BOSTON CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER, BOSTON FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER, BOSTON NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER

What does that mean?

It means that this year I am going to focus on helping you display your images in ways that make sense to you and will provide you with an amazing return on your investment. We are going to really talk during our pre-session conversations and find out what you are looking to do with your images and make sure at the end, you walk away with tangible products that decorate your home with your life.  Still not sure what I mean?  Check out my thought process for my own family sessions below. It doesn’t meant that you need to purchase huge wall displays if you live in a home with limited wall space, but it does mean you can think through your display options, which also include albums of all sizes, mini mounts and anything else you could imagine.

To kick off this new direction, I am going to offer a limited-time sale on canvases, frames and gallery mounts.  This sale will only be good for two weeks, until March 7th.  If your session occurs during the month of February or the first week of March, I will extend it to you as long as your initial gallery period is open.  If you are interested in any of the products I showcase below (canvases, frames & gallery mounts), please contact me so I can re-open your gallery.  Additional terms and conditions and FAQs will be emailed to you along with access to pricing.

Read on for a brief description of each product and click on thumbnails for images. Please email me with questions or for additional information and pricing.

Fine Art Gallery Wrapped Canvases are a wonderful way to elegantly display your images without needing to worry about framing or matting your images. Each image is carefully inspected and edited prior to printing and all images include appropriate re-sizing and or editing to ensure that the image wraps correctly (i.e. critical elements of your images will not be left out due to size/edge constraints and color borders will not be substituted in place of your image). Our canvases are printed on state-of-the-art canvas printers with non-fade, non-toxic inks that are guaranteed not to fade or warp for 120 years (provided they are hung in a moisture free environment out of direct sunlight). They are backed with clean white paper with a variety of hanging hardware and rubber backers to prevent slipping. There are a lot of inexpensive options for canvases these days. Trust me when I say I can spot them from across the room. If you would like to preserve your images as art within your home, it’s worth it have them professionally sized and printed.

Gallery Mounts are also a wonderful “ready to hang” solution for more casual areas as well as high traffic areas such as staircases (they are more flush to the wall and secured with a keyhole screw and thus less likely to be jostled or knocked around). A Gallery Mounted image is one that is printed on professional-grade paper, then heat sealed to a wood substrate product that has beautiful beveled and painted edges (white or black, 3/8″ or 3/4″ inch thickness) and they are finished with a finelinen texture. We can add a digital mat to any image, or we can group multiple images together on one mount for a storyboard effect.

Mini mounts are are the Gallery Mounts cute little sister. They are made for 5X7 prints — they come ready for display with a built in paper easel. They are also lovely when seated on a small plate stand. You can pop them anywhere from a counter top to a bookcase to a mantel. They are the perfect for a quick gift solution — they come to you wrapped and ready to go! [Mini mounts are NOT included in the 2 week sale.]

Frames. Kristina Young Photography now carries a full line of frames that range from light, airy, fun and whimsical for you brightest images to classic, traditional and elegant worthy of holding your most beautiful portraits. We even have a simple, black, non-glare glass frame if you just want a simple wall gallery display (with optional mats available). For framing ideas, it is best for us to do an on-site consultation either at your home, or via email with images of your home provided.  [Frames are included in the two week sale if they are purchased with a print, standalone frame purchases are available but not at a sale price.]

I do NOT run sales or discount my products at any other time during the year.  As you know, I am not a low-cost provider photographer nor do I generate business and attract clients because I run specials and promotions.  I do not want anyone feel that they need to wait to book a session until I lower my prices or that if they paid full price, they somehow lost out on a great deal. Additionally, my packages already take some of these discounts into account.  I think it’s important that you understand my philosophy because I constructed my business model to serve my client’s best interests in hopes of building long term relationships and deliver consistent value.

This year we did two family photo shoots of our own.  One was a paid session with a photographer’s who work I very much admire.  The other was a reciprocal swap with a local photographer who has truly become a friend.  I love them both and I am so thrilled to have these images for my walls.

