Q. How long have you been doing photography for?
A. Alexa – On and off for 19 years. As a young teenager helping in a family business, specialising in weddings and portraiture, shooting on film. At the age of 21, using the digital cameras and Photoshop I got a whole new inspiration of capturing the amazing moments called life and haven’t put the camera down ever since.
A. Kelly – since finishing his degree in Sydney college of the arts majoring in Photography in 1987.
Q. What’s the turnaround of the images?
A. Usually same or next day I’ll put a few images up as a sneak peek on our Social Media Page. Within 7 days your images will go up in a special private online gallery and I’ll email you the link to it. Gallery will stay up for a minimum of 1 month or when you have chosen your images. Each image has a unique 4-digit number that we need for your choices. Prints ordered in the first 48 hours will get an early bird 10% discount. Your prints will be ready for pick up within 6 weeks (usually earlier). DVDs with digital images usually get sent to you in approx 4 weeks of your choosing the numbers. Rush priority is available at addition charge.
Q. My child keeps scraping/bruising himself. Should I cancel our appointment?
A. Usually there’s no need to cancel. Photoshop is a wonderful tool. The only time I’d suggest rescheduling is if the injury has distorted your child’s face (like a black eye, or a goose egg on the forehead). Scrapes, cuts, bruises are all part for the course and I’m very used to them.
Q. With the Online Gallery images can I print them?
A. WEB resolution is suitable for any online use. It’s not recommended for printing. You can print a small passport sized photo out of it. Consider buying your very favourite photo in high res. You can print high res as large as you like, on canvas or floor to ceiling.
Q. When I buy high-resolution images, will I be able to print them myself?
A. You get all the printing rights. The images have no logos on them. They are ready to get printed!
Q. Would getting the prints done with you benefit us in any way? As opposed to doing it ourselves?
A. We print in a professional lab, that guarantees best quality paper and colours, however before sending it to them, we make sure to convert the images to the correct colour profile, re-crop if needed, and enhance the colour and contrast for the printing lab.
Q. What happens if something is preventing me from making it to the session?
A. Life happens. Sick children make for unhappy subjects. If your child/parent is sick please reschedule the session for when he/she is back to his/her old self. Your booking/session fee will be applied to a rescheduled session. No shows forfeit the fee. The booking/session fee will also be forfeited if a session is rescheduled more than twice and a new session fee will be required to secure another session.
Q. When is a good time for a session?
A. Schedule your photo session at a time when your child will be lively, awake, and playful. Often, just after waking up from a nap is best. Meal or snack time can be a fun time for photos, so you may want to prepare some snacks for your child for the shoot. Apples have been shoot savers for some toddlers.
Q. What should we bring for the shoot?
A. Food for baby/child. modelling is a hard job, they might get hungry even if they ate just before coming. Tasty snacks are also great for bubs over 5 months of age. Water in their special bottles. Fruits that look good for photography also great i.e. Apples.
Large colourful toys. We have a variety here, but sometimes it can be a great memory having their favourite toy(s) in the shot as well.
A couple of changes of clothing for yourselves and for your children.
Nappy change and a nice looking pacifier that parents would be happy to have in a shot if baby is really attached to it (if bub is still using them).
Any props if you’d like to use them in the shots. (Guitar case, skateboard, firemen’s hat, sunglasses, beads etc).
Q. What clothes work best?
A. Have a few changes of clothes picked out for your child ahead of time. Solid colours work well. Logos, cartoon characters and bright stripes and patterns can be distracting in a photograph, so try to avoid them if possible.
– For infants, often just a diaper and a bare belly is a great look. The clothes you pick out for very young children shouldn’t be stiff, or complicated. We want everybody to be comfortable, and we want the focus in the pictures to be on the child, not the clothes. It’s best to have some soft cotton form-fitting clothes in pastel colours available for very young children. Also think about how they move when holding them, often shirts move up and cover the face when holding them, something that goes between their legs will stay in place.
– Bare feet are always preferred and nothing is cuter than bare baby bellies!
– For toddlers, think about the texture of the clothes you’re picking out whilst keeping them simple, for instance; soft, fuzzy sweaters, corduroy or terry cloth. Also make sure they are used to the outfit. Often if they have never worn a new outfit they are either very interested in it (and not the camera) or they dislike the feel or colour/shape and get upset and try and take it off. Same with hats and headbands.
– In family photos, you don’t need to dress everybody alike, unless that’s the look you’re going for. Solid colours are best for adults, and that’s about it.
– Jewellery should be minimal and please avoid wearing watches. When photographing more than one person please think of their outfits as a whole, and keep colours uniform.
– It’s helpful to have your children already dressed when you arrive. We all know clothing changes can be very stressful on children, now add their photography session on top of that…we may loose their attention and happy demeanour before the session starts. Feel free to look through images on this site to see what people wore and whether you liked it or not.
Q. Are you the actual photographer who will be photographing me on the day?
A. Alexa and Kelly are photographers. Alexa does mostly in Studio shoots as well as Maternity on location, often with Kelly assisting when he is available. Kelly mostly does location family shoots, however we can both replace each other if the need arrises.
Q. Would you come to shoot on location?
A. Yes, I have portable equipment that I can travel with. I can shoot in your home, in hospital, beach, parks etc. There may be a travel fee depending on distance from the studio and package selected.
Q. How much notice do you need?
A. Preferably 2 – 3 weeks, but sometimes I can fit people in on very short notice, even the same day! Especially for newborns.
Q. Can I view the images during the shoot?
A. Yes, happy to show them to you on the back of the camera screen, however the contrast and colour fidelity is less than current generation computers, and it is quite small in comparison as well.
Q. What if I don’t like what we are getting?
A. We change the set up, lighting, poses or whatever else is needed to satisfy your needs.
Q. Would you photograph during birth?
A. Yes and it will be my honour to capture such amazing time. I absolutely love shooting Births.
Q. I like the look of outdoor locations, what would be best?
A. We can shoot in a park, on a beach or anywhere you like really.
Important information please read before shoot.
* Please be on time. If you come early I’ll probably still be shooting the previous client or reseting the space. If you run late, our time might be reduced and the session rushed. If you are running slightly late please let me know..
* Since I work with a lot of babies and children, please don’t bring anyone who is sick or might be infected, even a common cold if caught by a newborn might be very dangerous.
* For newborn shoots make sure not to dress them in anything that goes over their head to be removed (singlets) they always unnerve or wake up the baby. Dress them up in layers / blankets / towels. As long as those items can be removed easily.
* No smoking in studio or outdoors during the shoot.
* If you wish for studio lights not to be used, please advise before the shoot date.
* Please don’t get obsessed with your child smiling. A good, fun, chilled out atmosphere is much more conducive to getting out real smiles than the forced grimace of one. If you are relaxed, having fun and laughing, in most cases babies relax and smile easily. Some babies take longer to get a smile out of than others, but in future years, any expression, a yawn or a cry will be so precious to you, not only the smiles.
Terms
Love and Light Photography reserves the right to use any photograph in any form such as, but not limited to, the use in advertising, reproduction, and copyright. All images are copyrighted by Love and Light Photography, even those you purchase, however digital files supplied you have full printing rights. Copying, scanning or reproducing images is strictly prohibited.
By hiring Love and Light Photography, you agree to these terms.