Interested in a free photo session?

Do you have an idea for a fun, creative, unique or unusual portrait or fashion shoot (e.g that album cover you always wanted to do)? I'm always looking for new and different ways to photograph people. Just tell me you have a project proposal for me and, if my schedule allows, I may be able to shoot it at no charge.

Calling All Musicians!

I love photography. I love music. Time to combine them. Are you a musician that needs individual or band portraits? I'd like to collaborate... get you some good images and build my portfolio. No cost, no strings attached... just your permission for me to share your images on my site. You will get full rights to use the images as you desire. Let me know. Let's collaborate. Really... no cost, no strings attached.

Pricing

My session fee for portraits is $100 and includes the following:

• Approximately 1 hour of photography
• Travel to and from local shoot location
• Professional retouching of images
• CD/DVD with at least 30 finished images
• Online availability of images for at least 90 days

Senior portrait sessions are usually best with a session longer than an hour of shooting and thus are $200 for approximately 2 hours. Longer sessions are available as well at $100/hour. Pricing and results will vary according to the time we spend shooting.

These are "all inclusive" prices so hopefully you won't be surprised by additional costs. Prints are extra if you choose to purchase them through me, however that isn't required.

Pricing for engagement sessions are similar to above. I am no longer actively shooting weddings. While I love doing them, I am not able to juggle the time commitment required to do a great job.

I offer the option for you to purchase professional prints and products through me, or you can pursue on your own.

My pricing philosophy... OR... why I charge what I do.

I love taking photographs of people. I do it and will continue to do it whether there is money involved or not. Doing it for money makes it easier to justify the time it takes away from the rest of life. If I shoot photos for you, I want you to be thrilled with your images and feel they are worth every penny you paid for them.

In addition to loving your photos, I want you to have your digital files. For me, that is part of how I use, enjoy, share and preserve my own personal images, as well as share them with future generations. What that means is that the traditional pay-for-prints pricing models no longer work, thus I charge a flat session fee. I provide an option for you to have professional prints and products made at a fair price through my website, or you can choose to print them where you wish. (although there is nothing better than a gorgeous, professionally printed photo product)

What many people don't realize is the behind-the-scenes time that goes into producing the highest quality professional images. I generally spend about 2-3 hours behind-the-scenes for every 1 hour session on sorting, retouching, evaluating and preparing images so you get the best. That doesn't count the thousands of hours or learning and practice that go into learning the craft.

Finally, I'm lucky in that I do not rely on photography for my income so I have flexibility in what I charge.

So there you have it. What it comes down to is that I want you to love your pictures and feel they are worth it, I want to charge a price that feels fair to both of us, and I want to make it worth my while so I can I can justify the time it takes to produce an experience and photographs that you will love. And if ever you don't love what you get, just let me know... I'll be happy to refund your money with only a request for the brief input of why the experience or images were different than your expectations.

If this all sounds good to you, then let's work together. If not, then maybe we'll meet again someday!

6-22-13 SFChoices