Your Portrait Experience

1: Tell me what you need.

Hello!

This is our first contact. You’ve found me on the internet or got a recommendation from somebody who already had their Portrait Experience with me. You reach out, leave your contact data and I’ll call you back at a pre-arranged time. The around 15 minutes call is unobliging - you will explain me what are your needs and what kind of pictures you’re interested in. I will provide you details on how I work and how the whole process looks like. We will go through the products that may suit your needs and the pricing. If you decide that it’s time to do something truly for yourself and choose the Portrait Experience, we book your spot with the Session Fee, arrange the photo shooting date and agree upon the consultation.

Your experience begins here.

2: How we achieve the result.

Consultation

Reserve yourself around 1 hour time for the get together, usually one or two weeks before your session date. This is the time when we first meet in person in my Loft Studio in Männedorf and you get the initial feeling of how your big day will look like. If your schedule is extremely tight or meeting in Zürich is more convenient for you, we have a coffee in the city centre. If mobility is an issue, we may arrange the consultation through a video call (FaceTime, Zoom, Skype or WhatsApp video). During the meeting I will ask you detailed questions about how you would love to be photographed, which style are you drawn to, what is the reason you’re doing the photo session and what is your dream output. I will show you examples and give ideas on all set-ups that are possible. We will go through the points on how to best prepare for your Portrait Experience - what is to be done a month, a week and a day before your session. You’ll see in person products that I offer and its possible customisation. We will discuss the price list in details and what your investment could be.

3: Your look enhanced

Hair & make-up

We start the photo session day with the make-up and hair styling provided by a professional artist in a salon nearby or in the studio (depending on the availabilities). Make-up artists with whom I’m collaborating are experts in their field and know how to best prepare your skin and hair for the session. We have met previously and discussed the photography requirements - due to the use of strobe lights in the studio and because the final result is a picture, photo session make-up is technically different than a standard daily or evening one. Your styling can be anything from very neutral to theatrical, the most important is that you feel well and beautiful. The make-up artist will guide you what matches best to your beauty type and will follow your wishes. You’ll not only gain colours in the face by your hair will receive shine and waves, if that’s your preference. All types of hair can be styled from short, through long to very curly, thin and thick. If you have favourites products that you use on a daily basis, I’ll ask you to bring them to your beauty session for application.

4: Styling completed

Wardrobe

We have discussed the styling during your consultation. You now know what is flattering in front of the camera, why some outfits which you couldn’t use for a night out are awesome for the photo session and which patterns to avoid as they’ll cause optical issues. We went through the options, beyond your own dresser, you have for rounding up a perfect look for your photo session. I had a look at your garments and advised you what photographs best and what suits you perfectly. You arrive to the Loft Studio with a carefully chosen selection of outfits, usually between 3-5 different sets. During your hair & make-up session I will take care of your wardrobe and prepare it for the photo session. Your clothing gets steamed in order to look fresh and without any creases that would look disturbing in the pictures. If you decided for any pieces out of the studio wardrobe, those will be ready waiting for you.

5: The beauty captured

Photo session

Once your hair & make-up is completed we start with the session by going through all the set-ups of the day. As a standard we would photograph 3 different lighting situations, be it soft or hard light, backlight, bright or dark backdrops - we have discussed what appeals to you most during the consultation and now the studio is set-up to best suit your preferences. I have mapped the session before by matching your outfits to various lighting set-ups and creating a mood board for the day (I tell you in details on how we arrive at your personal mood board during the consultation to achieve perfect results).

And now you just have to relax, lean back and let me guide you.

Your photo session is tailored for your personal needs and full guided. This means that we flow through various poses, be it standing, sitting or lying down perhaps. You absolutely don’t have to know what to do in front of the camera. I will lead you that you look your very best. You will learn how to position your body and your head, what to do with your hands and legs to look like a model. I will show you how wide spectrum of facial expressions you have, from focused, through friendly to cheerful.

The session lasts between 3-4 hours, depending on the amount of outfits you brought. We will make coffee & snacks breaks to keep the energy high and get to know your personality better. There is no time limit by when we have to finish as long as not specified by you. I usually ask you to reserve the full day for you Portrait Experience - it’s the time for you, where you’re center of attention, being pampered and taken care for. You don’t want to limit it to half an hour. During the consultation I gave you suggestions on how to round up your day - you have a beautiful make-up and styled hair, you feel pretty and confident, why not to use it?

6: Uniqueness revealed

Viewing

This is the time where you get to see all your beautiful pictures and choose your favourites. Your viewing appointment takes place around 2 weeks after your session. (If this is in conflict with your schedule, we may do immediate viewing on the day of your photo session - we discuss all the pros and cons of such approach during your consultation.) We meet in the studio for around 1-2 hours, share a welcome drink and I invite you to immerse back into the memories of your photo session day. Your pictures are ready, fully retouched, printed and matted in passe-partouts and waiting on a display wall. This is the moment where you commit on the investment and choose the amount of the pictures you love and the corresponding products to complement them, be it my luxury display box, and album or a wall enlargements. You take the box and prints immediately with you home and I order the album and larger prints for your walls after arranging all the details.