Can I see your full portfolio before I book?
Absolument. You can see full galleries here: clients.namu.love – if there’s a password-protected gallery you’d like to view, let me know.
How far in advance should I book with you?
Any time is a good time, but I definitely recommend booking earlier rather than later. Here’s a good frame of reference:
- Weddings – 6 months to a year out
- Event coverage – 2 to 3 months out
- Portrait sessions – 2 to 3 weeks out
Cancellations do happen, so last-minute inquiries are always welcome – there’s always a chance I’ll have your date open!
How many people can be in our session?
Family portrait sessions are for 6 adults and unlimited children. Each additional adult booked in advance is $50 per person. There are no maximums for certain session types, like school sports teams and staff portraits, but those sessions are billed at a different rate.
*If more people show up to your shoot than you originally indicated when booking, they’re welcome to participate! But each additional person will be charged $75 cash, Venmo or Zelle, at the session.
Do you share our photos online?
I always share my favorite images from your session on my website and social media – it’s how I advertise! If you’re concerned about privacy, we can make your gallery password-protected. And if there are specific images you prefer I don’t share publicly, I’m happy to use alternatives from your session.
What if I need to reschedule or cancel?
Rescheduling is possible, but not guaranteed. If I have a future date you’re interested in open on my calendar, I’m happy to reschedule to that date and move your booking fee to the new session, but if you ask to reschedule within 14 days of your session date, and I am unable to re-book your initial date, then I may add a $50 reschedule fee to your session, to lessen the impact of lost income from having to reschedule.
If you need to cancel altogether, no problem, things come up! But it’s important to understand that regardless of your session type, your 50% prepayment is a fee for work already performed (such as location scouting, planning/coordination or time spent consulting through email or on the phone, etc), and as such, is non-refundable. Instead of canceling altogether, you can avoid losing that money by applying it towards a future session!
If I’m the one who has to cancel your session and we’re unable to reschedule, I will absolutely refund everything you’ve paid up to that point. If we can reschedule, I’ll give you priority when choosing a new date/time and if I ask you to reschedule within 7 days of your session, I will also give you $50 off that session.
What if I’m running late?
Life sometimes gets in the way and I get it! Just text or call me as soon as you can. Keep in mind that I might have another session booked directly after yours, so if you’re late, you’ll end up with less session time. If you know you’re going to be late and I don’t have another session directly after yours, you can book extra time at the rate of $100 per hour (or any part of an hour – even if you only want an extra 15 minutes, the fee is still $100). This fee is payable at the session, by cash or cash app.
What happens if there’s bad weather during our session?
If there’s just a little rain, it’s windy or skies are gray, we’re going to shoot! Sometimes those can result in some of the best, most unique images. If it’s a real storm, we’ll likely need to reschedule to another open date on my calendar. Please note: there are no refunds for weather or natural disasters, but you can always reschedule at no extra cost.
I had a great time shooting with you. Can I tip you after the shoot?
You’re awesome just for asking! I’ll never expect a tip, but I’ll always appreciate one!
When will we see the photos?
Most smaller sessions are delivered same or next day! Larger sessions like high capacity events are delivered on a slower schedule but still arrive very quickly, often within 3 business days. Once your images are ready, I’ll email you a link to your gallery. There will also be a link in that email to leave feedback or a testimonial – I’d love to hear what you thought of your session and images!
What size are the photos?
I deliver full resolution images! These are huge file sizes, so keep that in mind – you’ll want to use a laptop or PC when downloading. I’m happy to provide a second gallery, on request, with 1920×1080 web-resolution images for a $20 fee, per gallery.
How are files delivered?
Images are delivered in JPEG format and are always watermarked with my company logo placed unobtrusively at the bottom of the image. RAW files are never delivered as part of any session fee. If you absolutely need the raw files, the copyright of any gallery can be purchased in a “buy out” price negotiated at contract signing. There are two types of buyout fees – the first fee is $500 per gallery and gives you the permanent ownership of the unwatermarked jpegs, leaving me only with the right to use the images for self-promotion. The second buyout fee is $1500 per gallery, and gives you complete ownership of the full resolution, unwatermarked images along with all rights, and I will no longer have the right to use the images in any way.
Wait a second, as the client, don’t I own the photos?
No, you don’t. I’m the creator of the art, and that means I’m automatically the copyright holder and therefore the owner of the images. I assign you the right to use the images any way you see fit as long as it’s for personal use (not commercial – that means you can’t sell the images or transfer/assign rights to them, without my permission – for example, you can’t give a news agency or magazine the right to print the images in their publications without first getting permission from me – don’t worry, I’m probably going to give you permission, lol). This is both California and federal law, and it’s also standard in the photography industry.
Never fear! This is very normal – even though I own the images and the copyright, you can do practically anything you want with the images. You can download them anywhere, share them online, print them, hang them on your walls, text them to your grandmother! The only limits I put on your personal use is that you don’t obscure or remove my logo from the images (except where it would be impossible not to, like with Instagram’s square-cropped images), and that you don’t edit the images yourself. This includes using filters in apps like Instagram or stand-alone editing apps on your phone.
How many photos will I get? Will I get all the images you shot?
You’ll receive a TON of photos, especially compared to how many most photographers deliver. For full portrait sessions, it’s around 30-45 images per session, often more. For events it’s around 30-40 images delivered per hour, on average, which is also higher than the norm. You don’t have to worry at all about getting “enough” images – you’ll get every single image I shoot that I think is amazing and matches my brand and these days (humble brag), that’s pretty much most of the images I shoot, lol. You won’t get every photo I took because some photos end up blurry or just terrible in general (even I take some terrible shots sometimes!), but you’re hiring me because I’m an expert photographer with more than a decade of experience and that means you can trust me to deliver every single shot that’s worth delivering.
Which kind of shots do I not deliver? I don’t deliver “repeats” (shots that are just slightly different versions of the same shot), blurry shots or accidentally inappropriate shots (like when the wind blows a dress up or a very unflattering shot of someone). Everything else gets included, as long as it’s a great shot! Due to the candid, sometimes rapid-fire nature of my photography style, not every shot is going to turn out the way we want or expect, but don’t worry, the best shots will always end up in your gallery. Which leads me to another common question…
Can I buy the shots that you took but didn’t include in the gallery?
Nope. Not even if you say “pretty please, with a cherry on top!”
If I think an image isn’t suitable for including in your gallery, then it gets deleted. I only keep, deliver or share work that is representative of my brand and my personal style of photography and that means any shots shared with clients must be the best of the best. Think of the shots that get deleted as the early sketches of an artist – you would never ask a painter to give those to you, right?
What kind of photo editing is included?
My style is very candid, using both natural and off-camera lighting. Many of my shots look pretty good right out of the camera and don’t need much editing, so I generally just crop, color-correct and adjust light/shadows. Photoshopping fly-away hair, blemishes, closed eyes or other non-basic editing is not included, but can be added to any session for $10 per image. You can also pay a flat rate of $500 for advanced editing of an entire gallery (up to 200 images). If you plan on having a lot of photos edited, this can save you a lot of money on galleries with more than 50 images.
Are you available for commercial photography projects?
Absolutely, please email hello@namu.love or call 510.679.4158 to discuss the details.