What is boutique portrait photography?

When I hear the word “boutique” I think of a small, locally owned shop that offers high quality specialty products, and personalized customer service. Finding a “full service” customer experience that goes above and beyond the clients’ expectations in a big chain department store is hard to do. Bigger chain stores have too many customers to focus on each individually, thus the boutique shops fill a need. A boutique is a place where a customer would go if they were seeking a high end personalized customer experience, and a high end specialty product.

I follow the boutique business model in my portrait photography business. By only taking a limited number of clients or projects per year I am able to provide full service personalized customer experience, and heirloom tangible art products that will last for generations to come.

I am in contact with you from inquiry to display of your artwork on your wall at home. I will ask you a lot of questions about you and your family from names and ages of people who are going to be photographed to what you plan to do with your images. We will have a 30-45 minute consultation either in person or on the telephone. I spend this time getting to know you, and you will be able to ask any questions you might have.

We will discuss possible locations, poses, specific images that you might want, and finally a brief discussion of what sort of wall art you might be interested in. At the end of this meeting we will look at a calendar and pick a date and time for your session. A day or two before your session, I will email you a rough outline of how the session will go including posses, specific images, and locations. This is in no way set in stone and you are welcome to add anything to the outline you might think of. It has been my experience that by suppling a “playbook” to my clients it reduces nervousness and anxiety surrounding the session, and makes for a more relaxed atmosphere.

On the day of the session we will spend an hour and a half to two hours working through the playbook outline and then some extras. We will be silly, we will be serious, we will capture snuggles with your kids and snuggles with your significant other. I will capture as much of your family’s story as I can while still allowing for the spirit of your kids to show through.

About a week to ten days after your session I will contact you to set up an in-person image revue. We can do that at my house, your house or even at a coffee shop. During the image review I will show you 25-50 edited images. You will then pick your favorites (usually around 5-10). I will then show you the samples of heirloom products I have, where you can feel them and touch them. This makes it easier to visualize your how your images will look on any of the products.

We will discuss the various options and I will help you pick the best options for your prints based on where you want to display the images, and other considerations based on what you want. At this time I can measure areas of your wall where you would be displaying your artwork and that will help us get the perfect piece for where you want to display it. Coming to your home also gives me a little more insight to your decor and therefore amake more educated suggestions on products. Your order is placed, once I receive payment, and return to my office(if I’m not there).

Two to four weeks later I will receive your products from the lab. I will visually inspect each and every piece to ensure the highest quality. After the inspection I will repackage your products and contact you to set up a time for delivery. I will then deliver your products to your home and assist you in hanging any wall art that needs to be hung.

By taking the time to get to know you and your family I provide an comfortable and fun portrait session that will provide you with high quality heirloom fine art.