What is "Lifestyle Portraiture?"
We believe that a portrait should be more than just a picture of a person (or people). It should give you a very real feeling about who that person is, capturing the essence of their personality. More and more, the trend in photography has veered away from traditional studio, posed portraiture. Traditional studio portraiture can have a stiff, unnatural feel to it, lacking that "realness." Lifestyle portraiture focuses on capturing that realness. Taking enough time for photographer and subject to establish a certain level of comfort is key. We allow up to two hours for most sessions. Of course, just being a subject is often nervewracking for most people, so we work to create an environment that helps everyone relax. We want it to be a fun experience, with plenty of genuine smiles and laughter.
    Rather than being confined to a studio, we also like to choose locations that fit your personality, and even make you feel "at home." It may actually be your home, a spot that holds special meaning and memories, or maybe just a cool locale that fits your personality. So the ultimate goal is to relax, have fun, and let genuine emotion shine through. If it's a group or family, we want to capture the interaction and love that they all naturally have for one another. Some posing may be involved, but all in the context of feeling comfortable and relaxed.
    This is not to say that you can't achieve some great images in a studio environment. Really, any place can work, it's all about having a good time with it and letting things flow.

How much should we expect to spend?
Our current standard session fee is $200. This includes up to 2 hours of our time, our creative vision and fully editing/retouching on all images (approx. 20-50 on average). If you or the location chosen is longer than a 30 mile drive from zip 03882, a $50 travel fee would apply. Additional travel may apply for distances over 60 miles (please contact us for details). Individual prints and print packages are additional. Most clients spend between $800-$3,000 on their session. Additional available items include albums, greeting cards, gallery wraps (a photo printed on canvas, suitable for wall hanging), which will increase your investment.
    We also have an Image Portrait session which is great for spiffy social media avatars and profiles as well as professional headshots. The session is 30 minutes, one location, for $125. It includes 3 large, web-resolution images and 1 8"x10" print.

So what's the process? How do things unfold?
Typically, after the initial contact, we will schedule a pre-consultation. This would preferably be in person. Depending on schedules and logistics, a telephone consultation may be arranged. With this consultation, we'll get to know one another a bit, answer any questions you might have and determine what your wants and desires for the shoot are. We can decide on locations for the shoot and schedule it as well as your ordering/viewing session.
    When your images are ready, after the shoot—Usually about 2 weeks—we'll visit your home for the ordering/viewing session. We'll come at your convenience and setup a viewing of your images in a slideshow format. At this time we can answer any questions you may have about our fine art prints and gallery canvas wraps and offer advice on how they would best suit your decor and wall space. After deciding on the images you want to order as prints, we can take your order. You'll receive your order 2-3 weeks after it's placed.

How does the actual shoot work?
Well, first of all, together we'll choose a location or locations. Often, this might be your home, especially for babies (almost always), children and families. For family portraits, it's fun to plan an activity that you can all enjoy together; baking cookies, playing in the back yard, taking a walk. Besides your home, you may have a favorite spot—maybe one that holds special meaning for your family—already in mind. If not, we can offer suggestions. Parks, playgrounds, grassy fields, woodland trails, local beaches and urban areas can all provide great photo-ops. We'll also discuss the best time of day, which involves the path of the sun and therefore is dependent on the time of year. In this regard, usually 60-90 minutes before sunset provides very beautiful light. For children and family portraits, we'll also discuss the best time of day to catch them in their happiest mood!
    So after meeting you there, we'll talk a little, scope out the location and get our gear ready. This is where the pre-consultation, "getting-to-know-you" comes in handy. Some familiarity with us, and we with you, will help everyone get comfortable more quickly. (as a side note, with babies and children we recommend cleaning faces and hands just before we meet with you at the session location to keep anything they perceive as unfun "seperated" from the session) We'll start shooting right away, though at first it will be us getting our camera settings dialed in for the existing conditions—no pressure! If our subject is made up of more than one person, we'll start off by keeping the interaction natural, then later on perhaps try some easy posing. Throw in a wardrobe change or two and that's pretty much it!
    If you are having a shoot on a location away from your home, like the beach or a park, consider bringing the following: bottled water/non-messy snacks, baby wipes, change of clothes for everyone (in case someone spills on their clothes), beach toys for the kids, a hairbrush/comb and a small mirror, extra makeup for touch-ups, and sunscreen. For babies and young children, it is recommended to bring at least two changes of clothes, to ensure against double accidents.

How do you get the kind of images you have on your site? Will you be able to photograph my child that way?
Our style comes from the natural interaction between parents, children and siblings. Beyond that, we as photographers also strive to create a relaxed repoire with our subjects, so that everyone can feel free to be themselves in front of the camera. The most important factor in getting these fresh, authentic images is to have the children feel at ease and not pressured. They should be physically comfortable, rested and nourished. And, most importantly, they need to feel free to have fun and be themselves, so that we can capture those wonderful glimpses into the pure joy of being a child! We recommend not telling them about the photo session ahead of time to avoid any nervousness from negative or even positive anticipation.
    With regular sessions, we'll take the time needed to create great images of your little ones. Some children are more reserved, and they might take a bit longer to warm up. This may involve some time in which we interact with them without direction from Mom and Dad. Often children relax better when they are not striving to meet the expectations they feel are placed on them for a photo-shoot. Don't feel that you need to prompt the children to sit still, pose or say cheese during the session. However, we welcome your contribution in getting those genuine smiles with special tricks, songs and silly faces you know are irresistible to your little ones.

