Session Experience
Most photographers will hand you a gallery link and call it a day.
This is not that.
From the first phone call to the moment I show up at your door with your finished portraits, every part of working with me is designed so that you don't have to figure anything out. I've got you!
Here's how it works.
Step 1: The Pre-Booking Consultation
Before anything is scheduled, we hop on a quick phone call to get to know each other. I want to hear about your senior (or your family), what matters to you about these portraits, and what questions you have about my process. No pressure, no pitch. Just a real conversation to make sure we're a great fit.
Step 2: The Style & Planning Consultation
Once you're booked, I come to you. We'll sit down together at your home (or connect via Zoom if that's easier) and plan everything: locations, outfits, how each look pairs with each spot, and what you're hoping to have on your walls when it's all said and done.
I bring product samples so you can see and feel the difference between a canvas, a framed print, and an album before you ever have to make a decision.
For high school seniors, we'll also talk through locations across the Des Moines metro that fit their personality, from the native prairie grasses along Walnut Creek in Urbandale to urban backdrops downtown. For families, we'll plan with your home and your people in mind.
This consultation is one of my favorite parts of the process - by the time session day arrives, nothing is left to chance!
Step 3: The Session
Senior sessions run approximately 2 hours on location, with the option to add extra time if we want to cover more ground. Family sessions are up to 1 hour. I bring cold water, snacks, and (for seniors) a pop-up changing tent so nobody is changing outfits in their car or a not-so-clean gas station bathroom (gag!).
My job on session day is to make sure you're having fun and feeling like yourself. For seniors, that means movement-based posing that never feels stiff or staged. For families, that means getting everyone comfortable and capturing the real moments in between the posed ones.
You just show up…I handle everything else!
Step 4: The Ordering Appointment
About two weeks after your session, I come back to your home for the ordering appointment. This is genuinely the best part!
You'll see your images for the first time in a full slideshow set to music - just sit back and take it in!
After the slideshow, we go through your favorites together and I help you build a portrait collection that actually fits your home and your life.
I use a digital wall design tool that places your real photos on your real walls at the right size, so you can see exactly how a 30x40 canvas looks above your fireplace before you commit to anything.
Fair warning: the slideshow gets people. I've had a lot of happy tears at ordering appointments and I'm not even a little sorry about it!
Step 5: Hand Delivery
When your order arrives from the lab, I hand-deliver it to your home.
Orders are gift-wrapped when possible. It feels a little like Christmas, honestly!
That's the full experience. Start to finish, nothing for you to figure out.
Want to go deeper on what a senior session looks like from start to finish? Browse the full senior experience, including featured session galleries.
Inquiring about a family session instead? View the family experience and featured galleries here.