I wrote up a little perspective on both sessions and what I was thinking and hopefully give you insight on some things you can plan prior to your session.

For the session with Amanda Burse, I paid for it. Full price.  Why?  Especially when I knew I would have a swap session with Jennifer Shore?  Many reasons.  Primarily, I wanted to be a client.  I wanted to hire someone who had a style different from my own, whose work I admired, and I just wanted to think nothing of shooting, and just be there.   Very unintended, my session with Amanda allowed me to put myself in my client’s shoes.   I now really understand the anxious emails, the wait, the urge to right-click and most important, just how it feels to part with your money.

My swap with Jennifer was a wonderful gift and I hope she and I can continue this bartering deal we have!

Still, why would I need a session – or even two?  Don’t I have enough images of my own?  Why would I showcase someone else’s work, on my blog, on Facebook and in my house?  There was a time when I thought paying someone was crazy.  I was quite sure I was “photographer enough” to never have to do that.  But I’ve been doing this for long enough to know that sometimes it’s just really nice to see your family from the outside.  I really wanted to be “in” some of the photographs — not just where I have set up the shot and handed my camera to someone else.  I wanted to be in them as in “present” — with my family, enjoying it, not worrying that the settings would change or the image would be out of focus.  It’s not to say people around me can’t photograph us, it’s just been a long time since I’ve seen a multiple images that were wall sized worthy.  So that is why, even as a professional photographer, I still need to hire someone for my own family session.

Next came the questions “What to Wear?” and “Where to Shoot?”  Before I could answer those questions, I really thought about what I wanted to do with these images. This is a critical step in planning your session.  To shoot blindly, without advance planning, means that you might end up with a lot of “what the heck do I do with these?” images.

I knew that I wanted large images for our family room, specifically to hang over our fireplace and possibly on one of the other walls.  Our family room, like most of our downstairs, is really warm, browns, exposed brick, army greens and dark yellows… outside the windows are trees, greens and a lot of pine needles!  Our downstairs has a lot of texture to it, so in my head I thought canvas.  We are a beach family, but that’s not what our house looks like, so for each session I wanted to bring the outside in and really sync with the same overall feel.

I also wanted some images of our family for over our bed.  Although I love our wedding images, all four of us start every single morning together in bed talking, and so it feels right that all four of us be on our walls [we still have some wedding images that will stay framed on other walls].  Our bedroom is lighter and airier than downstairs and we are in the process of updating all our pieces to honey wood, or antiqued distressed white so I had a clean framed look in my mind.

I also knew that I’d give some gift prints or mini-mounts to our parents, and that it would be nice to have some framed 5X7s and 8X10s in other parts of the house.  I definitely didn’t want to over do it, but if you see how little I have on my walls now, you’d understand.

Knowing my goals prior to the session really helped me think through “What to Wear?” and “Where to Shoot?”

I wanted to make the most of both sessions and do an outfit change.  There’s always a chance that when you see yourself, you might think “What on EARTH made me wear that?”   Two outfits provide insurance against that, it also gives you variety.  For both sessions, I started with me.  I knew if I didn’t like what I was wearing, I’d hate the entire session.  From there I planned for the rest of the kids.  For our session with Amanda, I went with two sets of clothing, all generally coordinating colors to our environment and to each other.  For our session with Jennifer, I knew we were in a more stark setting (on purpose) and so I chose very basic colors, all different solids.

For locations, I wanted one session to be on River Road, because that is where I shoot all time and I love the old abandoned mansion.  For the other, I found a location that I’d never shot at, but it was exactly what I was looking for and I drive by it almost daily — barren, flat light, a ton of texture.  I really wanted it to look seasonally opposite to our summer session because fall and winter is {to me} as lovely as summer, and that’s sort of what my downstairs feels like.  As a side note, my “Jennifer session” was also my 40th birthday, so I will always be happy with that as a gift.

So again, even though we are a big beach family and so much of our life is about surf, sun and fun, that’s not the vibe that works with my display goals [although I have BIG plans for our imaginary beach house in Quogue].  I really kept that in mind when I chose our location, our outfits and the seasonal timing of our session.

