How a shoot works

Your first message can be anything: “hello, I'd like a photoshoot” is already enough. You don't need to come with a ready plan, chosen looks and a list of poses: most often the idea is born in the conversation itself. Tell me in your own words what the occasion is and what you'd like to end up with: photos for yourself, a gift for someone close, or a picture that deserves a place on the wall.

Then I'll ask a few simple questions: who will be in the photos, and what mood appeals to you, light and airy or deep and graphic. If you've saved any pictures that caught your eye, send them over: someone else's photo explains what you want better than a long description. If you have nothing, that's fine too; we'll find it together.

In reply, I'll tell you what kind of shoot suits what you have in mind, give you the free dates, and say so honestly if I think another option would suit you better. Messaging commits you to nothing: you can ask questions, take a break and come back when you're ready. I won't rush you.

Preparation starts with a few references: shots you like and a few of mine, so that our expectations match. They become the plan for the shoot: which looks we're doing and in what order.

The studio wardrobe is yours to use: dresses, fabrics, hats, jewellery. My regular clients joke that you can turn up empty-handed: there's always an outfit and jewellery to be found. Some looks I create right on you from fabric chosen to suit your colouring, so there's nothing to buy or bring.

If you'd like to be photographed in your own dress, do bring it: a favourite piece almost always looks better on camera than a perfectly chosen borrowed one. There's no need to come in beforehand for a fitting: we go through the wardrobe on the day of the shoot, and time is set aside for it.

The most common fear sounds like this: “I don't know how to pose.” You don't need to know anything: that's my job, not yours. I'll tell you where to stand, what to do with your hands, where to look and when to breathe out. A good shot is made of small things: the turn of a shoulder, the tilt of a chin, fingers that aren't clenched into a fist.

I started out on the other side of the lens, being photographed a lot myself. So I know exactly how it feels to have a camera pointed at you: the uncertainty, the urge to hide, the question “how am I supposed to stand?” That's why we begin with calm, simple shots while you get used to it, and after a while you stop noticing the camera.

Changing looks, music and breaks to chat are part of the process, not a distraction from it. We're in no hurry: better fewer shots, but ones that feel alive.

I send you a link to the gallery a week after the shoot: all the photos are there, colour-corrected. I take out duplicates, blinks and awkward movements myself, so the gallery holds only what really works.

There's no rush in the gallery. There's no right choice here: mark the shots you want to look at, not the ones where the light is “objectively better”.

Deciding can be hard; that's what people most often write back to me. If you can't, just say so and I'll suggest my own selection. Everyone sees things differently, and I won't insist.

The edited photos come in a new link 2–3 weeks after the day of the shoot: large print-ready files and an online album with the edited shots. The week for choosing photos is included in that time, not added to it.

I edit the chosen shots myself: I hold an Adobe Certified Expert certification in Photoshop. I work carefully, removing anything accidental while keeping skin looking alive, and I don't turn you into someone else.

Along with the photos I'll send a short reel or behind-the-scenes video from the shoot; which one depends on what we managed to film that day. After that the photos are yours with no restrictions: post and print them wherever you like. I'll suggest where to print and prepare the files.

Once the format is chosen, I reserve the date for you. All the details, including the day, time, studio address and how to get there, stay in our chat, so there's nothing to remember the night before.

Shoots are by appointment, so on your day there's no need to rush. That matters more than it seems: hurry shows in a photo straight away, in the shoulders, the hands, the eyes.

If your plans change, message me in advance and we'll talk it over and find another day. This applies especially to maternity shoots, where how you feel can change within a day.