Portraiture Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about portraits with Philip Gabriel Photography? Here are some of the most frequently asked questions asked by our clients!

How Do We ‘Get To Know You’?

We love to get to know you and your family prior to photographing you – typically, a phone consultation or in-person meeting is a great way to get to know each other!

Learning about how you interact as a family, your interests, hobbies, things you enjoy together all help in planning the perfect session for you and your family at this point in your lives. It is our goal to exceed your expectations and deliver moments captured in time that reflect your love for each other.

How Does The Session Work?

Most family sessions are about one to two hours.

Often, a newborn session can take two to three hours (and sometime longer) depending on your newborn’s comfort level. In some cases, we have photographed 6 – 18 month olds who decide enough is enough after 30 minutes!

Regardless of the time spent, Philip Gabriel Photography always takes lots of images and have fun along the way to help ensure that the picture taking part of things is easy.

At the end of the day, whether we spent 30 minutes or four hours, you’ll know we got the shot!

Where’s The Best Place For The Photos?

We have many unique locations and ideas that we can recommend but we are always open to your thoughts and ideas – travel up to 40 miles from our Media, PA studio is included.

We are always happy and willing to come to your home or any other location you are interested in have your session at. Our spacious and state of the art photography studio is always a fun environment as well for a portrait session.

During our consultation, we will discuss what setting will be best for your portraits.

How Should We Dress / Prepare For Our Session?

Outdoor Portraits With Philip Gabriel Photography

We are typically dressed casually if we are photographing your family in a more casual setting – running around in a park or field … or some fun moments around your home, for example.

When we’re working with families with children, we like to interact with them at their level – play around with them, joke, and just have fun. Gaining their acceptance is key in getting them to allow us in and allowing us to creating the images we are looking for!

If we decide that your session would be best at your home, upon arrival we will look around to see where there is good natural light and look for areas that would make for a great photographic background that will reflect your family and your personalities.

We often find that kids’ bedrooms are a fun place to create images and their room is often a window into their personality and to find out what interests they have. Sometimes we find that small adjustments to furniture and other items can often enhance or help us to make the very best image. We will check with you before any rearranging!

If weather permits, we will most likely recommend creating some images outside your home – playing around in the yard like your family loves to do!

The fun part about coming into a client’s home for the first time is that it’s like a painter just starting with a blank canvas – so many possibilities. While it’s possible things begin ‘wrong’ and we have to start over, eventually things will will start rolling and something unique and one-of-a-kind will be created.

We have no doubt that from time to time you may wonder what the heck we are doing while setting up for a shot, but we always walk away with gorgeous images and have fun with our clients while doing it!

Additional Questions?

We’re happy to discuss your project and answer your portrait questions! Contact Philip Gabriel Photography today!