FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Before you book a photoshoot with me, do take a look around my portfolios and my Instagram page to make sure you like what you see with regards to the style of photography I offer and to be certain that I’m the right photographer for you.
Please feel free to reach out and ask me any questions you might have that you can’t find the answers to below.
before you book
I typically cover Stafford and the surrounding areas, up to and including Stone, Haughton, Gnosall, Penkridge, some parts of Cannock Chase, Great Hayward, Little Hayward and Weston. If you’re further afield, please do send me a message and inquire anyway as I’m always happy to travel (see below).
What areas do you cover?
Yes, absolutely! I’m very happy to travel anywhere and everywhere for sessions – I love being introduced to and exploring new places. I can come all the way to wherever you’re located, we can meet in the middle, or if there is a particular/special location you have in mind, we can head there instead. There is an additional 50p per mile fee for sessions that take place anywhere beyond the area I usually cover (see above).
I DON’T LIVE IN/NEAR STAFFORDSHIRE, CAN I STILL BOOK A SESSION WITH YOU?
My shooting season typically runs from the start of March to the end of October and booking ahead is recommended. I do occasionally have sessions available at short notice and sometimes off-season sessions are possible too so it’s always worth asking! I offer seasonal shoots where possible (eg: blossom, bluebells) and try to release dates a month or so in advance, though it can be tricky to predict precisely when they’re going to bloom. Sign up to my newsletter and keep an eye on my Instagram stories for up-to-date availability.
HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO I NEED TO BOOK?
All of the fully-edited, high resolution digital images from your shoot (typically thirty to fifty images in total, sometimes more). I’ll have curated the images so that only the best are included. Any ‘blinkers’, unflattering expressions or mis-exposed shots will have been culled before editing. I may intentionally leave in some perfectly imperfect, softer-focus images if the moment captured is particularly special or emotional. You can choose to download them all, or just your favourites.
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN THE PACKAGE?
Yes! I request a £100 non-refundable deposit when you book in order to secure the date for your session. The deposit is transferable in cases of illness or bad weather – please see ‘cancellation/rescheduling policy’ (below) for more information.
The outstanding balance is due 72 hours (3 days) before your session, with an email reminder sent one week ahead of the shoot.
I fully believe that family photographs should be something that everyone has access to, so if paying the balance all in one go isn’t viable for you, please do send me a message and I’ll do my best to work something out for you.
DO YOU OFFER PAYMENT OPTIONS?
If we need to cancel our session at short notice with good reason - for example due to illness or bad weather - there is no penalty and I will do my very best to find another date that works for us both within a reasonable timeframe (usually two to four weeks).
In all other instances, if you choose to cancel our session more than 72 hours before our arranged time and date and do not want to reschedule another shoot, the £100 non-refundable deposit you paid remains with me.
If you cancel with between 24 - 72 hours left to go until our shoot, do not want to reschedule and have already paid in full, the £100 deposit and 50% of the rest of the balance remains with me. I will refund you the other 50% of the rest of the balance you’ll have paid.
If you cancel with less than 24 hours left until our shoot and do not want to reschedule, all payments made are non-refundable.
WHAT’S YOUR CANCELLATION AND/OR RESCHEDULING POLICY?
Once you’ve booked your shoot, paid your deposit and signed our agreement, we’ll arrange a short meeting so we can start to connect and get to know each other better. It’s your opportunity to ask me any further questions you might have and so we can be sure that both of our expectations for the photoshoot are met. This can be a phone call, face to face over a coffee or via Zoom – whatever is easiest for you.
I’ll also email out a questionnaire for you to fill in so I can really get to know you and your family, and so I can find out what’s most important to you about our session. This needs to be returned to me two weeks ahead of our session. We’ll stay in close communication in the lead up to our session with regards to weather updates, location, any last-minute queries and making sure everyone is good to go ahead.
PREPARING FOR OUR SESSION
Whatever you feel comfortable in. If you want to dress up and make it an event, dress up! If you prefer to keep it casual and low-key, that’s great too. “Do you” – that’s all that matters. You’ll be more yourself when you wear clothes that feel like you, and your images will naturally reflect that. My only requests are no neon colours, and no big logos or brand slogans.
What should I/we wear?
