I’ve tried below to address a few of the more common questions I get concerning my photography services. Hopefully you can find what you are looking for here – but if not, feel free to shoot me an email at sarah@sarahdickersonphoto.com!

1. How do I schedule you?

For a portrait session (which would include senior sessions, families, children/babies, equine sessions and engagements not booked as part of a wedding package), you simply need to shoot me an email or give me a call! Payment for portrait sessions is due at the time of the session, and there is no contract involved. Please take note that as I am primarily a wedding photographer, I have very limited availability for senior, engagement and family sessions as compared to photographers who specialize in seniors or family work and do not shoot weddings. In other words, I cannot take as many sessions, as much as I love shooting them. I only accept six portrait sessions per month so that I can have sufficient time for editing along with my day-to-day wedding work. Once I have six sessions on the schedule for any month, I move on to the next month – for those interested in fall sessions, that means act early! October is the busiest month of the season for portrait work, so book early to ensure a spot. I cannot make an exception to the limit of six sessions – fall is also my busiest time of the year for weddings.

For weddings, you will need to sign a contract and pay a flat retainer of $500.00 to hold your date. I book weddings on a first-come, first served basis; this is the only way to be fair if I have two couples vying for the same date! I do only accept ONE wedding per weekend – i.e. if someone books a Sunday date, the Saturday date the day before is not available. Give me an email if you’re interested in meeting to discuss your wedding at our Briarcliff Village space!

2. When are you available?

Again, I am primarily a wedding photographer, which makes weekend portrait sessions difficult, and a lot of times, impossible. I have a firm schedule for setting portrait sessions and consults based on time of year (as it relates to wedding season).

I book sessions Monday through Friday, and usually try to schedule you in for an early morning or late afternoon or evening session to take advantage of the early and late day light, which is optimal for portrait work. In the summer, the late day sessions will obviously start much later than winter sessions as the days are much, much longer. I will book Saturday sessions if I am not shooting a wedding – however, Saturdays are rarely if ever available between April and November. The studio is closed on Sundays, the only exception being for a Sunday wedding – I shot and worked seven days a week for way too long and my body unfortunately needs R&R, especially the day after a wedding, and my family needs me, too. If you are wanting to book a portrait session and need a weekend slot, I’d be more than happy to refer you to one of several FANTASTIC photographers in town that specialize in portraiture and do not shoot weddings on weekends.

3. How can I pay you?

I accept personal checks, money orders, cash and credit cards (Visa, Mastercard and Discover) for all portrait sessions, wedding deposits and payments, and product payments (prints, CDs, albums). Products may either be ordered through your online custom gallery with a credit card, during an in-person ordering session at my studio, or via phone or mail.

4. Where do you shoot?

I do portrait sessions on-location within the Kansas City metro area. I will travel outside of the area – contact me for details. I am not a studio type of shooter (bo-ring!).  Urban setting or a natural setting? Elegant or industrial? I’ll help you find the perfect location or locations for your shoot – it’s up to you!

5. How long should I expect my shoot to last? What time of day is best to shoot?

For starters, I like to shoot in the mornings and evenings, when we have the best chance at having awesome light. For all portrait sessions, you can expect your session to last anywhere from approximately an hour and a half to two hours. I do allow for changes of clothing – so we will keep that in mind when planning our shoot location. Which brings me to…

6. What should I wear?

First of all, be yourself. As a general rule, super loud colors, or patterns of any kind can be distracting – we want the focus on YOU! For engagement sessions, you might want to plan a dressier ensemble as well as a change to a more casual, weekend-wear type outfit for the two of you. For senior shoots, bring something dressy, and something fun, and something casual. We’ll get a good mix of all of your outfit choices. Feel free to incorporate things into your shoot that speak about YOU. Like funky fashion? Play it up! Like to dress up? We’ll find a location that suits.

