Q: What’s the difference between a portrait, headshot and personal branding?

A portrait is dramatic, emotional and captures the very essence of who you are. Think big wall worthy portraits or a collection of private images stored in a leather folio box that reflect who you are and how you want to be remembered. Personal branding are a suite of images that represent the many facets of you at your very best for use professionally, on social media, dating websites, biographies, your book jacket, magazine covers, speaking engagements, personal blogs and charity work. Head shots for actors are generally from the shoulders up and more minimal in approach so casting directors can imagine you in a variety of different roles. Headshots for business can be more formal, and reflect you as professional, in the context of work only (think LinkedIn and the photo that travels with your professional biography.

Q: Where does my portrait session take place?

Portrait sessions take place in my intimate studio on the Upper West Side, right near Lincoln Center.

Q: How long should I expect my portrait session to last?

Expect to spend between 4 to 6 in the studio; about 2 hours in hair, make-up and styling starting in the morning, 2 hours in front of the camera and allow for an hour for set and wardrobe changes. Pro tip: make sure you have plans for fabulous after the shoot because you’ll leave looking and feeling marvelous.

Q. How much should I expect to spend?

Pricing detail can be found here. The sitting fee of $475 includes creative consultation prior to the shoot, professional hair and make-up artist the day of the shoot, and of course the shoot itself. This non-refundable fee does not cover the images themselves. Image packages start at $850 for 6 and include all color correction and retouching delivered digitally. I highly recommend professional printing and matting which starts at $180. So, in all I recommend my Clients earmark about $1325 to go on this journey.

Q: How and when do I select my favorite images from the shoot?

About 2-3 weeks after the shoot, we’ll schedule an in person appointment (or over Skype/Face Time/Zoom) to review 20-30 of your retouched images. From there we’ll select which image package is right for you in increments of 6, 12 or 20. Once we select the image package, we’ll talk about whether you would like your images as digitals only, or if you want your images printed and mounted as wall art or folio boxes at an additional cost. I’ll have samples of printed products on hand so you can get a sense for what these look like. I work with world class labs in Poland and Italy for printing and want you to experience the difference this level of fine art quality makes in an image.

Q. How do I gift someone a portrait session?

It’s very easy, just reach out and we’ll discuss how much of the session you want to “gift” (most cover the session fee at $475 and a 6 image package $850 for a total of $1325+ tax) and I’ll create an elegant custom gift certificate and envelope.

Q. Do I have you use your glam squad?

It’s highly recommended and covered in the booking fee. Here’s why: the hair and make-up artists I work with have extensive experience doing make-up for editorial photography and have the versatility to do super natural to megawatt glam without making you look hard or garish. They stay for the shoot and know to touch up between takes, often seeing things that you and I might miss. While I think the make-up artists at places like Sephora can often do a great job, they are rarely trained in photography which sometimes results in a look that’s too harsh, and hard to adjust since they aren’t on set.

Q. Can I bring my friend or family along? And can they jump into the session?

Of course you can bring a friend or family member (although my studio is small so keep that in mind). And yes, they can jump in with you at the very end, once we feel we have what we need for you. Keep in mind, that extra hair and make-up is only available to them at an incremental cost, and that your make-up artist will likely be working with me on set. We do ask that you don’t bring small children to the set unsupervised.

Q: If I want my images for a specific date, how far in advance should I book?

I suggest booking 2-3 weeks prior to the shoot itself to allow for glam considerations (facials, hair cut, color), wardrobe styling, clothing purchases/rentals and any set considerations that come out of the creative consult. After the shoot day itself, you can expect your images in 2-3 weeks, delivered digitally. Fine art printing takes an additional 2-3 weeks, sometimes longer for large framed wall prints.

So, in sum for digital images only, plan 4-6 weeks out and for printed images or wall art, plan 8-12 weeks. If you need them sooner, we can always discuss what it will take to make that happen.

Q. Do you shoot men, kids and families too?

I also shoot men, young people and families using the same, editorial approach. Wardrobe and styling are just as important, if not more so with families (no matchy matchy here). We’ll discuss whether hair and make-up make are right for your shoot.

Q. Do you shoot on location or studio only?

I primarily shoot in my studio, but do go on location for an additional cost.

Q: Can I get the raw, unedited outtakes from the portrait session

Raw files and outtakes are not available, in accordance with industry standard