getting started

01.

Schedule a session. Sessions are by appointment only and are scheduled on a first-come, first-serve basis. You may schedule your session by contacting us through our website or by calling us at 630-808-4339. To secure your session experience after your consultation, simply choose your date and time, sign the Client Agreement and pay the retainer (the remaining balance is due one week before your session). Your scheduled date and time will not be reserved until all items are received.

02.

Meet and greet consultation. All of our sessions include a personal consultation, if needed, so we can get to know your pet's personality. If we schedule a meet and greet, we typically spend the first 15 minutes of this time working with the pet with the camera, building trust and getting to know the pet's specific temperament, behaviors and learned commands. This is a great time for your pet to get comfortable with us and the equipment that we use. Each session will be tailored to your pet's experience package. We will also discuss locations, favorite toys and other details that will help us make your pet's experience fun and exciting.

03.

Session Day! Pet portrait sessions typically last anywhere between 1 - 2 hours in total -- with young pets and senior sessions running a bit shorter to maintain their comfort levels. Depending on the nature of the shoot and how long it takes to reset between sets, if it feels like we're just taking the same shot over and over again, it's because we are. Whenever possible, we overshoot sessions and with good reason. We purposefully take an exceptionally high risk / high reward approach to every session, spending the time and frames needed to deliver that one perfect large format print that you and your family will cherish for a lifetime. The fact is, even well trained pets tend to be fairly unpredictable.

04.

Getting the picture! We know you want to make sure your pet behaves, but while we do hope that the pet will sit or stand or lay down in a certain place, we will never force your pet to do anything or go anywhere they are not comfortable with. If they don't want to sit, we will capture them standing, that is okay too. We will capture them the way they are most comfortable. The main goal is to capture your pet's personality and just being themselves.

05.

Photo processing and proofing. We will curate the images captured from your session and select the absolute best dozen photos of your pet. These selections will then be professionally edited, processed in preparation for printing, and uploaded to your personal online gallery. Regardless of the style of pet portrait you choose, our post production and proofing processes typically take roughly two weeks to complete, occasionally a little longer depending on the time of year and how busy we are.