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Fine Art & Portrait Session Information

Darling Classic Sessions (for maternity, babies and children) have the choice between studio or on-location sessions. There are advantages to both choices and it basically just comes down to personal taste. 

Studio work is an excellent way to create wonderful, simple portraits, where the focus is placed solely on the people or pet being photographed. 

Studio sessions are held at either of my home studios; in Erin Mills (Mississauga) or Hastings (30min. from Peterborough), and can accommodate up to four people.  

On-location sessions are performed either in the comfort of your own home or in an outdoor setting such as a local park, or both. Clients often select this choice if they want to incorporate some of their natural surroundings in the images, or if they want a more natural look to the photographs. On-location shoots are very popular for toddler and pet sessions. On-location in your home can also contain studio elements, I bring my studio (providing you have space!) with me including backdrops and lights (travel fee incurred)

Outdoor Sessions can be held at either studio with no travel fee incurred. The Hastings studio has the advantage of being located on the Trent River, which makes a wonderful backdrop for your portraits, with lots of room for the kids to run and play. The Mississauga studio is located on a beautiful ravine and is close to many wonderful outdoor locales which can also be incorporated into your portraits. 

Darling Classic Sessions will last at least 1.5-2 hours so there will be plenty of opportunities for clothing changes to add variety to your images. 

The wonderful thing about custom photography is that each session is as unique as the individuals being photographed! Each session begins with a pre-session consultation either by phone or in person. At this time there will be a few things discussed such as choice of location, type of clothing to wear and what accessories to bring. 

Session fee is due at the time your session is booked in order to reserve your date. Failure to pay the session fee within five (5) days of booking will cause your session date to be open to other clients. 

Session fees include Melanie's time and talent, pre-session consultation either in person or over the phone, 1.5-2 hour session for Maternity/Family, editing and processing of your images along with artistic touches (a minimum of 20 poses), an online gallery for 5 days, and a Presentation Session. It does not include any prints or digital files. 

There are many stages to the process of producing your images that a professional photographer will go through, and many steps to consider that you yourself will not do and have not been trained for. A few of these are the setting for the portraits, using props or not, the lighting, the posing and placing of the subjects. Using excellent high-quality professional standard equipment and controlling that equipment to get great and artistic results. Taking the shot so the subjects look their best; using different angles, using different lens lengths etc. And most importantly, processing of the images. A professional will not rely on the camera to compose the final edit but will take total control and do this after the session with a computer program designed specifically for the professional editing of photographs. All of these stages take time and require years of training and practice.  

Session fees are non-refundable but may be transferred to an alternate date in the event of illness or bad weather. 

Outdoor shoots may be cancelled due to inclement weather (at the photographer's discretion). 

 

What should I wear? 

A good rule of thumb is to keep the clothing simple, avoid very busy patterns and logos. If there is more than one person in the image, try to coordinate their clothing. That doesn't mean everyone needs to be dressed in the same outfit, similar colour tones will do. 

We are trying to capture your child's personality so casual is better. Children are more comfortable in "everyday wear" than they would be in a suit or a dress. 

Give thought to accessories such as hats, scarves, favourite toys and teddy bears. All these things can add a lot of fun and interest to the images.