Senior HS

We believe images of you ought to belong to you, not to a photographer who may not even be someone you know well.

Most photographers charge a basic sitting fee to shoot your senior photos, then edit the pictures they think you will want to buy and charge you again for each print of each individual photograph. You may think you own your images, but in reality, the photographer owns the digital negatives and is merely renting them to you one print at a time at a remarkably high profit. When you purchase your images from a photographer, you are generally only purchasing that one photo and do not have the right to make copies from it. That’s where they make their real profit, and we’re not saying that’s dishonest or wrong. We’re just saying we’ve found a better way that makes more sense and saves you money at the end of the day.

How We’re Different

We’ve developed a business model that we believe is more realistic and fair. It gives you unlimited reproduction rights to have as many prints made as you wish, in whatever sizes you choose, as often as you like. We’ve evaluated dozens of online printing services to find the best in terms of quality and value, and are pleased to make a recommendation to you when we present you with your images. However, you’re free to select a printer of your choice, or to even print your photos at home. You also own the right to have albums, greeting cards and canvas wraps made from your photos without requesting permission from us each time. You may place them on personal web sites and share them freely on social networking sites such as Facebook and flickr.

A Word About Copyright

What we do retain is the original copyright of the photos we shoot. It’s really no different than an artist signing a painting, and then selling it to customer. The buyer owns the artwork, but the artist’s signature remains so that its creator can be identified. This simply means that we reserve the right to display your images in our promotional materials, and that a copyright notice should accompany your photos wherever they might be publicly displayed, such as in a newspaper, on greeting cards or on a web site. The copyright notice is basic and brief, and simply credits us as the photographers: © 2010 OwnYourPhotos.com.To protect your privacy, only first names will be referenced in conjunction with the display of images on our web site.

What You’ll Receive

We charge a one-time fee, with half due as a retainer at the time of your sitting and the remainder due when you receive your digital images on DVD. Once you have paid this fee, there will never be another charge from us. Following your photo session, we carefully apply professional Photoshop retouching techniques to each image, and prepare two versions of each; one at print resolution and one for web. Your images will be grouped according to resolution and topic, and burned to DVD. You’ll receive two copies of the DVD containing at least 100 retouched images. All images will be catalogued in a PDF preview document, also included on your DVD. This will help you quickly and easily locate particular images on disk when you need them.

We Also Create Web Sites

With 14 years of experience in professional-level web site development, we’re your one-stop shop. Having worked internationally for clients throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, Mexico, China and Japan, we are widely regarded among the top web developers in the business. Not only do we produce beautiful senior photos; we also offer web site package plans which include the creation of a uniquely designed web site through which to share your images with friends and relatives.

Qualifications

Our business model isn’t the only thing about us that’s different. While most photographers are still struggling to convert from traditional film photography to newer digital technology, we’ve been shooting that way since the inception of the first digital cameras. Our background includes 13 years of shooting professional stock photography images, including custom portraiture for the web sites we develop. We have extensive skills and knowledge in every aspect of digital photography and professional processing techniques. We are proficient in the use of all Adobe Creative Suite 4 applications, with 20 years’ experience in Photoshop retouching methods.

Style and Technique

Our style is photojournalism. We take time to put you at ease in a relaxed atmosphere and shoot in an informal manner. This style results in more natural looking expressions and poses. Your senior portraits will reflect your unique personality, and won’t look similar to anyone else’s.

Equipment

We shoot in a format known as Raw. This is the purest form of digital photography and gives us the highest quality images possible, with the greatest amount of detail and pixel-perfect control over the final editing process. We use state-of-the-art Canon cameras and lenses, along with the latest in lighting equipment. Our workflow includes the processing of all images using Adobe Creative Suite 4.

Timeline

A retainer of half the total amount of our fee is required at the time of your sitting, with the balance due when you receive your images on DVD. You’ll receive the services of 2 photographers shooting simultaneously for a total of 2 hours. You may split your session between 2 dates of your choosing and select either an indoor or outdoor location for each, keeping in mind that we book dates on a first-come, first-served basis. You’re allowed as many clothing changes as you like within the 2-hour period. We take time and care in processing and retouching each of your images. You’ll receive your DVD in 2-4 weeks. We promise it’ll be worth the wait. Custom designed web site presentations are generally online within 2 months of your sitting, dependent upon receiving text content from you. Web site development costs are calculated on an individual, per-project basis and are not included in the following pricing scale.