It’s up to you! If you have an Adventure Session booked and it’s a little bit drizzly we can go ahead with the shoot anyway - dancing in the rain and splashing in puddles make for some fun memories. If it’s a downpour then we’ll reschedule as I’m not willing to risk my camera equipment. Or, if you prefer to stay dry and wait for a brighter day, we can shift to a day where the weather looks a bit more favourable. If you decide to reschedule it’s subject to my availability – I’ll always do my best to make space for you, you might just need to wait a little longer.
If you have an In-Home Session booked, we can go ahead whatever the weather. As long as you have windows in your home (I’m yet to come across anyone who doesn’t!) we can make some magic happen.
What happens if the weather forecast isn’t great?
No! Your house does not need to look like a showhome for our shoot. Your home is where you live and where you make so many of your family memories – your belongings and décor are part of that story. It’s helpful to tidy up any major messes but honestly, as long as we move to wherever the light is, we’ll get some images that mean something special.
I’m having an in home session – does my house need to be spotless?
Our shoot will last for one to two hours and we’ll mostly let things unfold as naturally as possible. I might give some gentle direction and prompts but on the whole I let you be and don’t pose you – all you need to do is show up and love your family.
DURING OUR SESSION
We meet at our agreed location and head off for a stroll, chatting as we go. Sometimes I’ll shoot as we’re walking, sometimes I’ll wait until we’ve reached the particular spot I have in mind that I’ll have scouted our prior to our session - it very much depends on the day.
Every photoshoot is different (which I love!) so a lot of adventure sessions can be quite spontaneous and unplanned. I usually bring a blanket or two with me so we can settle in one place for a while as well. If you have one that co-ordinates with your outfits or one that means something significant to you, please do feel free to bring it along with you.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING AN ADVENTURE SESSION?
I’ll arrive at your home at our pre-arranged time and (if you have young ones) the first thing I’ll do is get down to your children’s level and show them my camera so they know what’s happening and feel comfortable with it (and me!) being around. Making a connection with them is so important and that’s my priority before I even take off my lens cap.
If you want to arrange to do an activity whilst I’m at your home (painting or baking for example) – the kinds of things you typically love to do together - that’s absolutely fine. There’s magic in the mess. Oh and please know that tickle fights and kitchen dance parties are actively encouraged.
If you want to keep it simple and stick to snuggling on the sofa or you want me to capture some images of your children in their own spaces, that’s good too. I’m as flexible as necessary depending on how everyone is feeling on the day and what it is you want to get out of our time together.
I’ll be scouting out the light and seeking out good spots for us to head for (usually near a window so we can use as much natural light as possible) as soon as I arrive. I might ask if we can move things around a bit or change a bed cover to get a more cohesive and pleasing shot but I’ll mostly leave things be because the whole point of in-home sessions is that it reflects you and your real life. I’ll ask questions and listen to your stories as you tell me all about the things that matter most to you about your home, and be shooting intentionally throughout my time with you.
WHAT HAPPENS DURING AN IN-HOME SESSION?
I’m yet to meet anyone that doesn’t say this at some point and truthfully, I feel the same! True story - I almost backed out of one of my own family’s photoshoots because of a crisis of confidence a few hours beforehand and I’m SO glad that I didn’t because those photographs mean so much to me now.
It’s not an easy thing to overcome but I promise you it’s so, so worth it in the end. Getting in the frame with your children and family is such an important thing – partly to show that you were there too and actually existed, and mostly because your kids need to see exactly how fiercely you love them.
I do my utmost to help you feel at ease and ultimately, I want you to pretty much forget that the camera is there and just be with your family in the most authentic way that you usually would. That’s where the magic happens.
I FEEL NERVOUS/AWKWARD ABOUT BEING IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA – HELP!
Once our session is done we’ll say our goodbyes and go our separate ways. Your shoot will get added to my editing list. I work on every gallery in the order the shoots were conducted in although I might be tempted to edit a couple of shots to give you a little taster of what we captured together.
AFTER OUR SESSION
Your images are yours to use as you wish for personal use only (not commercial). Please feel free to share your photographs on social media, print them out, frame them and hang them on the walls of your home, email them to family members etc…
My only request is that if you share them on social media you tag me (@momentsinbetweenphotography) in every post/story/reel and that you don’t edit or alter the images in any way (this includes not using any filters on them).
HOW CAN I USE MY IMAGES ONCE I’VE DOWNLOADED THEM?
If you have any other questions that aren’t answered in this section or anywhere else on my website, feel free to email me at hello@momentsinbetweenphotography.co.uk and ask! I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
