Do you photo on-location?

Yes!  We love to shoot on the ISU campus, and other special locations that have meaning to you and help tell your story. There is a $50 location fee for the Ames area and we will custom quote the location fee outside of Ames.  Keep in mind that most of our images you may have seen are taken at our studio's outdoor locations. We have a ton of choices like ponds, gravel roads, fences, prairie, woods with a creek, and more on the property that we can help you pick from that will give you variety and great lighting.

How Many Outfits?

This will depend on the session type and what type of finished product you would like to create.  For seniors, we recommend bringing around 5 outfits (and maybe a few optional layering pieces we can interchange) as this give a great variety to capture plenty of variety to create a great story book.  For families, 1-2 is enough as we will focus our variety on the relationships and too many outfits will take away from really getting to know and tell your story.  For Grow With Me sessions, we will usually photo 2-3 outfits though one of those is typically naked or just a diaper or tutu that we have at the studio (we love when you bring a few and let us help you decide).  For Boudoir we will photo 1-4 outfits/sets but it really depends on the finished product here so we will walk through that before your session.

When Do I order?

Typically, we will send you proofs to view in 1-2 weeks. You will send back your selections (quantity based on package), then we will have the images retouched and add some finishing artwork and load the files into your online gallery (around another week or two). From the gallery, you can order ala-carte prints anytime before the gallery expires.

Do I get to see all the images you capture?

For your benefit we will use our expertise to select the best images from your session to send you as proofs.  We will eliminate any closed eyes etc.  We will also edit down to what we intended to capture, sometimes we shoot a few frames to get the exact lighting or angle for composition we were going for and it is more efficient if we just shoot it then delete it before we deliver the proofs to you. 

Can I have all my Images?

The Book or Album is a great product to tell the complete story from a session or group of sessions.  We have found 20-25 images of a traditional custom session ends up being "having it all" without redundancy, then you get those digital files as well. 

ARe there session fees?

No, there are not separate session fees.  The session fees are included in the session packages.

Do I get my digital files?

Yes, the files are included in the packages. You are also welcome to print those wherever you choose, however there is a big difference in printing quality between our professional lab and the discount online options. We are excited to now be able to let you order from our lab. The shopping cart in your gallery will print at our favorite lab and ship to your door.

How come my prints ordered from xyz.com don’t look good?

When you print at random discount printers the images are typically not color calibrated for the printer nor are they individually adjusted by the printer staff. Our professional lab has the best color correction services to ensure your portraits are custom printed correctly on quality materials with individual care. You can order your JP images through our professional lab by using the shopping cart in your gallery. If there is ever an issue with portraits ordered from JP, please let us know, we want them to be spectacular!

Do you do senior sessions?

Yes, there are two options for senior sessions.  The more traditional route is the Classic Package.  Or, if you are looking for something more elaborate the Lifestyle package is fantastic.

What Do I wear?

We are happy to chat about this in your consultation but please check out the Clothing Tips page.

What is the best time of year for Family sessions?

It depends.  October is National Family Portrait month so obviously lots of people like the fall colors for family portraits - in Iowa, peak color is typically the second week of October, but can vary depending on the weather.  We love the lush green colors of June, the fresh spring flowering trees in May, the prairie grasses in August/Sept., the beaches in the summer, the creek is usually best late summer  when it is a little dry and we can get to the sandbars in the center but totally depends on rain, and of course snow in the winter.  Our giant oak trees are great all year as are our fences and country lanes.