I plan family photos, I always choose my outfit first. That’s because I feel like I’m the hardest one to shop for. Then I pick out my kiddo’s outfits based on the colors I chose, and lastly my husband. (Guys are so easy, a solid henley or button-down with jeans or khakis is perfect). It’s okay to include a print, but try to limit it to just one of you. You can potentially do more than one print if one is a larger print and the other is a small print or flannel. If you want to play it safe, stick to solids.

Try not to add too much stress to their demeanor. Kids can acutely feel our anxiety. I recommend you talk to your little ones ahead of time explaining what the experience will be like. “We are going to meet someone named Jen. She’s going to take pictures of us while we have fun together. She’s very friendly. If you are feeling shy you can cuddle me. You don’t have to look directly at her first. It’s ok to need time to warm up.” You are welcome to bribe your child with or a special treat after the session, but I find using snacks or candy during the session can be very difficult because we end up with photos of your child chewing and with food on their face.

Life happens, and I totally get it! If you are sick or if the weather is not cooperating, we will reschedule your session to a time that works for both of us. Your deposit will be transferred towards your new date and time. The only time you would lose your deposit is if you no show a session or are unable or unwilling to reschedule your session to a time that works for both of us within the next month.

You are welcome to bring a blanket that matches your outfits. I will have a neutral toned blanket on hand, but cannot guarantee how well it will match your outfit choices. You are also welcome to bring any props you would like. Here are a few examples: I’ve had someone bring a little tea set so they could do a tea party during their session. Another family brought a sign and ultrasound picture to announce a pregnancy. For families wanting Christmas card photos, I’ve had people bring a special ornament to hang on a tree, a cute sign to hold, or a thermos of hot cocoa and mugs. But in general, all we need is you and your loved ones.

Your home doesn’t have to look like it came out of a catalog for it to work for photos! We can stage an area of your home that has good light. For newborn sessions, I typically shoot in the nursery and the master bedroom, sometimes in the family room too. I promise I will make NO JUDGEMENTS if you are unable to clean your house before I come. As long as we can cut down on the clutter in the spots we want to shoot in we should be fine.

Editing is where the magic happens! I spend hours culling photos (choosing the very best ones out of the hundreds I shot), cropping, fixing color, and softly retouching faces in photos. Without needing to ask I will soften the look of the skin and get rid of any obvious blemishes.

No. To make sure I capture those special moments I will be shooting a ton; I will take hundreds of photos during your session! My job is to narrow down the selection to the very best photos that capture the essence of you and your loved ones. And trust me, you wouldn’t want all 800 of your photos. It’s extremely overwhelming to have that many to choose from! I pride myself in curating a gallery that is worth printing and putting on your walls. With a mini session you get 5 digital downloads, with a Full session you get 25 digital downloads, and with a newborn session you get all of the photos (25-50). Unlike some photographers, my pricing does not just cover the cost of the session, but also includes digital downloads that you can hold onto and print forever.

Chances are as soon as I get home I start uploading and working on your gallery! Editing is a very timely process. It starts with culling the photos (choosing the very best out of hundreds) and editing each image to have the correct color, light, and detail. I don’t simply apply a filter. I hand edit each photo. I ask for two weeks to complete your gallery, but it typically ends up taking less time than that. I try to send a sneak peek of my very favorite photo the very same or following day!

Before the shoot, I am available to discuss the best options for location and timing. I’m happy to help you decide on outfits for everyone in your session by giving you my top tips and answering any questions. Your shoot includes the actual time it takes for me to shoot your session, and all of the time I put into editing. I pride myself on hand editing each and every photo in your able to make sure all of the details are perfect. You will receive an online gallery with your digital images. You will be able to download these directly to your computer and print them however you would like. For ease, I do offer printing services directly through your online gallery through a professional and reputable printing company. This makes it so you don’t have to upload them to a separate website to print unless you want to. If you would like this feature turned on please let me know.

Download your photos and save them somewhere where they are protected. Consider backing them up on an external hard drive or on the Cloud. I am not able to store all the photos that I take forever, so please make sure you have downloaded and stored your photos. In regards to ordering prints, that’s up to you! You can upload your photos to a printing site. I DO NOT recommend printing them at places such as Target, Walmart, CVS, Riteaid, or Shutterfly. These companies do not regularly calibrate their machines the way that professional printing companies do. I recommend using a site such as MPix, or you can purchase prints and other products directly through your gallery. They will ship directly to you.