I'll preface this by saying Krystal was AMAZING! You can stop here and hire her now if you want to save some time. Otherwise, read on...
I have two small boys (4yr and 2yr) that are as predictable as Texas weather. If I'm lucky, I might snap 2 or 3 photos per month that I'd consider 'good'. The other million attempts are not even Facebook-worthy (and I have a very low opinion of Facebook). Having never hired a professional photographer, I didn't really know what to expect. Several questions swirled through my mind. Could a complete stranger hold the attention of two toddlers for more than a few minutes? Would my boys have fun and laugh while getting their photos taken? Was an hour enough time for all the different poses, scenes, props, etc.? Did I leave the iron on? Spoiler alert: the answer to all of these questions was 'yes'.
I informed Krystal upfront that the photos were going to be a Valentine's Day surprise for my wife. Translation: I was going to have a lot of dumb questions for her that would normally be fielded by my wife. But Krystal quickly set me at ease by walking me through the process and sending me documentation that explained exactly what to expect and how to best prepare for the big day. She was very quick to reply to emails (always within a few hours and sometimes in just minutes).
On the big day, the boys had a great time playing different games that Krystal came up with. Their favorite was trying to scare the invisible bird off of her head by growling. Some of the best photos came from those silly, playful moments. In total, she captured 50 beautiful photos, many of which will be hanging on our walls for a lifetime.
A few other random thoughts on the experience...
* If you're like me and a little wary of having your family photos on the internet, you can simply write 'decline' on the contract where prompted and the photos will be kept completely private.
* If you purchase digital photos with printing rights, make sure to take the confirmation email to the print shop. These photos do NOT look like they were shot by amateurs w/ iPhones, so they will not release them until they see that email.
* If you're still on the fence about hiring Krystal, JC Penney Portraits might be more your speed (cue slow eye roll).
Thank you, Krystal!
Brad read more