From the first phone call to the prints on your wall — here's exactly what it's like to work with me.
What You're Really Investing In
I'll be honest with you, because I'd rather be honest early than disappoint you later.
If what you're looking for is the lowest price in the Tri-Cities, there are photographers who will serve you better than I will. My clients are investing in something different — a relaxed, personal experience with someone who genuinely cares, and photographs made to be kept.
Here's how I think about it: you're obviously expecting beautiful images, or you wouldn't be hiring a photographer at all. What I want to give you is everything around them. How well you're taken care of from the very first email. Knowing exactly what to wear so nobody's fidgeting. Being guided through every moment so you never wonder what to do with your hands. Sitting down together to look at your gallery instead of being handed a link and left to figure it out. And walking away with something you can hold.
Twenty years in, that's the part I'm proudest of.
Every Session Includes
- 01
A personal phone consultation
We talk before anything is booked, about your family, your season of life, and what you're hoping to keep.
- 02
Wardrobe guidance
Send me what you're thinking and I'll help you choose. I'll tell you kindly if something's going to distract from your face.
- 03
Location planning
Chosen for your family, your style, and where the light will actually be that evening.
- 04
A fully guided session
You never need to know how to pose. That's my job.
- 05
Hand-selected, hand-edited images
Finished in my warm, film-inspired style.
- 06
An in-person gallery viewing
We sit down together and I walk you through everything.
- 07
A private phone album
Your images as my thank-you — with its own icon on your phone, and it never expires.
How It Works, Start to Finish
- 01
You reach out
Tell me who you'd like photographed and what this season means to you. I read and answer every inquiry myself — and I always mean it when I say thank you for choosing to reach out. Getting to be part of someone's story is a privilege, not a transaction.
- 02
We talk it through
I'll suggest a phone call, and this is my favorite part of the whole process. Most people arrive at that call a little nervous — "I don't know how to pose," "I'm not photogenic," "my kids will never sit still." By the end of it, they're excited. I'd rather build a friendship than complete a job.
- 03
Your date is reserved
We'll look at available dates together. Once we find one that works, I'll send over a contract and a retainer invoice — and your date is officially yours once both are complete. (Nothing is held until then, so if you have a season in mind, don't wait too long.) The remaining balance is due the day of your session.
- 04
We plan the details
This is where I earn my keep. We'll talk through outfits — send me photos of what you're considering and I'll help you refine them. I'll point you to my Instagram so you can save the scenery and light you're drawn to, which tells me more about what you want than any questionnaire could. If we're visiting more than one location, I'll choose spots close together, because once the clock starts, your session time is yours — and the sun doesn't wait around for us.
- 05
Your golden hour
We meet outdoors in that last stretch of warm light. I'll guide you the entire time with prompts, movement and a few things that will feel completely ridiculous — asking you to fake-laugh is one of them, and it works every single time, because a real laugh always follows. We'll take the posed, everyone-looking-at-the-camera photograph too. But the ones you'll frame are usually the other ones.
- 06
We view your gallery together
About two weeks later, we sit down in person and go through your images. I'll help you choose, talk through what would look beautiful on your walls, and answer the questions that are genuinely hard to answer alone in front of a screen. You can order online if you'd rather — but almost nobody does once they've done it this way.
- 07
Your prints come home
Once your prints, album or wall art arrive, we'll meet once more so I can hand them to you. Watching someone hold their photographs for the first time never gets old.
A Note About Pricing
To help you plan before we talk, I've made a Session Estimate that gives you a useful starting number based on what you choose. It isn't a booking or a contract, and it isn't meant to replace a conversation. It's there so you can get a feel for the investment before you ever reach out.
Every session is planned individually — different families, different seasons, different walls to fill. Once we connect, I'll look at what you've selected, make sure it actually fits what you're hoping for, and confirm the complete price with nothing hidden and no pressure. From there, if it feels right, I'll walk you through the contract, retainer and payment details myself.
What I'll say now: I'm not the cheapest photographer in the Tri-Cities, and I'm not trying to be. My clients tend to be people who found my work, loved it, and decided it was worth planning for. If that's you, we're going to get along.
