WHY DO YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER?
Right equipment for the right occasions.
Knowledge of lighting that makes you look great.
Camera angles that can change your appearance and mood of a photo. Posing rules for your face and body shape.
Attractive facial expressions.
How to emphasize certain parts of a face or body and minimize other parts that you are concern about.
How to pose to show connection.
Different skin types.
Problems and concerns and their solutions.
Visually interesting composition and color matching.
Retouching techniques. And so much more…
I know it sounds overwhelming and stressful for people who didn’t spend years of learning and mastering photography skills.
I remember what I felt like when I just started out. I couldn’t understand why things don’t work the way they are supposed to; and there are so many little things to consider as you are moving toward your goal.
Remember that frustration and confusion, when after spending a lot of time on a great makeup and hair styling, and knowing that you look amazing, you realize that you can’t get beautiful photos of yourself?
You might have the best smartphone or even a professional camera, but still your photos look dull and not flattering at all, not what you see in the mirror.
I know. I was there, before I started studying photography professionally. I tried different angles, tried indoors and outdoors with a flash, but no matter how I posed my face and the body, I couldn’t get that great look I saw in the mirror. My hair looked thin and flat, even after hours of styling and creating a lot of volume. My nose seemed to be larger and my makeup was washed out, like I didn’t use any.
In addition, I didn’t know how to find good lighting and how to retouch images, so my skin looked blotchy and unhealthy, I had “raccoon eyes”, blown out spots on my forehead, and shadows under my nose. The interesting thing is that I didn’t even understand that the photo lacks quality because of my poor knowledge about posing, lighting, retouching, and many other things, but I just knew that something is wrong and I can’t get the look I want.
Sounds familiar?
We think that the photo isn’t good because of the camera we own. We believe that if we get a professional camera, and then our photos will magically become great, and all problems will be solved.
Not really. You buy an expensive professional camera with a lot of features and manual tools. It can do so many things! But only if you take time to learn your equipment and practice as much as you can. And not just this.
You discover that you have to buy a professional Speedlight, because your pro camera doesn’t have a built-in flash. There is a reason behind it: on-camera flash rarely takes flattering pictures and doesn’t produce quality lighting.
So you are already overwhelmed with everything you have to learn and buy.
Which lens do you need? What kind of a Speedlight? Or maybe just a reflector? White, silver, or gold? Other accessories? Should you learn to shoot RAW, or it’s okay to stick with the jpg files? You can just go with an Auto mode, but after trying a Manual mode, you won’t want to get back to Auto, because you realize all its flaws.
And even if you learn your camera and buy great lens, it doesn’t guarantee you will take great pictures. Most of them still look amateur. Why?
Because it’s not the camera what makes you a great photographer. You need skills, knowledge, experience, time, and focus on mastering these skills, artistic vision, and knowledge of design principles.
Camera sees things differently than our eyes.
This is why you look differently on the pictures than in your mirror.
You need to consider:
Camera capabilities,
camera angle,
distance to the subject,
choice of lens,
posing rules customized to every person,
choice of clothes, makeup, and hair style,
solutions for different face and body types to look their best,
knowledge of the skin types,
right expressions,
retouching techniques,
professional software knowledge (Photoshop or Lightroom),
and most importantly, the ability to SEE the composition, color combination, to create the right mood, to show the personality and unique beauty, even if they don’t see it themselves.
A great photographer isn’t just any person with a great camera, it’s an educated, skilled, trained professional with an artistic eye who can see your beauty and personality, and knows how to show it to the world through their lens.
SO WHAT CAN I OFFER, AND WHAT IS IT LIKE TO WORK WITH ME?
Everyone wants to be seen, understood, accepted, and appreciated the way they are. Everyone wants to be able to express their unique self without being judged.
What is your identity, your personality, your unique beauty?
Let me help you SEE it.
I love what I do. I aim to find beauty in everyone, regardless of their age, skin type, body shape, gender, sexuality, or nationality.
As a photographer with the fine art background and passion for art, I want to create a photographic piece of art that represents YOU. It will inspire and empower you and show your beauty to the world.
Let me help you with my knowledge and skills.
