Frequently Asked Questions

That's a tricky question! Schools typically have an "official photographer" so yes and no. Schools will often contract photographers who capture various photos for the school yearbook. While you are required to be photographed by them for the yearbook drape tux shot, the cap and gown, and sometimes even in a casual outfit in order to be included in the yearbook. You are not required to purchase those images and they're fine for the yearbook.

But for your custom portraits, the ones you've been waiting all this time for, the ones you excitedly share with family and friends, and of course, the ones that parents will display of their "baby" on the wall for years to come... you deserve more than a standard cookie-cutter school picture! Seniors and parents who want quality, variety, and the best senior portrait experience around Linn and Johnson County, come to our senior studio!

We can photograph seniors all year round in the studio! Typically the summer before your senior year is the most popular for senior sessions. Because of that, it is also the toughest to get on our calendar. We encourage you to book in May - October as you begin your senior year!

It sounds so early, but your stress levels will be so much lower if you do book early. If you would like us to submit images to your yearbook for a senior ad, please be mindful of your school's deadline which is usually right after Christmas break. We need time to plan, shoot, order and edit for yearbook submissions.

Yep! Sometimes it rains. As much as we would like to control the weather, we haven't figured it out just yet! We do watch the weather closely if it looks iffy. And we stay in close contact with you the day before your session to make a judgement call. If we do get rained out, we will reschedule your session for another day/time as soon as possible.

I provide realistic retouching such as removing blemishes, evening skin tones, removing the occasional stray hair, and applying moderate skin smoothing. I believe that skin should look natural, well-blended, and free of unevenness. I promise that you will never look fake, blurred, or plastic-like. I will make sure that your natural features look just that, natural!

Your session will begin at the studio. Depending on the session you've chosen, we will either shoot here at the studio or at one of our chosen locations decided on at your style consult. *Additional travel fees will apply for specific locations requested more than 20 miles from our Swisher, Iowa studio* 

Our professional editor will digitally retouch every single image you choose by hand. We are considered a boutique studio and would NEVER give you an unfinished product! We will enhance your images as needed with color adjustments, skin smoothing, blemish removal, teeth whitening and anything else we see that needs to be done.

We recommend scheduling your pre-booking consult at least 4 months in advance of your desired session date, but we're occasionally able to take last-minute sessions if our schedule allows it! The best thing you could do is BOOK YOUR SESSION EARLY! We book 5-6 months in advance and usually have to turn seniors away every year because we're completely sold out by the spring of your graduating year!

Sessions are held on weekday mornings. Evenings and weekend appointments are extremely rare (especially during the school year) and require a premium investment. Hair & makeup start at 7:45am and we will beginning shooting by 9am. In the summer, we like to get started even earlier to beat the heat - if we can talk you into it! When booking your session, keep in mind how hot and humid our Iowa summers can be. May and June are excellent times to book if you plan to choose an outdoor location.

Yes, it's a little early, but well worth it :)