FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
I’ve never had my portrait taken before! How does it work?
It’s very simple. Just send an email to me telling me what kind of portrait you think you might like and we’ll discuss the details (the location, wardrobe, mood, etc.) in emails and on the phone. Then, we’ll pick a date for your portrait session, and once you’ve paid the session fee, that date will be reserved for you.
The photo session will probably take about thirty minutes to an hour, but there is no time limit! We’ll take as much time as we need to create a portrait that you will love. Creating your portrait is a collaboration, so during the shoot we’ll look at the images together, see what you like and what you don’t, and then we’ll fine-tune things like the lighting, pose, expression, and wardrobe until your portrait is exactly the way you want it.
Within about three weeks after your session I will personally show your finished portraits to you. You’ll select your two favorite portraits to keep, and that’s it! If you want to purchase any additional printed fine art portraits from your session, that’s entirely up to you. There’s no pressure for you to buy anything.
Why should I commission you to do my portrait? What makes you different than any other photographer?
Good question! First, I’d ask you to look at the images on my portfolio page. Do they look like the images you see on any other photographer’s website?
Second, the nearly four decades I’ve spent photographing world leaders, corporate CEOs, pro athletes, celebrities, major news events, major sporting events, and just regular people have helped shape who I am as a person and as a photographer. One thing it has taught me is to treat all people equally, with dignity and respect.
Fine art portraits are almost always about capturing someone’s quieter, more reflective side, often while they are wearing simple or vintage outfits, and often against a fine art backdrop. To achieve that, I treat a portrait session as though I were a painter looking to create a singular great portrait, not just crank out lots of pictures, so I take my time, carefully studying and tweaking the way the light falls on the person I am working with, and trying to evoke the perfect expression from them that captures their true personality and fits the mood of their portrait.
If you are camera-shy or reserved, my style of portraiture will be perfect for you! It’s casual, laid back, and there’s no pressure on you to smile. Rather than a fast-paced, high-energy session with big smiles, these portraits are all about showing your character, your inner-self. So, serene, thoughtful expressions with no smiles, or just a hint of a smile, are best for this style of portrait. I always tell clients to try to smile with their eyes.
Can I get the digital files?
Yes! Each matted fine art print you purchase includes the full-resolution artistically retouched digital file of that same image, as well as a print release granting you the right to print the image for personal use in any size and quantity you want. You will also receive all the edited, unretouched full-resolution digital files of your session, as they are included in your session fee.
That said, digital files can and do get corrupted, hard drives can fail, and technology advances may make those digital files unusable in the future. Remember VHS tapes, cassettes, and floppy disks?
That’s why I strongly suggest that you have physical prints made of your portraits, and it’s why I include two printed portraits as part of your session. A displayed printed portrait of your loved one lets you see and appreciate that special person every single day, whereas the thousands of digital files that most people have stored on a computer or a hard drive are unseen and soon forgotten. At some point, a physical print of your loved one’s portrait may be all that you have left of them, except for your own, often imperfect memories. Please do not rely on a digital file that can cease to exist in an instant.
Which forms of payment do you accept?
I accept cash, checks, and debit and credit cards via PayPal.
What happens to all of the images from my session? Do you keep them?
I may or may not decide to keep a few of them, and the rest are deleted. So you alone are responsible for the safe keeping of the digital files that you receive from your session. Again, do not rely on digital files that can disappear in an instant! Always have your favorite images printed.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule a portrait session, please contact me with the email link below.
William Pugliano is a fine art portrait photographer based in Lansing, Michigan. Portrait photography in Lansing, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Ann Arbor, and beyond.