Your Session

What to Expect of Your Session

It is our goal to make you comfortable throughout your entire interaction with us, and that means keeping things simple! Below we have outlined what a typical experience with us looks like from start to finish! Please let us know if you have any questions at all!

Before Your Session

A contract and model release will be sent to you via email for review and signature. These forms are fully automated online, so once you sign and submit them you are done! Your deposit is also taken at this time, also processed securely online (other payment methods available, just ask!)
Once your contract and deposit has been received, an online questionnaire will be sent to help us get to know you and your family a little better as we decide how to best document the parts of your family that make it so extra special!
Prepare and consider what outfits you will wear! There are endless resources to help you with this, but we are always happy to help and provide any insight we can in the decision process!
We will work with you to find the perfect location, with a variety of options and looks. Weather permitting, the best times for photos are during “golden hour”, approximately 1-2 hours prior to sunset.

During Your Session

We keep a close eye on the weather, but in true PNW fashion, you never know what the weather will bring until right up to the day – so generally, we don’t cancel on account of weather until the day of the session. We also have options for covered areas to shoot under in a pinch!
Make it FUN! Hype it up with the family and get them excited about it. Make an afternoon/evening adventure out of it. If all else fails bribery can work wonders too (for dad’s too)!
Make sure everyone is fed and well-napped prior to your session. Hungry and tired kiddos (or parents) are much more difficult to get in the mood to have their photos taken.
Bring “lovies” that might help the little one feel more comfortable (and be aware that they may make an appearance in your family photographs!).
Consider bringing back-up outfits and wipes or rags just in case an accident happens!
Don’t stress out about the kids’ not “posing”! We want to capture your family at its most natural and your kids at their most joyful! Mom and Dad angrily yelling for the kids to smile and look at the camera rarely results in a cherished family photo that brings warm, fuzzy feelings…and sometimes it results in tears and sadness! We have some tricks for coaxing out those giggles, so let us do our magic! And we promise, it may feel like total chaos (with young kids, it usually does), but we will get the shot! With this in mind, from the moment we start, we ask you just to keep smiling, loving and laughing no matter what (unless somebody is in physical danger!)
An email for final payment will be sent the day of your session, so you don’t need to worry about trying to make a credit card payment or writing a check or carrying around cash during your session! Just pay the final amount easily online sometime before or shortly after your session!

After Your Session

Relax! You’re all done!
It typically takes approximately 3 weeks for us to complete the processing of your photos and email your gallery out. We know how ANXIOUS clients are to see all their hard work pay off!
Once editing is completed, photos will be mailed to you on a USB, as well as available through download on a private viewing gallery (perfect for sharing with friends and family!) If you have selected a package that includes an album, we will begin to gather the needed information from you to begin the design process.
If you have ordered any additional prints or products, these will be sent within 2 weeks of your order. We request that you place these orders within 90 days of receiving the images in the online gallery. After 90 days your gallery will be “retired”.
Now please, go frame and hang those lovely photographs! It would be a shame to leave them sitting on the USB, wouldn’t it? Professional print lab products can be purchased through your online gallery. Another print lab that offers great quality prints is www.artifactuprising.com. Here is a great website that compares some of these various printers.
Ahem, tell a friend! We are proud to say that almost all new clients come to us through a friend!
When sharing photos, we would love to have you tag us on social media! @rusted_van_photography

Follow @rusted_van_photography