How much should I budget for photography?
No matter what I'm shooting, it's based on a creative fee, which is my time to prepare for, shoot, hand-edit and touch up, share and advise, and prepare orders. So I base it on an hour of shooting, knowing each hour comes with AT LEAST three extra hours of behind-the-scenes work. If two of us are shooting, that's even more behind-the-scenes time.
Our creative fee for local portraits and lifestyle sessions are $500. Weekend sessions are not often available, and are $900. On location (anything further than a 20 minute drive from Hayward, CA) may also be an extra charge.
Mini-sessions are held each early autumn and sometimes springtime, in a park near Los Gatos and Castro Valley, and are a short version of our regular sessions and include a handful of images ready to use for your holiday cards. Please send me an email if you're interested and want to be added to the notifcation list! Slots fill up FAST.
We have PDFs with much more detail, just send me a quick email and I'll send it back ASAP.
What the heck is Branding Photography and do you offer it?
We LOVE branding photography! It's when you bring us on to create images you can use to update your website, blog, Instagram or other social media with photos that tell a story about you or your business or non-profit group. That way you always have a source of images to draw upon when it's time to post updates online. Social media influencers need branding photography to help them stand out from others, and small businesses need it to fill out their offerings online. We'll work with you to shoot what you need in as little time as possible.
Can I commission you to create artwork for our offices? Or rent artwork for staging?
Yes, indeed! We have our artwork on display at the law offices of Gates Eisenhart Dawson, a 15-piece canvas gallery collection of the best of San Jose architecture. We also lease artwork for home staging and corporate offices. Just give us a call or email.
My wedding is in 2025, how do I book you?
Mini-weddings, elopements and events are also based on the hourly creative fee above and you're welcome to book me up to six months in advance. But I am no longer available for all-day weddings or weddings with more than a few guests. After 20 years of shooting weddings, it's time to make way for the next generation of wedding photographers and I'm so proud of the over 600 weddings I've done! All-day weddings are labor intensive (one WEEK of work for each wedding!), hard on the body (two cameras going at all times over 8 hours), and take me away from my son and husband, so from now on, I'll pour my heart and soul into my work for special couples and their families who appreciate the time, energy, skill and investment in their big day.