1) How far in advance should I book my family portrait session?
March, April, May, September, October and November are very popular months in Texas and they tend to book up fast so I would recommend the sooner the better. If are scheduling your session a couple weeks out, we can set a tentative date. Once we get closer to the date, if we need to move it, you’re more than welcome to reschedule the session, without penalty.

2) How do I book my family portrait session with you?

Once you’re ready to make it official, I will put together your contract and email it over along with the link to your PayPal invoice for the non-refundable retainer fee of $35. That amount is applied to the total amount due. The remaining balance is due 24 hours before your scheduled session.

3) What time of day do you schedule the sessions & do you offer weekend appointments?

Portrait sessions are always scheduled 1-1.5 hours before sundown. Lighting, is always more aesthetically pleasing with the soft afternoon golden glow. I do get asked alot about the heat in the summer months and I reassure you, it’s never an issue. I’m always conscious of making sure your attire, hair and pose is picture perfect and with that, if any sweat is visible, I always have clients dab it off. It’s actually quite the opposite during the hotter months; a little sweat always gives clients a beautiful shimmery glow in post processing.

Because I also specialize in weddings full time, unfortunately no portrait or studio sessions are not scheduled on weekends. They must be booked during the week and the start time is anywhere between 6:30-7pm for the spring/summer months and 3:30-4pm for the fall/winter months.

4) What if we run out of the said amount of time for my collection?

No worries, this tends to happen quite often but I don’t want you to worry. Depending how everything is progressing, it might run a little longer or shorter so please don’t feel as though you have to rush through it all. I understand not all families are the same, especially when working with little ones. Although the time listed in your collection is a generalized time of how long the sessions typically take, my session won’t be complete until I have the said amount of digitals, I am to produce.

5) Will you help & guide us to make us feel & look our best?

Yes, I most certainly will! Let’s be honest, most don’t have the opportunity to get professionally photographed on a regular basis so it’s completely normal for clients to feel uneasy and anxious about the whole process. I don’t want you to worry. I come with enough experience to already envision the whole session before we even begin; posing, lighting, angles..etc. Not to mention, I have mastered the art of capturing perfect shots and can ensure you a wonderful collection of photos. With years of expertise, I have developed streamlined, efficient techniques that allow for a quick and seamless photoshoot experience.

6) What creative grouping should I expect from my family session?

Groupings starts with all family members together then branch off; mom and kid(s), dad and kid(s) and lastly your children together or individually. You’re more than welcome to bring your fur baby along as well. However, I would recommend that you bring an extra set of hands to watch them, while we're doing photo grouping that don't include them.

Poses will be a mixture of both traditional and candid photos for each grouping.

7) Does the collection price change if I don’t need the said amount of digitals?
No, unfortunately it does not.

8) Do you deliver every image you shoot?
I do not, I eliminate duplicate images, test shots, missed focused shots, shots with bad expressions and other images that doesn’t meet my high quality standard. For example, because I shoot with low apertures, sometimes I take a few extra shots to make sure I have the perfect focus. I don’t expect you to have the expertise or the time to zoom into each image to select the one with the sharpest focus, so I spend hours doing that on my end. In another example, when working with children, we all know how they can get unsettled in between those sweet tender moments. I still snap in between those moments because chances are there’s still a sweet snap in between it all! With my expertise of processing thousands of images each year, you can guarantee you will receive the very best quality work of images.

9) Who chooses the final image count?

For the most part, I’m pretty good at being able to distinguish the good, from the not so good/deliverable photos but every now and then, I run into a problem in doing so. In these situations, I email clients the gallery link of the unedited files and from there, clients get to pick and choose the ones they want edited/delivered.

10) Will you help me find a location for my portrait session?
Yes, most certainly! Under the "extra" menu column, you will find a page listing my portrait locations within the Dallas area.

11)How long will it take to receive my photos and in what format will I receive them?
Excited to see your photos, lol..me too! Turn around on your files, is 21 days from your session date. Once the files are edited, they will be added to your online gallery. I will text you once it’s been emailed. From the online gallery, you’ll be able to download all the high resolution edited files straight to your computers. You will also receive a PDF copy of your print release once your download has been complete.

12) Do I have permission to print & share my photos? Can I post them on my social media..etc?
Yes, of course you can! Your collection price includes the session time itself, post processing, digital files and print release.

However, I do ask that you please do NOT print your images from a low quality printer like Wal-Mart, Target, CVS, Shutterfly, etc. The quality of your images will not reflect how beautiful they really are! You can actually order high quality fine art prints from your personal gallery when it’s emailed to you! Those prints start at $15.

13) Can I have the unedited files?
Raw images are not usable images – at least to a client. Raw images need to be processed in order to create a final image. Part of my job is to process your images, perfect them and create a finished product. Asking your photographer for the RAW files, is like asking a cake vendor for an extra bag of flour, on the side. It’s only a partial ingredient in the overall product and means nothing on it’s own.

14) Once I receive my images, what if there’s something about certain ones I do not like or want/need fixed?
I allow one revision of images per your request. This revision does not apply to the overall style/editing technique. If I missed removing a blemish from your face, a misplaced hair or something along those lines, at your initial request.

15) Can I give you a list of specific shots/poses we want?
Of course! It is so important that we collaborate on this. This is your session and I want to give you exactly what you want but also keep in mind when looking at these images for inspiration, not all families are the same. If it’s becoming a challenge, meaning the pose doesn’t look genuine then I might offer an alternative to it so it’ll look more flattering.

16) What if we need to move our session date, or even worse, cancel it, after we’ve signed a contract with you?
My contract does state my policies for handling situations like these. The deposit is always non-refundable no matter what. However, if you have to move your session date, you can apply your retainer toward the new date, as long as I’m available. If you cancel your session altogether, unfortunately your retainer is non-refundable.

17) What happens if there is an emergency the day of and you cannot make it?

If something happens to where I’m unable to make it to your sessions (acts of God, sudden death in the family, severe car crash, etc.) I will do everything in my power to make sure you are covered. However, I have photographed hundreds of clients and haven’t missed a commitment yet. In your contract it also states that if this happens and I am unable to provide a suitable replacement, I will refund all of your payment.

18) What will you do if something happens to my family photos?
We all have this fear. It’s a scary one! The truth is, it really could happen to anyone. I shoot with 2 memory cards in my camera so I have some redundancy already knowing I have a digital backup while I’m shooting. As soon as I get home I do three things:

1.) I take the memory cards from the session and upload all the files into the cloud.

2.) Then I also save them to my backup hard drive

3.) and then I save them on my computer

4.) I have about 20 memory cards and your images do NOT get removed from that card until they are 100% completed and delivered to you. So, that’s four copies!

19) Who has the rights to the images?

Lily Hayes Photography, retains the copyright to all the images, per USC Title 17 (US Copyright Law). So just a little insight as to what that means, as the photographer, I retain the right to show off your gorgeous images to my other potential clients so that can see my beautiful work. You have solely, purchased reproduction rights, not the actual design. With your full print release (usage rights), you have the right to print and share the images being provided to you by, Lily Hayes Photography.

I know this can be a very exciting and stressful time for you, especially with not knowing what to expect. Hopefully our faq’s for your family portraits provided some reassurance and guidance. However, I also want you to be comfortable and at ease knowing you’re in wonderful hands. Having me photograph this precious moments for you, means a lot to me so anything I can do to make it a smooth journey for you, please don’t hesitate to let me know. Thank you so much and hope I get the opportunity to work with you soon.