People often tell me they're nervous before their session because they don't know what to expect. So I thought it would be useful to pull back the curtain and walk you through exactly what a day in the studio looks like — from the moment I arrive to the moment your gallery lands in your inbox.

Most sessions start at 9 or 10 AM, which means I'm in the studio two hours before the first client arrives. Setup involves checking and positioning the lighting rigs, testing exposures with a stand-in, calibrating the tethered shooting setup so images appear on the monitor in real time, and making sure the client area is clean, comfortable, and stocked with water and coffee.

Lighting setup alone can take 45 minutes. The difference between a well-lit portrait and a great one often comes down to moving a softbox six inches and adjusting the power by half a stop. That kind of precision takes time.

When a client arrives, the first thing we do is slow down. I offer coffee, show them around the studio, and spend 10–15 minutes just talking. We go over the shot list we built during the pre-session consultation, look at wardrobe options together, and talk about the mood and feeling they want from their images.

This conversation isn't just pleasantries — it's essential. The more I understand about who someone is and what they want to communicate, the better I can direct them during the shoot.

We start with the setup that requires the most energy and confidence — usually the primary headshot or the hero image for a personal brand session. Clients are freshest at the beginning of the session, and that freshness shows in the photos.

I shoot tethered, which means every image appears on a large monitor immediately after it's taken. This lets the client see what I'm seeing in real time, which builds confidence quickly. When someone sees a great image of themselves on that screen, something shifts — they relax, they trust the process, and the session takes off.

After the first setup, we take a short break for a wardrobe change. This is also a good moment to review the images from the first setup together and identify what's working. Sometimes we'll make a small adjustment to the lighting or the background for the second look.

The energy in the room is usually completely different by this point. The nervousness from the beginning of the session has burned off, and clients are genuinely enjoying themselves.

At the end of the session, we do a quick preview together — scrolling through the selects on the monitor and identifying the strongest images. This gives clients a sense of what to expect in their gallery and helps me prioritize the editing.

Editing typically takes 5–7 business days. I cull the full shoot down to the strongest selects, then do a full edit on each one — color grading, exposure refinement, skin retouching (natural, not plastic), and final sharpening. Every image in your gallery is fully finished and ready to use.

Your gallery arrives via a private online link. You can download full-resolution files directly, share the gallery with family or colleagues, and leave favorites for easy reference. The gallery stays active for 60 days.

That's a day in the studio. If you have questions about the process or want to talk through what your session might look like, reach out anytime — I love talking about this stuff.