I want you to see how beautiful you are, inside and out.
You seek to see yourself in your best self on a picture.
Women want to feel sexy, beautiful and unique.
Men want to feel strong, confident, and successful.
Everyone is different. I strive to show your personality. To create a great portrait of you, I customize posing rules and camera angles to your personal features and concerns.
Let me direct you. Let me help you to find the best poses personalized for you that portray you in the best light, and I will take care of everything else too, so you could just relax and enjoy the experience.
WHAT IS A TRADITIONAL/GLAMOUR OR A FINE ART PHOTO SESSION WITH ME LIKE?
Let me introduce you to my work process and timeline.
To assure you get the best experience and high quality products, I dedicate between 15 and 18 hours of my time preparing and organizing your personal photo session and products crafted just for you. It includes preparing multiple informative materials, helpful tips, and questionnaires, research, brainstorming and preparation on-location, home, or in the studio, 1-hour consultation, about 2 hours of shooting and changing outfits, cleaning up, choosing the best photos, between 4 and 10 hours of editing (more for the conceptual fine art portrait that needs compositing), ordering session and order preparation, designing and finishing production, ordering in the pro photo lab, packaging, and delivery.
My goal is to create something special for you that is not just a photograph, but rather is a piece of art that reflects your identity, strengths, and unique beauty, something that motivates and empowers you every time you see it.
During booking we will schedule your consultation, the photo session, and the reveal session.
Normally pre-consultations and reveal sessions are scheduled at 5- 6pm on Monday-Thursday, and photo sessions are held at 11am on Tuesday-Friday. However, times and prices are subjects to change.
Please don't bring children on your sessions, so we could keep focus on you, unless you scheduled a portrait with your child.
FIRST CONTACT
Normally, you contact me first through my website’s contact page or email provided there, and we schedule a phone conversation or continue with an email, when I answer all your questions, and you can book the session.
BOOKING THE SESSION
To book the session, you pay a session fee via PayPal. You can be sure that your payment is secure; I won’t even have your credit card information. Another option is cash. Trust and safety is important for me.
After booking your session I send you a few Guides with a valuable information to educate you as my client about important things to consider as you prepare for your session, such as Posing, Clothing, and Makeup guides. We can review them on our pre-consultation that can be held in my home studio, or via Skype, if you prefer.
PRE-CONSULTATION
I suggest to meet face-to-face for the pre-consultation, so I could show you some techniques for posing, hand placements, and facial expressions that you could practice before the session for the best results. If you would like a Skype consultation instead, we still can discuss all the details, and I still can show you some techniques.
The most important thing to discuss is the style of our photo shoot, your makeup and hair style, clothes to bring, facial and body features you love, and your concerns. It’s also helpful to consider what you want the pictures for. If it for a wall portrait, we can talk about the room design and colors, to make sure we choose the style and color scheme for our session that will result in a portrait that looks great on your wall.
PREPARATION
You usually will have your photo session scheduled a week after your consultation, so you had time to find the right clothes, makeup (or a makeup artist), style your hair, and practice some posing techniques.
After your consultation you can purchase, rent, or borrow outfits for your personalized session to make it special: old vintage dresses, gowns, prom and evening dresses, little black dress, scarves, hats/fascinators, and accessories.
Don't forget about your favorite clothes.
Please bring to your session nude and black strapless (usually push-up) bras and matching thongs/no show panties, nude pantyhose, and spandex shape-wear. If you have a corset, I suggest to bring it with you, for some creative glamour shots.
To prepare for the session, consider bringing 3-5 outfits, and take care of your skin, make-up, hair color/style, hands and nails. I will send you all professional guides you need, to make it easier for you.
PHOTO SESSION
Please be ready for the photo session on time. It might take about 2 hours. We will change outfits, backgrounds, and take a few pictures outside, too, if you wish.
For the first 20 minutes we will talk, do some relaxing exercises, and practice soft expressions, to assure you feel comfortable and content.
Next we will start posing and shooting. I will guide you through the whole process. The easiest way to take right poses will be mirroring me.
We will capture multiple poses in every location, standing, sitting, leaning, and lying down.