What should I/we wear?
We'll go into more detail for each type of portrait session below, but overall we want the clothing you choose to be comfortable and represent your personality. For any type of group portraiture (basically, 2 or more people) we don't encourage matching colors (more on that below), but it is important that the overall tone of the clothes be consistent—it won’t look quite right if one person is in an evening gown and one is in shorts! Decide ahead of time as a group whether you will be dressing casually, casual dressy, or formally for your photos.

Maternity: Our goal is to show off your beautiful belly, so make sure to wear clothing that is form-fitting instead of baggy. Also, button down shirts work great.

Newborns: Because newborns are so tiny, we won't want to put them in outfits that grandma puts her dolls in—Otherwise they will be overtaken by lace and frill. We'd recommend putting them in onezies, their diaper, or simply au naturel. It's best to schedule newborn sessions when when your baby is under 2 weeks old. You can schedule while you're pregnant, based on your due date. Don't worry if we need to make adjustments later.

Children: The sky is the limit with your little ones! Parents, you'll most likely be choosing your children's outfits, but stay true to their unique personality. We recommend letting your kids choose at least one outfit all by themselves—No matter how horrifyingly mismatched it is. That includes their favorite ballerina outfit & tu-tu, hats, fairy wings, superman pajamas, and more!

Seniors: Whether you are a traditional ‘plain white t-shirt and jeans’ kind of person or you mix plaids with stripes, wear what you feel most comfortable in. During the shoot we'll go for a handful of different looks as time allows, so bring 3 or 4 outfits that represent different aspects of your personality. Don’t be afraid to dress up as well as trying something different and unique, like bulky jewelry, dramatic or brightly colored clothing, crazy/bold patterns and feel free to match or mismatch! Simply, wear what you LOVE. What do you bring to the shoot? Whatever you can fit in your car. Bring & wear things that you feel represent who you are: Musical instruments, uniforms, hats, sunglasses, jewelry, sports equipment, pets, high heels you never get to wear or your favorite pair of converse sneakers, your beater car, favorite dress or best friend—anything. If you're still not sure what to bring, please feel free to ask us for more ideas. During your consultation, you’ll receive more direction that will be catered for your specific shoot.

Families: Once again, we feel its very important to let each member of the family be who they are. (Besides, it's always fun seeing what "stage" your teenagers went through during that time.) We don't encourage everyone dress to match (i.e. all the girls in pink, all the boys in white, etc.) as this harkens back to a bygone era of overly posed, somewhat unnatural family portraits. Complimentary colors are great, but we find that "matchy-matchy," usually equates to cheesy-cheesy!

What type of makeup should I wear?
It is very important to be yourself in your portraits—if you normally don’t wear a lot of makeup, you may not want to wear a lot during your session—makeup can come across as exaggerated in photographs, and you want the attention drawn to your beautiful face, not your eyeliner! A simple sweep of translucent powder to keep shine at bay is a great tool, and we bring some to every photo session. Shimmery makeup and glitter can cause glare that looks very similar to facial shine,
so it is generally best to skip it.
    If picking the right makeup is intimidating, or you just want to try out a new look, we know several amazing hair and makeup artists who can set you up to look incredible and natural for your portraits! There are also great resources on the web for makeup application. Here's an excellent one: Makeup Tips and Tricks.
    Kids have naturally amazing skin and coloring, so its best to avoid makeup on the little ones!

How long should I wait before scheduling a session for my newborn?
We recommend scheduling newborn sessions within the baby's first two weeks. During this period, they still have that newborn look and are still sleeping off their "birthlag," so it's the perfect time to get those classic sleepy newborn images.
    In addition to newborn, many parents like to schedule regular sessions for the baby's first year at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Get in touch to inquire about our Baby's First Year packages.

When and how will we view our photos?
We'll schedule your ordering session aproximately 2 weeks after your shoot. We'll come to your home and present your images with our true-to-life projector, so you can view them in large, full-color wall art size, so as to enjoy their full impact. After viewing the collection, we'll help you put together your order, and offer input on which products and sizes will best suit your plans to display your portraits. You'll receive your order anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks after you place your order.

Do you retouch the photos?
Yes, we do. We do basic cropping and color correction on all the photos (something that is required for 99% percent of all digital photos no matter who is taking the picture). We do an additional round of retouching for the favorites, yours and ours. These are photos that will be the popular print and album choices. Typical retouches would be blemish removal, skin smoothing and subtle whitening/brightening of teeth and eyes. Feel free to let us know if you have any specific requests for retouching in any of your photos.

What's the deal with copyrights, don't the photos you take of us belong to us?
Another great, though sometimes “murky” question. Copyright is, literally, the “right to copy” a specific work. The copyright of that 'work' is owned solely by the originator of it from the moment of its creation. Copyright violation, even if unintentional, is a violation of federal law. So, Birch Blaze Studios owns the copyright to all the photos we take, including proofs. Images may not be copied, scanned or reproduced in any way without written permission from Birch Blaze Studios.