• Home
• Gallery
  • Studio Scenes
  • Outdoor Scenes
  • Gallery
  • Products
  • More Products
• Specials
  • Class of 2011
  • Family
• Certified
• Contact us
• Blog
• Testimonials

1. Advertising gimmicks and exaggerated claims are everywhere today. Before you invest, spend a little time, visit the studio, and check it out for yourself. A pre-portrait consultation is time well spent and will tell you alot about the photographer your considering. It's a big red flag if the studio wants to avoid meeting with you before the session. Does the studio claim to be the "largest or biggest variety in Alaska" while in reality is a very small place situated in the middle of a noisy shopping district? Do they have you driving all over to find outdoor portraits? We see some photographers using an inexpensive fuzzy effect on there pictures and calling it "free" retouch, when in reality it just looks like the pictures are out of focus. Exaggerated claims are a good indication of the disappointments to come!

2. Look for a photographer that specializes in senior portraits. An expert in senior portraits has skills, insight and an environment that produces superior results. A photographer who is a "jack of all trades (weddings, pets, magazine, scenic, babies, families, seniors) is a master of none!"

3. Today everyone with a digital camera is claiming to be a “professional.” Many beginners have no studio, want to “practice” on your senior, and want to shoot at your home or “on location”, but why pay someone for something you could do yourself! Certification is the easiest way to find a professional.

4. Look for a Certified Professional Photographer: Who’s style is timeless, and classy, images that will last through the generations and are appropriate for friends and family. Guys should be posed in "guy" poses and girls in "girl" poses that flatter not confuse their gender. Faces should be well lit, sparkle and be easy to see, with or without shadows. The lighting should pop the senior (be separated) off the background. If you see flat dull lighting (no direction of light), the senior fading into the background or "raccoon eyes" (dark circles around the eyes) keep on searching.

5. We tend to forget that quality portraits will be cherished for generations and the sweetness of a low price quickly fades in the disappointment of poor results. These images are going to follow your senior around for a lifetime. Unless you want to throw good money, after bad, you get one shot at this!

6. Today, a few photographers are writing webpages all about themselves, their childhood, their spouse, their clients, community activities, and so on. This is called "relationship marketing" and is a distraction from the quality of their work. A professional photographer will show you a gallery of many images for you to review and evaluate for yourself. If you see only a small handful of images and lots of "relationship marketing" you'll know they are using this to gain your trust. Remember, your hiring a photographer, not the next candidate for mayor!

7. Look for a photographer who has a convenient on-location outdoor setup here in Anchorage. A natural outdoor setting, enhanced for portraits, offers you a quality look and serenity that you just can’t get at a public park or a yard surrounded by fences and busy roads. Avoid unsafe situations like downtown back alleyways, abandoned buildings or long rides on the Alaskan highways to remote locations. You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars and hours driving for a great outdoor session. Beautiful portraits and a relaxing experience go hand in hand!

8. A professional photographer will have developed a variety of successful poses that seniors and parents want. This is why you choose them in the first place. When you hear “we don't have set poses or props” this means you don’t know what the final portraits will look like, and neither does the photographer.

9. Everyone enjoys Google, it brings the world to your fingertips, but a Google search has nothing to do with quality, expertise, prices or any other factor you should consider when looking for a photographer. Google mostly ranks and displays websites by how many times keywords (the words you type in) show up on a photographers or someone else's website.

10. Does the photographer offer a guarantee: What will happen if things don't go right? Many photographers don't offer a guarantee at all and that makes you wonder?

Seniors - Families - Children - Sorry, no weddings