Upcoming Session

PLANNING: Your session is coming up, and you may still questions or simply forgotten something! Hopefully this guide can help answer any questions you may have! 

 

FINAL PAYMENT:  Don't forget that your final payment is due the day of your session. You can send it via PayPal, pay in cash or bring a check with you to the session. Checks can be made out to Persimmon Lane Photography. Photographs will not be edited/released until final payment is made. 

INCLEMENT WEATHER: If you follow my work, you know that I tend to *love* to incorporate warm sunsets into my sessions whenever possible! This means that sometimes sessions have to get rescheduled. I know it's not convenient to jump through hoops to find a date that works, much less reschedule, but I certainly we want your images to look amazing, and unfortunately we can't control the weather! Here's what you can expect: 
 

• RAIN -  If rain is in the forecast, I may not contact you until the day or so prior to our scheduled shoot because, after all, this is Maryland - home of the 30 or 70 degree spring day! Because the weather tends to change so fast; usually we'll have to rely on the day of or the day prior if the weather forecast is a threat. We may also have to touch base all the way up until your shoot! I once did a shoot where I left my house (and the rain) and arrived to a bright beautiful sunny day just 15 minutes away! 

• EXCESSIVE HEAT - A hot day can be just as stressful as a rainy one! I typically do my best to avoid shooting on excessively hot days. The heat makes small children and grown men alike uncooperative in the heat!  If it is overly hot your photos may reflect this as you may be sweating and have flushing in your skin. So while we CAN shoot in the heat, it's usually best to avoid it if at all possible. (unless you want to run through a sprinkler or eat 3lbs of popsicles which I'm game to photograph ANY time!)

• STRONG WIND/GUSTS- I know it seems silly to reschedule because of a windy day, but it has happened - especially during the colder months. Light wind looks dreamy for engagement photos, and can add a whimsical element to children's portraits, but strong harsh wind gusts are nobody's friend! The last thing you want for your session is the wind blowing dirt or sand into eyes or what I like to call "spontaneous hairstyles!" - All jokes aside, if it's too windy we may think about rescheduling for a calmer day. 

• COLD - I shoot in the cold often!! If you book a session in late fall or winter, you should understand that the day of the session might be considerably colder than when you booked your session! I'm happy to shoot in the cold, but occasionally (especially for families with small children) It isn't unsual to peek at the forecast and see if there's a warmer day in the immediate forecast. (Which goes back to that 30 degree or 70 degree Maryland thing!) It doesn't always work like that, so please, please remember to always bundle up and dress in layers - especially for small children! If you peruse Pinterest, you will find ENDLESS inspiration for wearing coats and hats that will have you saying "awwwww" for days to come! You don't have to sacrifice style for warmth! 

WHAT (NOT) TO WEAR: Clothing is something that I get a lot of questions about! Here are a few tips to help you!

• THE FIT: Avoid clothing that is too tight, or too loose! It's important to wear clothes that fit you well and regardless of your size! In my experience, "fitted" clothing is flattering on most body types! Wearing over-sized jackets, wraps/cover-ups (while cozy and comfortable) aren't the best choices as they visually add weight to your photographs! This is espeically true for 'duster' type sweaters. These are adorable in person, but can sometimes look like you're wearing a bathrobe from behind but more importantly they'll rob you of shape! I'll even go so far as to say that you should avoid fashion choices such as kimonos or wide sleeved tops as these will give you a very boxy shape and be hard to overcome visually. I've done a lot of photoshop in my lifetime, but making someone appear hour-glass shaped who is wearing a kimono style top is on my top 5 least favorite things to do! If you are concerned with your appearance and are struggling with what to wear, I'm happy to discuss it further! 

• COLORS - Neutral colors will never go out of style! However, it's always visually pleasing to have some pop of color in your photos! Scarves, earrings, or other accessories will help you add some fun to your outfit. I think Pinterest is a great tool for anyone who is struggling with color choices. For example, if you type in "Fall Photo Shoot Outfits" then BAM, you're instantly given endless color combinations to choose from. So don't be afraid to Google it or run it through Pinterest if you're at a loss for inspiration! 

• COORDINATE - I remember in 2001 I had photos done on the beach and, you guessed it, we all wore white shirts and jeans! If I'm honest, I still love the photos, but the outfits? Um, not so much! The thing is, your outfit says a lot about your personality, so dressing identically strips that personality that from your photographs! While it's not ideal to exactly match, opt to coordinate so you don't clash. Pick a pattern or color and coordinate away! Some families like to choose two colors on the opposite end of the color wheel and build neutrals around them as opposite colors tend to compliment one another. It's a great technique, but there are many many ways to come up with a well-thought out plan for outfits. When in doubt I ALWAYS tell my clients to run a quick search to Pinterest for "Fall Family Photoshoot Outfits" and you'll instantly be barraged with every endless combination of cute you can possibly handle. Simply put, if struggle choosing outfits - head to Pinterest, pick what you like and emulate it! 