You need to know that many of these poses might feel uncomfortable, but they will look natural on the photographs. For every shape and body type I will see which poses make you look your best, so the poses will be chosen to contour your figure better, and to create attractive, elongated shape.
REVEAL & ORDERING SESSION
Your reveal session will be scheduled on the day of your booking.
Normally it's held in 3-4 days after the photo session. In some cases it's possible to have it on the same day of the session, but I need at least four hours to choose your best 20 photos and do standard retouching to present them to you.
When you choose your products, selected images will be retouched to perfection, printed, packaged, and delivered.
On your reveal/ordering session you will see your 20-30 best images, as well as paper and product samples, available sizes, and add-on items. You need to make final product choices during the ordering session. You are welcome to bring your partner/family member/friend with you, if you need their advice before making your selections.
For the Reveal session we do need to meet face-to-face in my home studio, so you could see and touch samples of professional photographic paper that I use, samples of products, available sizes and how they look on the wall, view your images on the screen, and decide which ones you love and want to order.
You order only what you love. I never pressure anyone into anything.
I want you to have exactly what you want and what you love.
FINAL PRODUCT AND DELIVERY
During or right after your reveal session you send a payment through PayPal or pay in cash for the products you ordered, and in 3-5 business days (depending on the print sizes, retouching time I need for your images, and my schedule) your pictures will be sent to the professional photography lab.
If you order big images, I need more time to retouch them.
For the fine art photography image it takes harder work and longer retouching, because I use compositing, digital painting, and other complex techniques that require time and special skills.
Prints are usually ready in 2 business days after they are sent to the lab, and I deliver or ship them to you with no charge.
Photographic paper that I use is archival for approximately 100 years, to ensure you receive quality prints that will last for you.
For the fine art print I use a specific fine art paper that is thicker and looks like a watercolor paper.
I send it to a different professional lab, and they take longer time to print and ship it to me.
This specific paper suits the fine art pieces better, and I recommend it; however, you can request your fine art portrait printed on the same photographic paper as your traditional portraits.
You will be able to view and touch both paper samples during your reveal session, to decide which one you prefer.
SO WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TRADITIONAL/GLAMOUR SESSION AND A FINE ART SESSION?
A Traditional/Glamour session includes a preparation and taking you portraits on a variety of settings. It can be help in the studio, outdoors, or even in your home. We discuss locations during your consultation.
You will pose standing, sitting, leaning, and lying down. You can change locations and outfits, and the session lasts about 2 hours. You can pose alone or/and with someone else.
You can choose a style of a photo shoot; some images can be just simple and traditional, and some can be flirty, vintage, or ethereal.
I can even use textures and effects on some of the portraits to make them look different and more creative.
The Fine art session includes everything that a traditional session offers, plus one special fine art photography piece for your wall that is designed, conceptualized, and crafted just for you.
It’s a unique, one-of-a-kind art that represents your personal fantasy, dream, or a concept.
To create this piece, I need to know you deeper, so our pre-consultation will be longer and more detailed.
Our photo session will be longer as well, as we need to set up the scene for your concept, and prepare props. When editing your fine art image, I use more time, as I composite elements into your image, and tweak every little detail to make sure it looks believable and generates your ideas and fantasy the way you desire.
On the reveal session you buy only what you love, including your final personalized fine art photographic piece. You still have all of your traditional and glamour images to choose from, in addition to your fine art piece.
Notice that your fine art piece, if you love and order it, will need the final detailed tweaking and more time to be printed and shipped, so you might receive it later than your photographic prints.
Please Contact me to request the detailed Traditional and Fine Art Portrait Product and Pricing Guide for more information.
RESCHEDULING
Session fee is non-refundable, but you can reschedule your session one time for any available date within 6 months of the original appointment date.
If you have to reschedule your photo session time, you need to give me at least 24 hours’ notice. If you already had your consultation, your rescheduled session should have same style and character as discussed. If you reschedule your session before your consultation, you will have a consultation appointment about a week before your new session date.
If you no-show without the 24 hours’ notice on either consultation or photo session date, your session fee is non-refundable, and you can't reschedule the session you paid for.