Luckily, Owen understood the importance of this to me.  He might not have two years ago.  He might have rolled his eyes, knowing that he’d rather be at home or fishing or just somewhere else.  But he’s seen me deliver enough canvases to other families and wonder “Where are ours?”  He also knew that this would make me really happy, having us all there.  Too many times I come home from a session and think “those were awesome, but bummer Dad wasn’t there.”  Honestly, if you are making the investment, try to include the entire family.  One – two hours (give or take) might seem like a hassle, but they really are images that will last you a lifetime.  I will be totally frank when I tell you that I have had family members show up and NOT want to participate, for whatever the reason.  When they get their gallery either (1) they are so happy that they did because they realize what it means to have those captures or (2) they feel really bad that they didn’t (or they pouted or smirked) because they can’t get that time back to do it over.  Having a willing spouse, if even for only an hour, really ties it all together.

So again, why all this planning?  Primarily because Custom Photography is an investment, even for me.  Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  Unless you can go shake a money tree that grows in your yard, you owe it to yourself and your wallet to put some thought into the execution.  You don’t want to come away thinking “Why did I wear that shirt?” or “I didn’t plan this well around my kid’s schedule” or “I have no idea what I want to do with these images.”

I realize that in a tight market, spending money on photography might be a luxury that doesn’t seem affordable.  Trust me.  I get it.  We were pressed to our limits last year, both of us starting at zero with new businesses in a bad economy.  But I knew there would never be a perfect time — there are always more pressing expenses — childcare, a new heating boiler, or a new car.  I tucked money away in my sock drawer for a while for my session with Amanda and was so grateful that Jennifer and I were able to swap.   I think it’s important that you know this because even for me in my own occupation, it’s a big investment.  And so any time you spend your hard earned dollars on this investment, not only am I extremely grateful, but I feel what it means to you.  Again, I encourage any professional photographer to go through the process of being a PAYING client so they can truly understand what it means to spend.

So the takeaways…

• I love my images from both sessions.

• I am glad I planned what to wear well in advance because I realized that to achieve the look I wanted was not happening in our closets nor could I have figured it out at the last minute.

• I wish I had lost that last 10-15 pounds but that will come someday and I can’t put myself on hold until I do.  I wanted to look better in some of the images, but I took some time, walked away from them, and came back and looked at that with the perspective of an outsider.  Were they beautiful photography? (yes) Did she capture what I asked for? (yes)  Would I look back in a few years and be eternally grateful I have the images? (yes) Did they depict my life as it is today? (yes) Did they tell the story of us? (yes)  Will I ever be happy with me? (probably not)  And so I decided that they were marvelously perfect imperfections and then I really fell in love with them.

• Neither session netted out with one “everyone smile and look at the camera” family portrait… and I am totally fine with that… my life is made up of all the wonderful loud, crazy, happy, trying and loving “in between” moments… and my kids are 2 & 4… and Owen and I are human.  So displaying a few images together helps us tell our story and shows way more love and emotion than “one perfect image” ever would.

• Both sessions really helped me understand the overall client experience and gave me some great takeaways for things I will implement in my own business.

I am eternally grateful to both Jennifer and Amanda for capturing what they did.  Here are some favs.  I’ll post pictures when all my images are finally displayed in my home!

Images from Amanda Burse – La Bella Vita Photography

Images from Jennifer Shore Photography.

My new website is live and I am really excited.  I’ve actually had it for about 5 months, but have been too swamped to do a thing with it.  The best thing about it is that it’s mobile friendly, which means that it looks great on an iPhone or iPad.  The other really neat feature, which isn’t active quite yet, is my new High School Senior site.  I am beyond excited to go live with that in a few weeks, so stay tuned!

Please let me know what you think!

