Portrait Durations

Portrait sessions can vary significantly in duration based upon the nature of the portraits and the type of images that are to be taken. A simple session in our studios involving from one to several people is usually accomplished in about twenty minutes. Below are some common portrait types and what you might expect for a portrait session duration. Please refer to our Pricing Discussion to understand how various portrait sessions may be priced.

Initial Consultation

We prefer to have an initial consultation session so that we can meet you and get a sense for your personality, style, and the type of portraiture you are seeking. This helps us better understand your needs and to plan for your future portrait session. It also gives you an opportunity to meet us, ask any questions you may have, and get a good understanding of what will happen during your portrait session. Initial consultations are free and usually last about fifteen minutes, though they can last longer for more complex portraits or if you simply need more time to get all the answers you need.

Typical Family Portraits

A typical family portrait involving two to five people will usually last about twenty minutes. This gives plenty of time to photograph the family as a whole, the adults separately, children with each adult, and the children individually and as a group. This also yields about twenty portrait images. The number of images and time durations can go up if more poses or family grouping combinations are required.

Typical Senior Portrait

Senior portraits often require some studio images and some outdoor images. This can vary by individual, but it is a common request by seniors. It is also common for seniors to want a series of more formal poses (these would include the yearbook photos) and then a larger number of photographs that capture their personality, style, interests, and expectations. These latter poses often involve changing into additional outfits and then taking numerous images to capture the various moods and personality traits the senior wishes to convey. Some of these images may be taken in the studio and some may be taken on location at a home, a park, or some other location with significant meaning to the senior.

As a result, senior sessions tend to be longer and more complex than typical family portraits. A typical senior session will last about an hour, but could go longer if there are numerous activities and looks the senior wants to capture

Infant and Child Portraits

Children portraits can be either surprising swift or surprising long. The age of the child has little to do with the portrait duration. It all depends on mood and temperament that day and how quickly we can get several expressions or looks that are obvious keepers. Child and infant portrait sessions rarely last longer than twenty minutes, but can go longer if it simply takes a while for the child to be comfortable with the process and their strange surroundings. Moms can help a great deal to comfort, inspire, and generate huge smiles and spontaneous expressions from their son or daughter (interestingly, we've noticed the opposite seems to happen when the children are in their teenage years). We understand that sometimes a child's mood and cooperativeness can not be strictly controlled by the parents. Therefore we usually give a little latitude if the portrait session runs a bit long due to an extended "get acquainted" period. In almost all cases, the child ends up being happy, cooperative, and interested in what is happening. This usually speeds the process along and allows the portraits to be completed in about fifteen to twenty minutes.

Boudoir Portraits

Boudoir portraits typically take about an hour and a half. This time is needed due to the more complex and intricate posing and the multiple changes of clothing and props that are typical of boudoir photography. Time may also be required to make lighting adjustments and set changes to capture exactly the right look and feeling to the image. Boudoir photography is not something that can be rushed. It sometimes takes a little while to get comfortable in front of the lens and to decide on the specific poses you want to capture. We normally set boudoir portrait session expenses to 90 minutes. If the session takes longer than 90 minutes there are no additional charges since we understand it can take some time to get comfortable before any real work can begin.

Preparations

We ask that you arrive a few minutes early for your portrait session. Arriving a few minutes early gives you time to freshen up and relax prior to your portrait session. This ensures you are ready for your portraits when it is your turn before the camera.