Back to Work: New Year, New Vibe for The Grey Edit Photo in 2024
Hello, beautiful girl! It’s been awhile… I’m pretty excited to officially be back from my year-long maternity leave, working to revive things here at The Grey Edit Photo.
What started off as me just thinking I’d take four months off, escalated into well, three times that, but man was there a lot going on! Welcoming my second son, Calvin James, into the world in February, navigating life as a new family of four, living in our basement, sharing one bathroom, managing an entire remodel… all the while, trying to practice self care and give grace whenever possible. Mothers are amazing creatures.
watch the reel of my last year here
Now that we’re through the holiday craziness and on a set schedule with childcare, it’s time to get back to business. You’ll be seeing some changes here and there that I wanted to call out in this blog post for you…
NICHING DOWN MY OFFERINGS
First and foremost, my offerings. When I started this biz in 2020, I decided to try all the things — newborn, maternity, elopements, engagements, weddings, family, boudoir, lifestyle. I had so much fun working with so many amazing people, traveling all over Seattle and then some. But after having a year where I did 125 shoots, I realized I wanted to focus on quality over quantity. After getting access to some gorgeous studios in Seattle, I fell in love with shooting in these blank canvases. After working 1:1 with women, I realized I love the idea of empowering them through photography. And after this recent year-long break, I learned even more about the value of self care and having something to call your own. Reflecting on all of those realizations led to the decision to focus on what lights me up the most: portraits of women in the studio across self love and branding.
FINDING A NEW STUDIO
Before going on leave, I belonged to two incredible studio collectives — Jackson Street and Northlight. Both have gone different directions since so I’ve found a new opportunity with The Juniper Collective. Under the umbrella lies three beautiful spaces ranging from industrial, boho and california cool. I’m so so excited to create in them over this next year. My goal over the next two years is to have my own creative space in the Seattle area, so putting that out there as a little manifestation :).
REVAMPING MY PROCESS
If you’re interested in working with me, some tweaks to the process. First, I’m implementing a consult call with all clients to kick things off. Video or voice, you pick your preference. Don’t get me wrong, I love communicating over email and text as I feel it’s the most effective and best way to track details, however, at the start, we need to make sure we’re a good fit. Kinda like dating in a way — I believe the photog and client gotta vibe together and have a connection. This is how we make stunning art, ladies. Second, I’m encouraging a longer planning period from consult to shoot day, at minimum 1 month out, but ideally 2-3. This will allow us time to properly plan and sync on everything from creative vision to outfits. It will also allow for you to properly save, as my pricing has made a significant jump. Gone are the days of quick 1 hour shoots where you get a dump of photos you won’t touch after you get your gallery. Just wait, girl. You’ll be getting a full experience.
INTRODUCING SESSION FEES
So let’s talk pricing specifics. Instead of having one overall price for your shoot and photos, these two costs will now be separate because well, they’re just two entirely separate things. If you’d like to work with me and book to secure your date, a $550 non-refundable session fee is required. This one-time fee covers the following: a pre-shoot planning call, various guides on beauty, style and inspiration, up to five hours at a stunning studio space with free parking, a glam squad handling hair and makeup, the shoot itself with guided posing and creative direction, drinks, snacks, music & good vibes, professional editing/retouching that keeps you looking like you, a photo reveal session & ordering appointment plus lots of personal touches & handholding throughout. That’s a lot of things for that price, ammiright?
PAYING FOR THE PHOTOS YOU WANT
Now while the above fee is a flat rate, the price you’ll pay for the photos you want to purchase is sliding and depends on how much you’d like to invest. My images are priced @ $300 per image. This cost includes licensing and usage rights. Instead of paying per image, I have created options to purchase across collections and a la carte. Collections are bundles of products across digital and heirloom where A la Carte are individual items. You’ll save a great deal by going the collection route and this is what I encourage all clients to do. I don’t require any minimum spend on photos for my clients but for reference, on average my gals are spending between $200-$3000 on this latter half, bringing an overall investment to $3500+. I have payment plans available and ways to add bonuses by prepaying in advance.
PHOTO VIEWING SESSIONS
The best part in my opinion about this whole new process and way of thinking about a photo experience is the photo viewing session. Instead of me going through photos from our time together, choosing the ones I think are the best, I’ll cull them down to a chunk of about 80-100 photos and then you get to decide which you’d like to purchase. I invite you to my home office approximately 1-2 weeks following our shoot. You can come with a girlfriend, your partner or yourself. I’ll greet you with champagne, water, snacks. Then we’ll go one by one through a slideshow of your photos where you’ll get giddy over the gorgeous art we’ve created and choose your faves.
TREATING PHOTOS AS ART WITH HEIRLOOM PRODUCTS
If you’re a branding client, of course you’ll want and need to purchase digitals. But if you’re a self love client, I’ll be encouraging you not to do that. Instead, I’ll be educating you on the importance of making your photos actually last by transferring them to my luxury heirloom product options. I’ve worked to establish premier print partners in Italy, Portugal and Australia in order to bring you the best of the best across albums, wall art, folio boxes, prints and more.
Okay, I know that was a lot of info, but it’s all SO. DAMN. EXCITING. Please reach out to me if you have any questions and of course, if you’re interested in a Self Love or Branding session, don’t hesitate to inquire below.
