Your Portrait Experience

Your Portrait Experience

How much do your sessions cost?

We divide our session and artwork into separate purchases, here’s why, and what to expect. Your Session Fee is a retainer that is collected up front, typically at your Consultation or at the time of booking. Your Session Fee is required in order to schedule, and is used to reserve the time exclusively for you. Artwork and Images are purchased after your session and we allow you to choose from a variety of styles and mediums to suit your needs. The Session Fee begins at $375 and includes professional hair and makeup, wardrobe styling, your pre-session consultation, refreshments during your session, and your post-session image reveal & ordering appointment.

How much should I expect to spend on artwork?

That’s the best part, because it’s completely up to you. We put you in charge of what you want to purchase because our biggest priority is that you love your portraits. We don’t want you to buy anything you don’t love, it’s that simple. Images start at $150 a la carte, and clients typically spend anywhere from $800-4,000+. You can walk away with one image, or take home your entire collection. You’re in control, and there’s no icky salesy feel.

Walk me through a session. What’s it like/how long does it last?

Here’s what to expect depending on the type of session you’re wanting. It’s worth noting that all of our sessions are centered around empowering the client, and that’s more important to us than watching the clock.

  1. Headshots: For Headshot Mini-Sessions, these are “come ready” sessions that are fast-paced and are excellent for getting a few killer headshots for Linked-In, Facebook, Email Blasts and Webpages. You can expect Headshot Mini-Sessions to last 15-45 minutes, and you’ll know concrete details at the time of booking.
  2. Portrait Sessions: The session experience begins at you consultation. We touch base to go over your wardrobe, styling, refreshment preferences, and address any and all questions or concerns. These sessions are especially wonderful for clients that might need a little extra encouragement before or during the session. Gwen gets to know you, and it gives you a chance to get more comfortable with her– by the time of your session, you’ll feel like old friends. The morning of your session starts with hair and makeup, which can last 1-1.5 hours. Your session time covers wardrobe changes, makeup touch-ups, snack breaks, a little goofing off, and set changes. You can expect to spend around 3-5 hours at the studio on the day of your session. Following your session, come back to the studio for your Image Reveal to see your images and order your favorites.
  3. Family Lifestyle Sessions: Lifestyle sessions are great for families with children of all ages and are more informal than a typical studio Portrait Session. We love to start with giving mom the option of some pampering before hand, since she’s often in charge of taking care of the family’s outfits, meals, and little details– it’s a great chance for her to unwind and feel amazing– that’s why we start with hair and makeup on mom, lasting 1-1.5 hours. We then meet on location for your session, whether that’s in the studio (kids ages 10+), the family home (all ages), or outside on location (all ages, great for young children with lots of energy, and seasonal portraits). Sessions in studio require set changes which take a little extra time, otherwise you can expect a Family Lifestyle Session to last around 1-1.5 hours.
  4. Family Portrait Sessions: Similar to the Lifestyle set up, but focused more on creating tailored Portraits– We start again with professional hair and makeup for mom, adding in optional hair and makeup for other matriarchs, teens, or adult children– est 1-1.5 hours per head. We capture a combination of beautiful portraits of your family in the studio or on location (seasonally). You can expect to spend 3-6 (depending on family size) hours in the studio on your session day, or 1-2 hours on location.
  5. Boudoir Sessions: Exclusive to 21+ and up clients, we are thrilled to offer Boudoir Sessions to help promote self-love, body-positivity, and a strong sense of empowerment in our clients. Boudoir Sessions are open to all genders and orientations. Boudoir Sessions are very private, typically one-on-one or couples sessions, in a safe, judgement-free zone. The purpose of the session is to reacquaint yourself with the body you were given, to help you fall in love with yourself inside and out, and empower you with a sense of ownership. You are in control of your level of personal comfort and modesty, and because everyone is different, it’s important to discuss with Gwen what your personal session goal is and what kind of artwork you want to get from it. You can expect to spend 1-1.5 hours with hair and makeup, and 3-4 hours in the studio for your session.

Do I have to have my hair and makeup done?

We want you to feel like your most beautiful self, and whether that requires hair and makeup, or none at all, we leave that decision up to you. Be sure to communicate your level of comfort with Gwen during your consultation so that we can accommodate whatever you need in advance.

Tell me about the Image Reveal Appointment.

The Reveal is where you get to see your portraits for the very first time and purchase what you want to take home (or gift/share).
Typically 3-4 weeks after your session, we invite you back into the studio to view your completed portraits. This is a very special day where you connect to the artwork that we created during your session, fall in love, and take home your favorites. Ordering larger pieces like wall art is done at the Reveal. All artwork purchased is custom created and therefore nonreturnable.

What if I can’t make it back to my Reveal appointment?

We typically schedule Reveals during normal business hours or in the early evening for your convenience. We make every effort to accommodate everyone’s schedules– we want to make sure that you’re able to take your time and be in the moment without distractions so that you can fully enjoy viewing your artwork for the first time. The best (and ultimately the quickest) way to view your artwork is in person. Because of this, we kindly request that human children and fur-babies be left at home (with a responsible babysitter, of course). If you’re unable to find a time that works for an in-person Reveal, or you live far away, we have a second option. We’ve worked with clients on destination photo sessions as well as clients that are traveling through St. Louis and live far away. The best solution is to schedule a Facetime, Google Hangouts, or Skype Reveal session. Please note that computer literacy is essential and we suggest that if you don’t have the phone/computer/tablet necessary for this type of Reveal, that you work on scheduling an in-person Reveal. Due to storage requirements, we can only store and back-up purchased images. You can choose to archive your images for up to 6 months for an archival fee. Please note that retrieving stored digital image files after 45 days requires an additional retrieval fee. If you decide not to return to view or purchase your artwork, we reserve the right to purge the files at any time.

How long does it take to get my artwork?

Depending on the type of artwork that is custom created for you, we give a window of 2 weeks (on the quick end) to 6 weeks (if the artwork is produced internationally).

Do you offer payment plans?

We’re happy to help make your purchase more affordable by breaking it into monthly payments. A deposit is required at the time of ordering. Payment plans are available to clients whose purchase total is over $1000 and may be divided between 3-6 months for your convenience. No artwork is remitted to the client in any form until the payment plan is completed. Clients may request to pay ahead at any time.

What other services do you offer?

Curious about the process and not sure where to start?

Here’s some frequently asked questions that might help point you in the right direction. Remember, you can always head to “Contact” and send us a message directly with any questions you might have, we’re happy to help.