Details and Rates

Session Fee $125 

- 1 to 2 hours and up to 5 subjects 

**$25 for each additional subject**

Newborn Session Fee @ RSM Natural Light Studio $175
- last approx 2 to 3 hours and are for infants less than two weeks old
- 10 to 20 edited digital proofs for online viewing
- this session is for infant and parents ONLY
- newborn sessions are BEST around 4 to 10 days after birth

Living Art

Maternity Body Art commission starts at $170
- artist/photographers time and talent
- 5 to 10 digital proofs for online viewing

Session Fees includes

- Pre-session consultation via phone/e-mail
- Photographer's time and talent
- Custom editing of images on a password protected online proofing gallery to share with family and friends.
- FUN-sized Printmarked Gallery Download - web size 640x480  (NEW)
- Online gallery is available within 2 weeks of your session and will be active for 14 days.

All orders need to be made prior to expiration.

Session fee is required to confirm booking and is non-refundable.
Session Fees DOES NOT include prints or digital images. Prints and Digital images are available for purchase separately

Return Clients

book a second portrait session within 12 months of your previous session and receive 20% off your session fee. Not valid with special promotions.
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There is a MINIMUM purchase order requirement of $250 for ALL sessions.

Gift prints start at $20
High Resolution Digital Image $60
Digital Package are available
Boutique items are Giclee Canvas (wrapped/board), Thin Wraps, Floated Mounted Metal Prints, The Organic Bloom frames and Snaptotes are also available for purchase.*prices subject to change at any time  without notice. Any sessions booked prior to the change will be secured by deposit.

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Portrait Styles

Maternity

For maternity,  I want mom to feel confident and beautiful: this is your chance to give your baby a great gift. The ability to share the miraculous time of your pregnancy thru photographs. Maternity clothing needs to be form-fitting to show the form of the belly. Be sure to tell me if you want bare belly shots! The best time to take your photographs is between the 34th and 36th week when your belly is nice and round.

Hospital

Undoutedly there will be hundreds of photos taken of your precious baby but there is only ONE chance for a hospital newborn portrait. This session is held at the hospital Mon-Fri between 9 am and noon. This is scheduled for your EDD.

Newborn

There's no rushing a newborn session. We will follow the baby's cues. We are going to make this a relaxing environment for the baby as well as you. We'll take breaks as needed to feed the baby. We turn up the heat (even in summer) to keep the baby toasty and play heart beat sounds to lull the baby. Be sure to tell me if you want nursing photographs. It's such a special moment to capture. We suggest scheduling the newborn session for your EDD. Please reserve your session near your 34 week.
Please have any cute hats, special blankets, etc pulled out before the session, we can try to work them into the photographs. It is *very* likely that one of us will get soiled. It's no big deal...it happen's ALL the time.
The best time for a newborn session is before 2 weeks of age.

Children & Babies

This is FUN, not a chore! Please let me lead the way and ask if I need help. No need for bribes, although I'll ask if they can do something that they're not normally allowed to do. Like jumping on the bed. I will work at their level and their pace. Sometimes, we'll work one-on-one, away from the pressure of them feeling like they have to "perform" for mom and dad, so just give us space and be prepared for some great pictures.
Please bring snacks and water, but try to avoid items that are going to color or get stuck in their teeth. Also bring your child's lovie, a colorful toy or bubbles are wonderful. Make sure your child gets plenty of sleep the night before.  

A parent must always be present during the photo session. It is your responsibility to make sure the child stays safe and that infants and babies are within arms reach  

Couples
For couples, think fun, hip, urban and romantic! I want to capture the passion and magic between you two. PDA is a must! Lets try unusual locations and use things that show off your uniqueness as a couple. Your STORY. Your PHOTOGRAPHS. Everything you feel fixed in a moment. Clothing should be fun and FLIRTY!  

Your Session

mission
My mission in each session is to capture life’s milestones. My goal is to capture the radiance from your pregnancy, or the sweet innocence from your newborn. I also love capturing your child's personality, their special laugh or that funny look they reserve only for certain moments – the things you want to bottle up and remember when they are grown. 

In short, capturing images of the love that is so abundant at these different times in life is why I do what I do. I am particularly fond of capturing your best look in outdoor settings. I will always work with you to ensure that you get what you are looking for in your session

the process

Thank you so much for choosing Rising Sun Memories for your custom portrait session! This page will walk you through everything you need to know to get ready and I'll give you a call a few days before to go over any last minute details.

