Family Photos
what to expect
Photo sessions with me are really relaxed. You might feel stressed out, worrying that you need to be a certain way to get the best pictures, but within about 5 minutes, you won’t feel like that anymore. (see the “What People are Saying” page, if you want to know how people feel after a session). I will take a bunch of pictures of you with your children. I might tell you not to talk to your kids, because, despite what you think, they do actually listen to you, and every time they do, they look at you. Some pictures will have everyone looking at the camera (grandmas like those) and others will be you loving your kids. And in those moments you don’t really feel like parenting, you can look at them and remember how much you do actually love them.
what to wear
I have one family where the 7 year old daughter dressed everyone. They looked fabulous. Each of them had a portion of their clothing that matched (I seem to recall periwinkle blue) but they were not matchy-match. Co-ordinated would be the word, I think.
If you want to be totally casual, I am fine with that. If your daughter (or son) wants to wear rubber boots, a tutu and a tie, that is awesome (the whole point of this photography thing is to have a visual reminder of what your life was like at this particular moment in time.)
If you want to get all dressed to the nines, that would be beautiful.
I do recommend not overtly mixing patterns (like half stripes and half checks). Unless of course that is what your child always wears. Then, go for it.
Themes are also fun. My family did pirates one year. (I nixed the “baby” theme – what was that?! and the bumblebee theme. But pirates were cool.)
where do you photograph?
I like to photograph in places that are special to you as a family. Your home. A local park. The river valley. A cafe or restaurant you always visit. We can do more than one place in a couple of hours. I also have a couple of indoor locations for when its -20C.
I photograph in summer and winter (you’d be surprised, but the white background makes for a wonderful backdrop).
I have a couple of parks that are awesome. I also know the locations of most of the graffiti walls in the city and know what time of day they photograph best.
when do you photograph?
The best time of day is when your children (and you) are fed and well rested. The second best is a couple of hours before sunset or after sunrise. But, let’s be real here. We live in Alberta and I am not going to keep your kids up until 10pm. I am fairly flexible. High noon does not make for the best light (you get shadows under your eyes), but so long as I can find some shade in the trees or against a building, we are good to go. Some locations (parking lots, back alleys) make great backdrops.
There is no surcharge for weekend shoots. So long as my schedule is open, a Sunday morning costs the same as a Wednesday afternoon.
how many pictures will we receive?
I took a photo once of a baby who went from full on laughing to a cry in about 2 seconds. I caught 4 expressions. I couldn’t delete any of them because they were all so precious. I say you will get 75 pictures – if I am having a ruthless editing day. You will probably receive more.
after the session
Depending on the time of year (October is nuts for me), I will have a preview of your session up on Facebook and/or the blog within a week of taking your photos. You will be able to see your full session in a private gallery within 3 weeks of having your picture taken (more like 2 weeks, but I would rather tell you longer, but get it to you sooner.) Your album will also be done within 3 weeks. I also keep you updated as to how my workflow is going. I know you get excited!
As soon as your gallery is up, you can order prints. I love to see canvases on client’s walls, and the photowalls (which you can see in the information packet I email to you) work particularly well with lifestyle photography. I also do cards and make the most beautiful albums.
Digital files (low resolution for on-line sharing, or high resolution for unlimited printing) are available for purchase, or are free with a set print amount. I’ve set my pricing/digital file policy this way as it’s important that you have high quality prints that will last a lifetime (and beyond) on your walls. Hard drives fail. Cloud storage companies go out of business. Floppy disks are replaced by CDs and DVDs and USBs . . . you get the picture.
Weddings
I accept a limited number of wedding bookings a year. I want to give you the best service possible.
I am as happy to photograph a one hour wedding as I am to photograph a 10 hour day. Whatever is most important to you, I will photograph. I have hourly rates, as well as packages which include custom designed albums, and print credits. You will receive approximately 50 pictures for each hour of photography.
Contact me with some details about your wedding via the link above, or give me a call at 780-266-4513 to discuss what you are looking for.
do you do destination weddings?
I do! I’m a little anxious about the Caribbean in September (while hurricanes make for awesome photos, that makes me nervous!) However, any other time, I am good to go! And if you get married in Iceland or Italy or Croatia it would make me super happy!
The photographs will cover your wedding day (getting ready to dancing the night away), as well as a day-after shoot. That’s our chance to get really creative. A second photographer will also cover your wedding.
Business, Corporate and Headshot Photography
Head on over to www.rebeccalippiatt.com. Your professional life deserves great photos. (headshots for professional use, editorial photographs of commercial space and product photography)