As I mentioned on Facebook earlier this week, I am working on galleries to ensure that I get everyone’s out to them so they can order.  I know some of you have called, texted and emailed with questions, and I have all of those, but I am trying to manage getting out galleries along with your inquiries and so in this crazy time of year, there is a delay.  Like prior years, I do manage to get everyone what they need within a day or two of when they need it (and it’s the reason I stress throughout the year that it’s helpful if you place your orders when you get your galleries rather than waiting!).  I have each and every one of your messages saved and am trying to prioritize on a first come/first serve basis.  This week is focused on those galleries and as soon as they are wrapped up, I can focus on holiday cards (that should be Monday).  I understand if you can’t wait until then, and so if you have to have your cards locked and loaded this week, you are welcome to email me for your digital files that you either purchased or came with your mini session.  If you can wait, that’s great, you will be first on my list on Monday!

This time of year gets crazy for everyone.  I really understand and appreciate that.  It’s a a time of year when I sit back and think about how lucky I am that I have this as my work, and that I can capture families as they are and preserve those moments in time, especially in the midst of holiday madness.  That said with Thanksgiving approaching, it’s also time to take a minute and remember that gifts and cards are gifts and cards… the shopping list will still be there on Monday.  The sales will still be in the stores.  Not all the merchandise will be gone.  No one really gives out prizes for the person that gets their holiday cards out first or their shopping lists finished because as we all know, you never really finish, it just sort of ends.  What people need most this time of year is down time, with friends and family, and to enjoy what doesn’t come in boxes or packages or envelopes with dollarless receipts attached inside. I am sure it sounds absurd to anyone who plans on heading out to shop at 2AM on Black Friday… but my Thanksgiving wish to you all is to enjoy the full four days you have off with your family (if you are lucky enough to have it off).  Stay in your pajamas just a little bit longer, let the dishes sit for another 15 minutes, maybe disconnect from your iPhone for 3-4 hours.  Everything will still be exactly as you left it, if you missed a bargain, another will show up within an hour.  Just enjoy your Thanksgiving, your family, and your downtime before the holiday’s begin.

I have about 9 blog entries to make.  So I’ll just attach one image here for now with a quote that made me so happy to read: “this picture describes my feeling of joy for the beautiful life I live…thank you for capturing it.”

$350
20 minute mini-session
10-15 image gallery
3 5X7 prints
1 8X10 print
1 set wallets (8)
$100 credit towards custom designed holiday cards OR 1 digital file (color & BW printable to 11X14)

Details:

On-location sessions (i.e. at your home) are available in towns that touch Topsfield, MA (Topsfield, Boxford, Middleton, Danvers, Hamilton, Wenham, and Ipswich).

If you live outside this immediate area, you are welcome to schedule a session here in town at one of our beautiful outdoor locations such as River Road or Wheatlands Hill. If you have two friends that are interested in sessions, I will travel to other locations, but I require a $75 deposit in advance from three families for back-to-back time slots to make traveling mini-sessions happen.

Sessions will be scheduled from October 4 – November 12, 2010. Many weekend time slots are already filled up, so if you need a Saturday or Sunday time, please contact me immediately.

Holiday card templates will be available in early October (with a really neat theme this year!). Text changes and greetings may be made at no additional charge.  Additional customizations may be made for $25/change. All digital proofs must be signed off on prior to print.  Balance must be paid in full at the time of ordering additional prints.

Holiday cards begin at a minimum order of 25 and cost $2.50-$3.50 per card depending on the design and envelope printing choices.

In lieu of ordering holiday cards with a $100 credit, you may receive one (1) digital JPEG file for use in your own holiday card template (i.e. Tiny Prints, Shutterfly, etc.).   Up to 3 additional files may be purchased at a discounted rate of $75 file. Digital files come in Color and BW with print rights to print to 11X14.

Additional prints, albums and cards available at a la carte or package pricing.

Mini-sessions must be paid in full at the time of the session.   Please, no exceptions. Your gallery will be available within 10-12 days of your session. You will have 7 days to finalize your print order (including additional prints). Prints will be delivered within 10 days of your order and cards will be delivered within an agreed upon time frame.

Due to the busy holiday season and the discount provided with this session, it is not possible for Kristina Young Photography to “unbundle” or swap out print options. If you would like a more flexible package, please reserve a full session.