In general here's what's going to happen:

• We will have a pre-session consultation via phone/email
• We'll have an AWESOME session ( around 1 to 3 hours)
• I'll put a sneak peek on Rising Sun Memories within 24 hours
• In 2 weeks, I'll post a private online gallery to share with family and friends
• It will be up for 7 days. That's when you'll decide your products
• We begin the design process for any custom products
• Disk or products are mailed out 

choosing the location

We can hold the session pretty much anywhere...as long as it's safe for the little one's. Tell me about the feel you want your images to have and I can give you some ideas. I'm open to trying new places. And don't forget your home...it doesn't have to look like Pottery Barn Catalog to be a session-worthy. You'd be surprised at what we can do. Sessions with newborns are held at the Rising Sun Memories natural light studio as you will have access to newborn props and accessories.

what's it like?

I'll show up a little early to your session, if we are on location. We'll move around from place to place to get a variety of textures, scenery, and light. I move fast and change my mind often, but bear with me. It's not going to be stiff and formal. I'll direct you if needed, but most often, when you're just interacting naturally, that's when you look your best. If you have a specific idea in mind, please tell me during the pre-session consultation or before the session so I can be sure to come prepared.

hair, nails, make-up

Try to keep it simple, and please don't be offended if I ask your child to remove bows or ponytails. Don't forget to clean and trim everyone's nails and toenails. (ie. moms/dads on newborn sessions.)

illness and weather

Rescheduling is usually a last resort thanks to a full calendar. If someone is sick, however, let me know as soon as you can so we can reschedule. I will always reschedule newborn sessions if I am ill.

I do complete retouching on all your proofs, so please don't worry about minor boo boo's on the face.

I never trust weather reports, so unless you hear other wise from me, we're still on (some of the best light is on a cloudy day). However, if it's storming, we'll need to find another time or day.

wardrobe 101:

coordinating but not matchy

I know there's so much more to you than jeans and a white shirt!

STYLE: I suggest two sets of outfits (ie one dressy and one casual) coordinated for everyone. You can't have too many clothes! For maternity sessions, it's easiest to pick something that mom can wear and then work everything around that.

LAYERS: Even in summer, layers add interest and we can change a look quickly by adding/removing them (think hats, scarves, belts, jackets, vest, leggings, jewlery, ties, layering shirts).

TEXTURE/PATTERNS: Try to use a few solids and as many textures as possible. You CAN  mix patterns, colors, and textures.

COLOR: I LOVE color and lots of it. One thing to try is to pick a color and then weave it throughout the outfits to tie it together (ie. baby in a pink onesie, Dad ina pink tie, mom in pink heels).

INTEREST: Once you've got the outfits lined out, try to add at least one small part to reflect your personalities, like a hat, a fun shirt under a jacket, or cool shoes.  I love it when mom stands out in a dress/skirt or fashionable jeans with heels/boots.

WHITE done RIGHT: White (or black) would NOT be my first choice for your main outfits, but white does work well on a onesie/t-shirt for a baby or as a dress for a little girl or mom. White is also simple, classic choice for family newborn sessions.

Why is custom photography "SPECIAL"

Instead of reinventing the wheel, I will share with you an article that was written by Professional Child Photographer- the consumer guide for custom photography.

"Custom Photography as something "SPECIAL"

Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience. Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time  and money, forethought and planning on the part of the subject/client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well.

Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized.  These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session.  Many clients opt for it to be a once a year special experience, some opt to have custom photography sessions done to record their child's stages in life.  Having said this, it is clear that custom photography is not in everyone’s budget,  it is something that most families save for to splurge on from time to time to memorialize their children as they really are  (not posed and primped in the cookie cutter studio setting). 

There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client.  The luxury of great service, better choices and a supberb end product.  The result of all this are heirloom quality images.  The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process.

Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle.  To get to point B from A let's face it, even a bus ride would suffice.  If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea.  Custom photography is much the same cup of tea.  It is the Lexus of the photography world.  It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.   

Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels.  There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers.  The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of thoses options.  The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing.  The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it.  That level of quality and commitment  is all but lost in the age of "mass produced," "mass marketed," corporate "everyone is a number".  Custom photography is based on being unique to you.  How great an experience would be,  to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?

Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will.  The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass."

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NEXT: Why Does Custom Photography Cost More?

Meet Denise