Faq’s

Investment

  • Family

    Session retainer starts at $150

    Artwork Packages include some digital images - start at $300; full gallery of digital negatives available to add-on for pre-purchased for $450, or $500 after your session.

    Contact me for more package pricing!

  • Beach

    Beach sessions outside of Hillsborough County start at $200. Beach vacation photos with extended families welcome, or let’s document these gorgeous gulf beaches with your family today!

  • Newborns

    I offer two packages for newborn sessions. A petite session option as well as a full two hour session package. You may add on a maternity mini-session for a discount, too!

  • 1. When should I contact you for my portraits?

    If you are looking for portraits or a family session, then contact me at least 6 weeks before your preferred session date. I do family sessions year round, not just in fall before the holidays. I sometimes have to reschedule things and dates pop up, so don’t be afraid to ask if we are within the six weeks of your date, especially for sessions offered during the day during the weekdays.

    The busiest time of year for portraits is the Christmas/Holidays season. Those dates generally open in late August and early September, and fill within a few days. Please plan in advance, trust me, you will thank me for making the process easy for you to book, and get to know you before we even meet in person. The planning is part of the session, and allowing more time allows you to feel pampered and prepared. If you are an expectant mama, make sure you contact me while you are still expecting! I fill up quickly, especially weekend dates, so I recommend setting up your newborn session by the time you are seven months pregnant.

  • 2. How do I pay and book a session with you?

    If you have decided on a date (or tentatively set up if you are expecting a baby), then I send you an electronic booking. Once you sign the booking and make your first retainer payment, you are officially on the calendar. Half of your retainer is due at the time of booking and is easily made through a secure online merchant service. Or, if you prefer to pay by PayPal let me know in advance and I will invoice you directly that way. Otherwise, my payments are done online through secure credit/debit card payment. The second half of your retainer is due two weeks before your session date. If you session is within two weeks of your session date, then payment is due in full.

    Special Mini-Sessions set up a couple times a year also require payment in full to secure your spot due to limited spots.

  • 3. I want all the digital copies of my pictures, can I have them?

    I love to take pictures, I literally can’t stop taking them because I love every moment big and small of our session. I don’t show you every picture I take, I mean, even Blake Lively has some bad pictures. You don’t want to see them all. Part of my custom photography offering is deciding which ones to edit for your gallery.

    My retainer does not include digital downloads in the price. I offer digital negatives with personal printing rights as you purchase artwork collections, or you may purchase digital negatives a la carte for $50 each, or the full download of the gallery is an add on for $500 after your allery is ready (or $450 in advance).

    The art collections that include digital negatives are offered at a discounted rate for the digital negatives, as well as gorgeous, tangible artwork to hold/hang and enjoy every day in your home.

    There are art collections with some digital negatives included with no additional costs within the artwork package. Typically, clients want to have a digital back up of the art they chose, or a few shots to share on social media. If you truly just want all the digital negatives for your entire gallery and you cannot live without every single picture in your gallery you may do so.

  • 4. I have no idea what to wear, or how to stand, I am feeling overweight, and I am so uncomfortable in front of the camera, so I should wait to take my pictures, right?

    Please don’t let your body image stop you from getting pictures with your kids! There is no time like now to photograph you and your loved ones. I will help you feel your best, and help you pose and take photos at flattering angles for you. The session will be so fun and full of love you will hopefully let all those fears and worries go. Don’t think it matters if you are in the picture? Try again, trust me, it does. As someone who has lost a parent, I would do anything to get more photos with my own dad. Don’t be the invisible parent in your child’s photo history.

    As far as what-to-wear, a quick search of the Hamilton Creek blog and you will find a lot of tips for what looks best. Signing up for my newsletter means you get a small version of my session success with wardrobe planning, too.

  • 5. What happens if it is raining?

    I do a last check in a few days before your session, so if rain is in the forecast, we start talking about what to do next. You should have my cell phone ready the day of the shoot, and make sure I have your cell phone, too. I like to wait until the day itself to make a final decision on rescheduling because weather is so fickle and always changes. I will photograph you on overcast days, and don’t reschedule for clouds, but rain, that is where I draw the line. I also recommend rescheduling if we have had a large amount of rain and we are shooting at a location that doesn’t hold rain well. Not that it happens often, but if the weather is too cold for little ones, we can also talk about rescheduling, so we start talking about that a couple days before the session date.

  • 6. Do you offer any discounts?

    Repeat clients get special offers and referral credits, sent usually in quarterly newsletters. If you are a new client and have been referred by someone, be sure to let me know. I offer a gift 8×10 print for new clients who book with me at the help of a current client referral. Not only do you get the print, your friend who referred you gets a print on their next Hamilton Creek Photography session.

    If you referred to me and book a newborn or maternity session, then you both get a $25 print credit when their session is completed as a thank you!

    Weekday sessions, Monday - Thursdays offer 10% off your full session retainer price!

  • 7. Why do newborn and beach sessions cost more?

    Newborn sessions cost more because they also include more of my time at the session. They also tend to take a little more time in editing. Newborn skin can be very uneven, and takes a bit more behind-the-scenes magic to create amazing artistic photographs. I still prefer to keep baby’s natural look and don’t smooth out all perfections, as I think it makes look babies look plastic and doll-like. But, I do help even out skin tones and simple baby acne if requested. If baby needs a diaper change or feed, you don’t want to limit our photographic time. I want to put baby’s safety and well-being first and part of that means just taking our time with them.

    Beach sessions include a $50 fee as they require additional driving time. If you pick one of the lovely beaches in Hillsborough County, there is no beach fee. However, Ft DeSoto Beach, Anna Maria Island or other beaches in Pinellas or Manatee County will require the beach travel fee.

  • 8. EXPERIENCE MATTERS

    I have been in business for nearly twelve years. This is twelve years of honing my craft, taking the life lessons I have learned along the way and applying them to everything I do to help create magical photos you will enjoy and look back on fondness for years and years to come. I have worked hard to understand what works well at sessions. What doesn’t work. And ultimately, why these images will matter in the long run. I take pride in running my business as a business and making sure I am insured and do things the right way, too. I have clients who trust me year after year with their treasured milestones and I try to make the process as smooth as possible while also keeping the photo process as fun and stress free as possible. The experiences I have gone through help me anticipate where things may come up to stress parents, or kids, and help everyone be as prepared as possible. Even when things do not go as planned, my experience helps me stay calm and always patient!