WHAT IS A WEB PORTRAIT SESSION WITH ME LIKE? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TRADITIONAL AND A WEB PORTRAIT SESSION?
In the present-day’s digital world, your social media presence and quality pictures go hand to hand, to draw your visitors in, expand your audience, and create a great first impression.
Do you need an online professional portfolio, dating profile pictures, business head-shots, or just quality images to showcase your lifestyle and share with friends and family on social media?
Quality photos can attract your audience and increase social engagement levels.
Modeling & business portfolios
A session with me is arranged around what you need images for and your specific style. You will get a variety of looks that you can use for marketing or other purposes.
Do you need fresh modeling or performance portfolio photos, to expand your client base?
Or you are just starting your career and want to stand out from the rest to attract agencies and clients in your target marketplace?
Remember that the purpose of a modelling or acting portfolio is showing not just your looks, but also your ability to portray different personality and mood.
Business portfolios will showcase your services and special brand.
You can use these high quality images anywhere on the web for marketing purposes to establish or expand your business.
Dating profile pictures
Most people on the dating sites have low-quality profile pictures. Fancy snapchat filters blend them in with the crowd even more.
It’s essential to stand out on the dating sites, as you are competing with thousands of people in your area. Don’t try to convince yourself that your potential date doesn’t care about your profile pictures. Just like you, they do care.
Statistics show that dating profiles with a variety of quality, attractive photos receive ten times more responses than profiles with blurry, lousy photos, or no photos at all.
Your profile photo is the most important part of any online dating profile and the first tool to make a lasting first impression with a potential partner.
Social media & Business profile pictures
Social media these days is a huge connecting, networking, and marketing tool. You can’t avoid or ignore it.
Quality, personalized profile photos that represent you the way you want to be presented are important for your social media communication and business.
With one session we can create a variety of different looks and styles, and you can share them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or any other network.
For businesses it is crucial to have visually captivating, high quality content, to keep customers engaged.
Before any session we discuss your goals and expected end result, to design your very own personalized session.
A Web Portrait session with me includes a session fee and 4 digital Collections (packages) to choose from.
It’s shorter than a Traditional/Glamour session, and does not include pre-consultation and a reveal session.
You receive edited digital files optimized for the web that you can use anywhere online (not for the printing purposes).
Some Collections also include a few professional prints, and you can order a print package with any Collection, if you wish.
Please Contact me to request the detailed Web Portrait Product and Pricing Guide for more information.
MY REFERRAL PROGRAMS AND OTHER REWARDS
I love my clients, and I want to thank them by giving them something valuable for their word-of mouth referrals!
That is why I am introducing my new referral program that offers both you and your friend a reward, so it’s a WIN-WIN situation for both of you!
I’d rather give this opportunity to my loyal existing and new clients, than spend this money for advertising services. I also believe that word-of-mouth recommendations from the trusted friends are so much better than any online paid ad.
I have two great Referral programs that you will love, because you receive a reward for participating in them, and you can use all earned rewards on the same session!
You can read more about my Traditional/Fine Art Portrait Rewards program here,
I AM HERE TO HELP YOU
If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, I am open to hear them and respond in a timely manner. I would love to hear from you!
Please feel free to contact me about anything! I genuinely want to make sure you feel comfortable and prepared for the session.
I strive to create a meaningful and fun experience for you, not just the product.
The biggest reason of possible disappointment in someone’s service can come from miscommunication and misunderstanding.
I am a straightforward person that cares a lot about doing what feels right and what is fair for everyone. I know that every person is different, and accept everyone the way they are. Everyone has their own unique personality, and this is awesome!
I am a thinker and a problem solver by my nature, and I always think through before responding, because I care about clear and complete communication and meeting your expectations.
This is why I am not a fan of the phone call as a way of the first contact. I prefer to be contacted through my Contact page or email, so I could take time to respond clearly and thoughtfully, and keep record of our communication.
As an artist, I am also very visual, so I love meeting with the clients face-to-face for the per-consultation (or at least skype), to hear their story, know them better, and develop the strategy of working together on their beautiful portraits.