We understand that you have quite a few choices when it comes to choosing a photographer. That simple understanding shapes our service and creates the Nancy Jo Photography experience! From inquiry all the way through receiving your portrait order, we strive to make your experience with us exceptional!
Our first contact with you, our potential client, is usually a phone call or drop in visit to our studio. During that conversation, we focus on understanding your needs. Are you an expecting Mom that is searching for a good fit for your maternity and subsequent newborn session? If so, we take the time to find out if this is your first pregnancy, as one usually shows later during a first pregnancy than subsequent pregnancies. If it is, we'll schedule your session a little later than we would if it's your second or subsequent pregnancy.
Possibly, your seeking a family session. We take the time to understand the make up of your family, the names and ages of all members, and any special needs or desires you may have. For instance, we have photographed children with special needs, that have specific requirements. Or possibly, you have a family member that is ill, and has limited mobility or endurance. We will do our best to accomodate their needs. During the session below, the father was battling brain cancer, and was unable to walk long distances or to get up and down from the ground. We found a spot near our parking spaces, and brought a stool for him. These are little things, but they matter a great deal in creating precious portrait memories.
Once we have talked about your needs and desires, we will make specific recommendations for your session. We start with location. Newborns, maternity, and most pets usually prefer the studio enviorment as it is more private, contained and easier to control temperatures (important for the newborns!). Families often prefer an outdoor setting that is reflective of their family's personality. Is your family a county or outdoor type of family? We have specific areas to offer that will reflect just that. If not, we have lots of others to choose from. Seniors often seek unique and individualized settings. When we were discussing Robyn's session with her, she articulated a desire to incorporate her love of pointe and desire to do something different, that no-one else had done. We came up with the setting below. It was dark, edgy, beautiful and very unique.
We are also happy to help with specific clothing suggestions. In order to do so effectively, we will ask about your hair, eye and skin color, as well as those of all members to be photographed. We will then make suggestions based upon this and your location selection. In fact, often times clients will text photos to us while shopping, asking for our thoughts. We are also happy to have you bring your clothing selections to us before your sessions, to help with any last minute choices and/or accessories. For instance, nearly everyone with blue eyes should wear some blue in their clothing and/or accessories as it really makes their eyes 'pop'.
Once we have you booked, and have helped you decide when, where and what to wear, we are set to go. However, life gets busy and hectic, and people sometimes forget. Thus, we call you a day or two before your sessions to remind you, answer any last minute questions you may have, and to confirm location and time of your session.
Then comes session day! Generally we meet at studio for all types of sessions. That allows an opportunity to fill out a tiny bit of paperwork, and for us to review your outfit(s) and make a plan for our session. Sometimes seniors will have multiple outfits, and we will plan what outfit should be worn at a specific area. Othertimes, we have little ones, whose interest will wane quickly. We will plan on getting the most important shots first, and then allowing them some flexibility in how and what to shoot. We need to keep them happy! Happy children make beautiful portraits!
During this session, we shot the traditional portrait shots first.
Then we broke out the tea set and encouraged the sisters to play. This created a timeless and classic relationship portrait that was also treasured by Mom.
In addition to making your session customized to you and your family, all portrait sessions are shot by Nancy Jo with an assistant. Having an assistant is vital to creating your portraits. It ensures perfect lighting, assists with posing and attention getting, and is just one more set of eyes on every detail to ensure the best outcome. Lastly, Nancy Jo's outgoing, vivacious and entertaining personality puts everyone at ease and allows for natural and relaxed expessions for your portraits.
After we have completed your session, we will schedule a viewing and ordering appointment. These are generally 7-10 days after your session. This gives us time to go through and choose the very best images of each set and grouping, to eliminate overwhelming you with too many choices. In addition, it gives us time to select a few and complete full portrait retouching. All portraits, no matter the format, are retouched prior to being released from the studio. This is the last step in our artistic process. Thus, you see what the final product will look like when you are placing your order. No guess work!
During our viewing and ordering appointment with you, you will be presented a slideshow of your session images beautifully set to music. Then we review your images, one by one, and help you pick your favorites. We also review our products, and make specific suggestions based upon your preferences, home decor and the portraits themselves. Certain portraits lead to specific products and or sizes. For instance, the client pictured below desired a tight crop of her and her family's faces. In order to do so, we had to crop in an non-traditional size, and thus were able to make specific suggestions about sizing.
Once you have placed your order, we get busy with finishing each and every portrait and then posting these finished portraits onto a private gallery for your proofing. Once you are 100% satisfied with your portraits, we being processing your portraits. When we receive the portraits, we carefully inspect them to ensure they meet with our rigid standards of excellence. When they have been approved by us, we will carefully frame (if desired) and package your portraits with a unique and distinctive touch.
You then receive the anticipated phone call, that your portrait order is ready! When you arrive, we will review all your products with you to ensure they meet and exceed your expectations!
But wait.... it's not over! We now consider you family, and look forward to the next visit with you and your loved ones.
So, as you can see, we don't simply 'take your picture'. At Nancy Jo Photography, you get a portrait creation experience!
If we can answer any questions, help you plan for a portrait memory creation session, or you would just simply like to chat, please call us at 919-570-1009.
We look forward to working with you to create timeless and classic portraits that you will cherish for a lifetime!