Pre-Session:


First of all let me know you want to book with me! We can discuss your needs and dates that work. Choosing a photographer can be a daunting task and I specialize in putting my clients at ease. When it comes to choosing location, makeup, hair and wardrobe I can hold your hand every step of the way. Mostly your session should be about you and is a good chance to express yourself authentically. Whether it's your family portraits or a head shot for your professional needs, Axis Imagery Ltd. has you covered. 

I love and appreciate visual inspo, I am a visual learner. So if you have photos of how you envision your session, do not hesitate to send them my way. I want to make sure we are on the same page before your session. It's part of helping to put you at ease. The visual inspo can also help me understand your preference for the background and feel of your session. We can scout locations together or I can suggest a couple places based off your preferences. If you have the perfect location that works too! 

If you book for 15 or 30 minute sessions we will typically only have time for one outfit. When booking for an hour you have the opportunity to choose 2-3 outfits. I always opt for keeping it simple, but ultimately these photos are for you and your needs. 

Some Do's for styling your session:

  • Solid colors & muted tones are best

  • Choose both dark or both light for your top & bottom choices. 

  • 1-3 color combos of similar tones are best. Have fun with it & be creative while keeping colors & tones in a similar spectrum.

  • Choose a top with sleeves at least to the elbow, this can save you if you're uncomfortable about your arms. 

  • Choose long pants for everyone OR a skirt below the knee for women.

  • Dark socks & Footwear, please wear shoes you like.

  • Jewelry can be kept simple & minimalistic. Unless the idea is to stand out then by all means.

  • Makeup for family photos & professional head shots should be kept minimal & natural. This can mean very different things to different people so visual inspo can really help here. 

  • I tend to favor your natural hair & your everyday looks. Hair oil for fly-aways or static. 

  • For new cuts & styles, please book up to 2 weeks in advance of your session. This allows you time to grow into your new look.

  • Nails should be clean/freshly cut. They can be any color, style, or type. Avoid chipped nail polish or nails that have seen better days.

Once we confirm date, time, location & style I will send you a reminder email a week before.

Session Day:

You will receive a morning text / call depending on our shooting time. We can discuss schedules and any other last minute details or if you are running late. I will meet you at our 1st location where I will greet everyone I haven't already met. We will stay at each location for around 20 minutes depending upon our pre-session plan. 

 

Families:

I like to start with the youngest in front of the camera. They're good at helping to warm the whole family up. I prefer if Guardians allow me to work with the children first without their input. Sometimes I find I can get them to listen to me better when I'm given space with the child. Sometimes the children don't want to pose or smile exactly as we'd like them to. Trust me though if you allow me to warm them up I will get some amazing shots out of them regardless. 

Once I've gotten individual shots of each child I will start working with them in groupings. Typically mom will have some preference to group shots she's looking for. Once I'm done working with the kids I will move into the adults and full family portraits. Again please allow me to guide the younger family members. Too many commands can often be confusing for them. In case of a time out we can always move on to the next item on the list. I find I can work around children better if we give them less attention when they're acting silly & such. 

The bigger your family the more time you need to book. A family of 4 needs at least an hour booking. A good rule of thumb is 15 minutes per family member. This allows me to give each person the time they need to get that perfect candid shot. 

Portraits/Headshots:

When we start to shoot the first 15 minutes is
where we warm up to one another. If we haven't worked together before I highly suggest booking for 30-60 minutes to get the most out of your session. Portrait photography is one of my strengths and I lean more towards creative shots. I can reign it in & offer a more professional style. It's all about your needs.

Yes you can bring a friend, family, spouse, and your dog. Whatever is going to put you more at ease, please do. 

Model Release:

You will be asked to sign a model release so that I can share your photos on social media. If you do not want your photos to be released on social media you can also indicate on the release. I like to respect the privacy & wishes of my clients. The model release also lets you know your rights to personal use of the photos. The release explains copyright to the photos. For non commercial sessions photos are not to be used to reproduce for money or your own promotional purposes. When using photos online you are required to keep any logo watermark and to tag my social media platforms. A website link, hashtag, or social tag are perfectly fine ways to make sure your paying proper credit. 

Post-Session:

Within the next few days you will start to receive your sneak peeks! These will serve as your retouched images of your session. When your images are complete in 2-3 weeks following your session I will email you with a link and password to your online gallery. Based upon your model release signature I will also pair a blog post about your session and you. 

Technical Info:

The link you receive will have high resolution photos for you to download onto your home desktop. You may put these onto a flash drive and/or print wherever you please. You can also order prints through my website. These are handled by a Canadian third party distributor, but I can help you with your order if issues arise. They will be too large of files to DOWNLOAD ALL onto your phone or device. You may be able to download 1 at a time though I've had iphone users citing issues. For this reason you will also be given a link to watermarked web sized images. These files will be a smaller size and easier for your phone/device to open. 

Axis Imagery
User Agreement