Frequently Asked Questions

Portrait session pricing varies by session type, but most senior and family sessions begin with a $790 booking fee, which includes a $600 credit toward your portrait order.

Extended multi‑generational family sessions begin at $2,170 and include a $1,980 portrait credit.

Headshot sessions start at $195.

For families expecting a newborn, we offer a Baby Portrait Plan that includes three sessions from newborn through the first year and a half at a special rate.

The best way to get a clear picture of all of your options is to start with a complimentary consultation, in person or by phone. We’ll walk you through how sessions work, what most families invest, and help you plan something that fits your goals and your budget—so there are no surprises.

Yes. Every portrait you purchase includes a companion digital file suitable for printing up to 8×10", whether it’s a framed wall piece, a page in a custom album, an image in a portrait box, or a desktop portrait.

What we don’t offer is a digital‑only package. Our focus is on professionally printed artwork designed to live in your home, and the digital files are there to complement that, not replace it.

For the best selection of dates, especially for seniors, it’s always best to book as early as you can. Summer and fall sessions fill first, and early booking gives you the widest choice of locations and times.

That said, we know portraits often come up after a mountain trip is already on the calendar. If you’re planning a vacation to Boone or the High Country and just now thinking about portraits, reach out anyway. We’ll walk you through exactly what’s available and do our best to make it work.

Most portrait sessions run between one and a half and two hours, and some senior sessions extend to about three hours when the plan calls for it.

Every session is unique, and we take the time to create exactly what we’ve planned for—no watching the clock and no rushing through looks or locations. During your consultation, we’ll give you a clear sense of timing so you can plan your day comfortably around your session.

Yes. Jonathan and Bonnie are both present at every portrait session and every ordering appointment.

Having two experienced photographers means more coverage, better angles, and an experience that feels more relaxed and fun for everyone. It’s one of the things our clients tell us they appreciate most.

Most people aren’t, and that’s completely normal.

Before your session ever begins, we take time to get to know you so that, by the time we start, it feels more like spending time with friends than “being photographed.” We guide you through posing, tell you exactly where to look and what to do, and keep things relaxed and fun throughout.

The people in our portraits who look the most natural are often the ones who were most nervous at the start.

Life happens, and we are genuinely flexible. If illness, bad weather, or an unexpected circumstance prevents your session, we’ll simply reschedule you to the next available date. If a refund becomes necessary, we will honor that as well.

We don’t make weather calls until close to session time, because mountain weather is famously changeable and a gray morning can turn into a golden afternoon. If weather cuts a session short after we’ve started, we’ll schedule another day to finish.

We recognize that booking with us is a significant financial commitment made before we’ve created a single image, and our policy is designed to reflect that trust.

We work in a wide variety of locations throughout the North Carolina High Country and beyond. The Blue Ridge Mountains offer stunning outdoor settings, and we know the most beautiful spots in the area inside and out.

We also photograph in more urban settings when that fits a senior’s personality or a family’s style. Location options are something we’ll talk through during your consultation so every detail is planned before your session day.

Wardrobe is one of the most important parts of a great portrait, and it’s something we talk through in detail during your consultation. In general, we recommend avoiding busy patterns, coordinating rather than matching, and choosing colors that feel like you.

We want your portraits to look timeless, not dated, and we’ll give you specific guidance based on your locations, the season, and the overall look you’re going for.

Absolutely, and we love when clients do. A lacrosse stick, a vintage guitar, a beloved truck, a grandmother’s quilt—these details help turn a portrait from a picture of how you look into a record of who you actually are.

During your consultation, we’ll talk through everything you’d like to bring so we can plan it all out in advance. We like to have a clear timeline in place before session day so everything runs smoothly and nothing important gets left out.

Always. We love including pets and have plenty of experience making sure they look just as good as everyone else in the portrait. Just let us know during your consultation, and we’ll plan around them so the session works smoothly for both people and animals.

Yes. Every portrait we deliver is carefully retouched. We take care of temporary blemishes, uneven skin tone, stray hairs, and anything else that would distract from the portrait itself.

Our goal is for you to look like the best version of yourself—not filtered or over‑processed, just genuinely you at your best. We want you to be able to look at these portraits twenty years from now and think, “That’s exactly who we were.”

Your viewing appointment is typically scheduled one to two weeks after your session. You’ll come to the studio where we project your proofs on a big screen so you can see them large, beautiful, and side by side. It makes choosing your favorites much easier, and we’ll guide you through every decision.

All decision makers should plan to be there, as this is your one opportunity to view your proofs in person. For long‑distance clients, we’re happy to set up a video conference viewing appointment so no one has to miss out.

When your portrait order is ready, we’ll reach out to arrange a time for pickup at the studio. Albums come in beautiful keepsake packaging, portrait boxes are ready to display the moment you open them, and every print is archival‑quality and made to last.

If your order includes framed wall art, we also offer complimentary delivery and installation. We’ll bring your portraits to your home and hang them ourselves so you can see exactly how everything looks in your space. Long‑distance clients receive free shipping. Every piece we create is backed by our lifetime guarantee.

Absolutely, and we love them. We have decades of experience coordinating large groups and know how to keep things moving, relaxed, and fun for everyone.

Our extended family session is specifically designed for larger gatherings and includes a higher portrait credit to reflect the scope of the experience. Reach out and we’ll talk through your family, who will be attending, and what you’d like to accomplish so we can plan every detail.

Yes, it’s one of our specialties. We come fully prepared with puppets, silly jokes, songs, and enough goofy tricks to coax genuine smiles and laughter out of even the shyest toddler. Parents tell us all the time that watching us work is half the fun.

For newborns, we offer our Baby Portrait Plan, which includes three sessions from newborn through about eighteen months—typically newborn, sitting up, and those first steps. It’s a beautiful way to document that first year and a half. A maternity session can be added as well if you’d like to begin the story before your baby arrives.

Many families choose us because we take the time to genuinely get to know each senior before we ever pick up a camera. Every session is planned around who your senior actually is—their personality, their style, and their story.

As a husband‑and‑wife team, we create an environment where every senior feels comfortable and completely themselves. We’ve also been named National Senior Portrait Photographer of the Year twice, most recently in 2026, an honor that means a great deal to us and reflects the care we put into every session.

We photograph seniors year‑round, so there’s never a wrong time to reach out. That said, summer and early fall are our busiest seasons, and booking earlier is always better because it gives us more time to plan and work around your senior’s schedule.

If those months have come and gone, contact us anyway. Some of our most beautiful sessions happen in the golden light of late fall and the quiet of winter. We also love photographing seniors in the spring before graduation—and even the summer after, before they head off on their next great adventure.

Yes. Studio headshots are $195 and include one retouched digital file.

On‑location headshots and group headshots are custom quoted based on time, location, and number of people. If you’re looking for a polished, professional image that actually looks like you at your best, we’d love to help.

Yes, and it’s work we genuinely love. We create professional imagery for a wide range of local businesses and professionals, including banks, insurance companies, orthodontists, and many others who need polished, on‑brand photography for their websites, marketing materials, and social media.

If your business needs images that look as professional as the work you do, we’d love to talk.

Yes. Architects, builders, and interior designers hire us to document their finished projects, both commercial and residential. If you’ve put years of work into a building or a space, it deserves photography that does it justice. Reach out and tell us about your project so we can talk through what you need and how we can help.

We’re currently taking a break from full wedding coverage, but we warmly welcome engagement portraits, bridal portraits, and micro weddings/elopements. We also love creating couples’ portraits in wedding attire on a separate day, when we can focus entirely on the two of you without the rush of the wedding timeline.