7. I’d like to schedule an equine portrait session or farm shoot. What can I expect?

As with the human portrait sessions, we will want to avoid shooting during the middle of the day when the light is harsh and flat. I will arrive early enough I can walk the property and determine some good shooting locations before we begin. Make sure your horse is clean, trimmed and has fly spray on! (Editing flies off of faces can get time consuming!) If we are shooting with a halter, be sure to have a nice one – preferably leather. Bright nylon halters are distracting. It is helpful to have at least one helper to get your horse’s ears forward and help with positioning the horse. If we are doing shots at liberty, it is helpful to have SEVERAL people to help out to keep the horse in a fairly small area. For riding shots, determine ahead if you want to wear schooling apparel or show apparel. Turn your horse out as you would for show. Again, a helper is nice to help get ears.

8. What is included with my shoot?

For weddings, please reference my package guide. For portrait sessions, your shoot fee and editing time is included in the base fee, as well as your images being placed into an online gallery. I strongly recommend doing in-person proofing and ordering at our Briarcliff Village location for those booking portrait sessions of any type – as it is the only time you’ll have a chance to see our great products in person and touch and feel them! From standard prints to DVDs, from canvas wraps to gorgeous albums (yes, we have economical choices even for senior and family sessions!), you’ve got to see them to appreciate them. If in-person proofing isn’t an option for you for whatever reason, don’t sweat – your images are in your online gallery regardless and available for ordering for up to one year after your session! You can order all of these great products from the comfort of your home with a credit or debit card.

9. When can I expect to see my proofs online?

There is no hard, fast timeframe for this. Typically, I am usually very busy in the warmer months and not as busy in the wintertime. My workload has a lot to do with how quickly I can get your shoot edited. I do try to get a blog post of your shoot posted within a couple of days as a “sneak preview” while I edit the rest of the shoot. Typically, I try to get weddings edited and online within 4 weeks after your wedding date, and portrait session turnaround runs 2 to 3 weeks – sometimes a bit longer during my busiest months such as September and October, when turn times on portrait sessions can near 4 weeks and weddings, 5 to 6 weeks. I will inform you at the time of your shoot or wedding as to what to expect based on my current workload.

10. Do you offer any discounts?

As a general rule, no, I do not offer any discounts on shoot or wedding package fees. (there are a few exceptions from time to time, however!) I do run specials on prints during the holidays, however! Watch my blog, or your email inbox, for details of these specials. Also, I have a referral program in place – for every portrait session referred (engagement, senior, etc), I offer a $25 print credit that can be redeemed in your online gallery, and for every wedding referred, I offer a $75 print credit. I appreciate referrals (and your business!) greatly!

11. I’ve booked my wedding. Now what?

You can relax! You are on my calendar. If you’ve chosen a package that includes an engagement shoot, we will pencil in a date and location for that as soon as you are ready. I will contact you when we are a month or two away from your wedding date to discuss any questions you may have and go over final details regarding your wedding day schedule. This can be done over coffee or lunch, or we can meet at your ceremony or reception venue. Please make sure that your officiant, ceremony location or reception location do not have any special requirements or restrictions regarding photography, and if so, inform me ahead of time so that I can accommodate these requests. Also, we will discuss the timing for your formals. It is best to type up a list prior to your wedding of the formal shots you want (i.e. bride with parents, groom with parents, bride and groom with bride’s parents, bride and groom with groom’s parents, bride and groom with both parents, etc) – this will make the process go MUCH more quickly and smoothly. I will help you establish this list. I will also get from you the location where you will be getting prepared, if I will be shooting this portion of your wedding, among other details!

12. Do you travel for weddings?

YES! Within a 2 hours’ drive of Kansas City, I do not charge travel fees. Outside of this distance, I charge for gas, meals, and overnight lodging if needed. Out-of-state, gas would translate into airfare. I am available for destination weddings and only charge for actual travel expenses in addition to my normal package fees. Keep in mind this may be a lot more economical than booking a local wedding photographer, depending upon the region!

As previously stated, please feel free to email me if you have any specific questions that are not covered in this FAQ!