• SHOES - Don't forget about shoes! Even though I don't always include shoes in my photos , when they do show - it's important! Make sure they are clean and coordinate with your outfit. Likewise, make sure that everyone's footwear choices are similar. Having one person in running shoes and everyone else in dress shoes doesn't feel like that big of a deal but I promise you, it will be the first thing someone's eye goes to in your photos! To avoid this, plan the outfit all the way down to the shoes! If finding shoes are an obstacle, let me know and we can work around it! I once loaned a client a pair of boots for her daughter to wear with her dress and it made all the difference in the world. That's the beauty of having 4 kids means I've probably got something I can help with in a pinch!

FINDING PERSIMMON LANE:  Most of my clients come to the farm, so if that describes you, listen up! Somewhere out there in the GPS factory lies someone with a funny sense of humor. They've carefully plotted a way to send you down the curviest, winding DIRT ROAD possible to get to Persimmon Lane. In short - IGNORE IT! Here are the proper directions: 

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• Route 4 to Briscoes Turn Road

• From Briscoes Turn, Turn Right onto Redbud Lane

• From Redbud Lane, Turn Left onto Persimmon Lane

• The farm is easily and conveniently located at the corner of Redbud and Persimmon. 

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See! Wasn't that simple? So if your sneaky GPS has you turn on "Millie Lane" and you see nothing but farmland and a small dirt road - keep going - it'll reroute you! 

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ARRIVAL: I try really hard to be cognizant of scheduling with regard to your time, and also mine. I try not to schedule other clients near your session time, but occasionally that can't be avoided. For this reason I try to ask clients not to arrive early (unless we discussed it prior). You should arrive about 5 minutes prior to your session. It's also imperative that you aren't late. I know it's hard and it happens sometimes! If you do run late, please call me! When schedule our session, I usually aim to shoot at or near sunset. A late arrival can mean missing out on all of the most flattering sunlight or having to reschedule! This also means we're pushing our session into the dark, which means we are cutting our shot time short! The best case scenario is when the sun is just cresting above the trees at arrival and slowly dropping down, filtering gorgeous warm rays of sunlight onto our session! So don't be early; don't be late, (but especially don't be late)!

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EDITING: BLINKS, BLURS, & BLEMISHES! I discard all photos that don't make the cut, which means, bye-bye blinks and blurs. Occasionally a great photo is otherwise overshadowed by something in the photo something we don't WANT photographed! Mailboxes in the background; blouses that pucker in an odd way, or maybe even an a red scratch on a cheek that appears out of the blue! I try my best to minimize the appearance of these things in my photos, at no extra charge to you, with a few exceptions. I don't remove scars or excessive acne unless you specifically request it; scars are a part of who we are and removing more than just an occasional pimple makes someone look completely different. Of course if you want scars and all-over-acne removed, I'm okay with that too. If there are any concerns you have over your appearance, please discuss this with me so we can come up with a plan as there's always a way to fix small problems aside from eyes brightened or teeth whitened.  Sidenote: I once photographed a little boy but noticed that he had spilled his lunch on his shirt. The solution? We turned the shirt backward and nobody ever noticed! Those things happen, so don't stress out! While there are a multitude of things I do correct, occasionally there are things that I cannot. If extensive editing requests are made and beyond our scope images will be sent to a specialty vendor at the cost of the consumer and the image will be handled by Persimmon Lane Photography. If this happens, we will have a conversation prior to any additional costs being added. 

 

DELIVERY OF IMAGES: The standard turn-around time is 2 weeks for Portraits, 8 weeks for Weddings. Occasionally images may take longer, but I will communicate the time frame at the end of our session. I typically do not include sneak peeks. This is because I edit images over the course of several days/weeks and editing the entire gallery together lends to better consistency for your images. So don't be alarmed if you don't see a sneak peek posted - rest assured, I'm working hard on your gallery! Once your gallery is complete, I may post a few of my favorite images from your session to my social media pages. I would love for you to share them from my page! You can type @PersimmonLanePhotography to find tag us. 

 

CHOOSING YOUR IMAGES:  When your images are ready, your gallery will be sent to you via email (or USB for weddings) along with a code to download the number of images you pre-purchased. Because it's your session, I let you choose your images! I don't limit your gallery to the prepaid number (unless it's a seasonal mini), as doing so might result in me having to discard amazing images! I think it makes for happy clients when you are in control of deciding which images are their "keepers"! You'll have the option to purchase additional images, whether it's one extra photo or the entire gallery. Of course you're not obligated to purchase anything above your initial investment. Whatever you decide, it's easy to facilitate right on my website!  If you do have issues, please call right away and I can help walk you through it! 

QUESTIONS? April Corey, Owner – 443.975.8197 or Smile@PersimmonLanePhoto.com