A planning estimate — not a booking or contract
Why I Still Believe in Printed Photographs
Think about the difference between an email and a letter in the mail. The email disappears into a hundred others. The letter feels considered — like someone meant it.
Photographs work the same way. It's so easy for images to end up buried in your phone or forgotten on a hard drive. Printed well and hung on your wall or bound into an album, they become something else entirely: something your family walks past every day, something your children grow up seeing themselves in, something you can put in someone's hands.
That's why I sell prints, enlargements, canvases, albums I design myself, and my wood prints — the piece I'm most known for. And it's why I'll ask, when we're planning, about the colors in your home. If we're going to make something big enough to live on your wall, it may as well belong there.
One thing I don't sell: graduation announcements and cards. You can get those beautifully and affordably on your own, and marking them up wouldn't be fair to you.
How Long Everything Takes
I'd rather over-estimate and surprise you than promise fast and make you wait.
- 01
Gallery viewing
About 2 weeks after your session
- 02
Final digital images
About 1 week after you choose
- 03
Prints
About 2 weeks
- 04
Albums
About 3 weeks — I design each one myself
- 05
Wood prints & large custom pieces
About 1 month — they're made to order
Good to Know Before You Book
- 01
Booking
I reserve most sessions four to six weeks ahead. My busiest stretch is May through October, and fall dates go first — if you're picturing autumn photos, reach out in late summer.
- 02
Weather
Tri-Cities weather is usually kind to us. When it isn't, I'll talk to you honestly about whether we should move — I want you to have the best possible light. Your retainer is non-refundable but transferable one time, which lets me hold your date without leaving it in limbo. Beyond that, I'll always do what's right by you.
- 03
Sick kids and hard days
They happen. Let me know and we'll figure it out. Photographs are better when everyone feels good.
- 04
What I can and can't control
I'll do everything in my power to bring out the best in your session — but a baby who's decided today isn't the day is a baby who's decided. I'll keep going, keep trying, and we'll still come away with something. It just helps to know that going in.
- 05
What I photograph
Seniors, families, couples, newborns, small elopements, branding and headshots. I don't photograph full weddings, events or boudoir — if that's what you need, I'm always glad to point you toward someone who specializes in it.
- 06
Travel
No travel fee anywhere in the Tri-Cities — Richland, Kennewick and Pasco are all home. Beyond about an hour, we'll talk about a travel fee.
Common Questions
01 How much does a photography session cost in the Tri-Cities?
Photography pricing in the Tri-Cities ranges widely, from budget mini-sessions to luxury studio collections. My pricing sits where a personal experience and heirloom-quality prints meet. You can build a Session Estimate before we talk to get a clear planning number, and I'll personally confirm the final scope, contract and payment details with you before anything is booked.
02 How long does it take to get photos back?
About two weeks until we sit down together to view your gallery, and about another week for your final digital images after you've chosen. Prints take around two weeks, albums about three, and wood prints about a month since they're made to order.
03 What's included in a session?
A phone consultation, wardrobe guidance, location planning, your fully guided golden-hour session, hand-editing in my signature style, an in-person gallery viewing, and a private phone album of your images as a thank-you.
04 Do I get to keep the digital images?
Yes — digital images include personal print rights, so you can print them for your home and share them on social media. Commercial use is a separate license: if images will be used to promote a business, that's booked and priced as branding photography from the start.
05 Where do sessions take place?
Almost always outdoors at golden hour, at Tri-Cities locations we choose together. Newborn sessions usually happen in your home, and outdoors in a beautiful spot when the season allows. For headshots, I bring portable studio equipment to your workplace — I've set up in everything from a clinic waiting room to a spare office.
06 When is the best time of year for photos in the Tri-Cities?
May through October is my busiest season for good reason, though March and April can be lovely here. I photograph year-round, and winter is genuinely underrated — a sunny winter afternoon gives some of the most beautiful light of the whole year.
07 Do you retouch photos?
Gently, and honestly. I'll take care of the temporary things — a blemish, a shirt bunching oddly, an angle that isn't doing you justice. What I won't do is make you look like someone else. You are who you are, and my job is to show that at its best, not replace it.
08 How do I book?
Reach out through my contact form or give me a call. We'll talk, find a date, and once your contract and retainer are complete, that date is yours.