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Cancellations
If you need to reschedule
your appointment, please contact me at least 48 hours before the
session so your deposit can be applied to another session. There is a wait-list for some appointments, so if you are unable to have your portrait session, please call so someone else can. If you do not call to re-schedule or you do not show up to the session, you will forfeit your deposit. In this case, you may call to book another session and leave another deposit to secure the new session.
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Sick Children
Please do not bring your child to the session if he/she is sick. You won't get the kind of image you want, and your little one will be miserable! If
your child becomes sick the night before or the morning of your
session, please call to re-schedule and your deposit will be applied to
another session. If you bring your
child to the session and they are too sick to have an enjoyable
experience, we reserve the right to cancel the session at that time and
you will forfeit your deposit.
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Getting Ready For Your Session
The
first thing you need to do is decide what kind of image you want to
capture. With a black background (our favourite!) you will want to
dress your child in solid colour clothing. For a white background, dress them in light coloured
clothing. White, pastel or cream will look fine in black and white. You
can also choose a solid in a nice vivid colour. Denim always looks
good with either a black or white backdrop. When choosing clothes for
the session, remember that you want to keep the focus on your child's
face, not what they are wearing .
We
want to keep the attention on your child's face, not on what they are
wearing. Keep the style simple with no patterns, words or pictures.
If you need help or inspiration, take a look at the gallery to see what
other children have worn for their sessions.
If
you are doing a newborn session, you won't need to bring clothing, as
they are normally photographed nude or just in diapers. You will need
to bring several extra diapers, a blanket to wrap them in between
shots, and a change of clothes for you (trust me, you'll need
them!). Parents are often used as props for these types of sessions,
so please come dressed in appropriate clothing. If we are
photographing them against a black backdrop, at least one parent will
need to be dressed in black. If we use the white background, at least
one parent will need to wear a white shirt and light coloured pants or
jeans.
For group shots, be sure that everyone dresses in similar,
complimentary outfits. For black and white shots, you will not need to
wear matching colours, just make sure they are all similarly dark or
light.
Feel
free to bring any toys or music that you know your child will respond
to. Also, please do not make a point of telling your children they
must behave, listen to the photographer, etc. This may put them in the
mind frame that they are about to undergo some type of chore, and could
dampen their normal personalities. Just bring them as their own little
selves and we'll take care of the rest! If you need any advice on
preparing for the session, feel free to call or send an email.
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The Session
Your session will be individually tailored to meet the needs of your family. Sessions are never rushed and can last anywhere from 1/2 hour to 2 hours, depending on the subject. Sessions with one child are usually the shortest and newborn babies generally take the longest. We will shoot as many images as needed to ensure we get all of the shots we want. The pace of the session is very relaxed, with not much posing. The
personality of the child or the dynamics of the family dictate the
session, which leads to the most natural portraits possible. There are
some ages that are more difficult to capture with many children. In
these cases, we ask the parents to refrain from coercing or disciplining
the child into cooperating. The most important thing is to keep the
atmosphere positive and relaxed, even if they are behaving in a way
that you would normally not allow. Sometimes it is better for everyone
if the parent leaves the area for a while, and let me work alone with
the child.
Your session fee includes one background colour and one or two outfits. While
background and additional clothing changes are possible, please keep in
mind that it will take away from your session time.
For family sessions, we will shoot as many combinations of people as possible. For
example, for a family of four, we will shoot some of each child alone,
some of the children together, some of each child with each parent,
some of the entire family and some of just the parents. Sessions with more than 4 people/subjects require an additional $5 per person/subject.
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Viewing Your Proofs/Placing Your Order
Your proofs will be available for viewing within 10 business days of your session. You will receive a link to a password-protected webpage for private viewing of your proofs. You are welcome to share this link with family and friends.
At the bottom of each image there is a number. This is the number you will use to place your order. You can place your order over the phone or by email. We accept cheques, cash, paypal or credit card payments. A 50% deposit is required when you place an order. The balance will be due when the order is complete. Please note we do not accept cheques for balance payment. Family members may place orders directly as well. Proofs will remain on the website for 7 days only. If you want the proofs put back on the site, there will be a charge of $25 for an additional 7 days.
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Cropping
Not
all size prints have the same proportion. The proofs as you see them
show the entire frame, but the portion of the frame visible on the
final print depends on the size you order. In particular, 8x10 and
16x20 prints are more square than the original frame, so it will be
cropped quite a bit.
Here is an example of one image in several different sizes:
A 4x6 print shows the entire image.
This is the same image as a 5x7.
This
is the image as an 8x10.
As you can see, this size crops a great deal
off the longest side, and is almost square. You can order an 8x12 if
you want to keep the entire image, but frames for this size are hard to
find.
This is the image as an 11x14.
A 16x20 has the same proportion as an 8x10.
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Retouching/Design Changes
All
sessions include basic retouching as needed, at my discretion. You may
request additional minor fixes (blemish, stray hair removal, etc.) at
no cost. Additional or major retouching requests will incur a fee of
$50/hour, billed by the 1/4 hour.
When you order a custom designed item like a Collage Print or Photo Book,
you may request up to two minor changes (re-arrange images, move
placement of images or text, change font) at no cost. Additional or
major (replace images with another image, significant re-design)
changes will incur a fee of $50/hour, billed by the 1/4 hour.
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Copyright
All images are protected by Canada Copyright Law. It is illegal to
copy or reproduce in any way any image from your session, either for
personal or commercial use.
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All images and content are Copyright © Shutterbugz 2006
