Portrait Photoshoot F.A.Q.
Answers to the most frequently asked questions about a photo shoot with me. Don’t see the answer to your question here? Let me know what I missed in the comments!
My name is Jason Guy and I am a portrait photographer based out of Sonoma, California. I create portraits for people of all ages with the goal of making images that are timeless. Portraits you will look back on decades from now, and still love them just as much then as you do today. While flattering lighting and pose are important, capturing how others see you is what I ultimately strive for.
Book A Consultation With Sonoma Portrait Photographer Jason Guy
My goal is to provide you with the highest quality photos possible, no matter the type of portrait you’re looking for. Whether you’re looking for :
- Legacy / Creative Portraits
- Headshots (business/corporate, personal branding, models, actors, real estate, etc.)
- Senior Portraits
- Fitness Portraits
- Family Portraits
- Children’s Portraits (including newborns, toddlers, kids, and pre-teens)
- Online Dating Portraits
- Wedding Portraits
- Boudoir Portraits
I want to take the best photo you’ve ever seen of yourself. If you love the portraits I show on this page, you can schedule a consultation with me by filling out the form to the left (above on mobile). Tell me a little bit about your intended session, or ask me a question and I will be in touch with you shortly.
Portrait Services I Offer
Classical Portraits
As a portrait photographer, a session with me is designed first and foremost with the intention of creating legacy images. Regardless of weather we are creating contemporary portraits, or personal branding images, it’s important to me that your images hold up well over time.
My philosophy for achieving this is simple. By strictly adhering to the fundamentals established by classical painters and contemporary film, I hope to create images for you that stand independent of fleeting trends.
I believe there are 5 fundamental aspects every great portrait has. Lighting, location, composition, technical settings and expression. If I help you execute all five of these aspects, you’ll get a portrait like what I show in my portfolio.
Simply put, the idea is that if so many people still go to look at portraits in a museum hundreds of years after they were crafted, why wouldn’t you want those same ideas of lighting and composition implemented into your portraits?
If my philosophy on portraiture resonates with you, feel free to get in touch and I’d love to discuss the details of your intended session.
Headshots
As a portrait photographer, I also have a passion for capturing unique expressions in headshot photography. These portraits highlight your personality and professionalism from the shoulders up.
Since so much of our interactions these days are handled online, having an engaging profile picture is a very powerful tool for connecting with your followers and colleagues. This is why I always try to capture a headshot for everyone I photograph. Not only do headshots make for compelling portraits, they are also the best suited photos for online profiles and website bio’s.
I photograph professional headshots for those in the corporate world and I also photograph what I call personal branding headshots. These branding portraits are for the small business owners and solopenors who are their brand.
Children's Portraits
Children’s portraits are something I never thought I’d enjoy capturing as much as I do, until I had a little critter of my own. Now I am beyond grateful that I have the ability to capture images of my little guy as he grows up!
As all of you parents reading this already know, these little creatures change faster than you think they will. To point out the obvious, once their little face changes, you can’t go back and capture those stages once they’ve past.
Typically I can get more intricate with my lighting for your child’s portraits up until they start walking. Even after they start crawling they tend to be fascinated with the light and stay put for longer than you think. Once they get more active and mobile, we are at their mercy and it’s usually best to capture them photo journalisticlly while they do their thing. I use state of the art camera bodies with the fastest focus systems to ensure a high keep rate.
If you have a child and want me to capture portraits of them, I can do that for you as a single session or design a package to capture them on a recurring basis. In my experience if you want reasonably complete documentation it’s best to capture them more often for the first two years (portraits every month or two) and then yearly or bi yearly from 2 years forward.
Maternity Portraits
Your body goes though a truly remarkable transformation while you grow your little human inside you. The entire experience happens faster than you might think and capturing the peak of this transformation is something I love to capture for new families!
For these photos timing is key! The best time to do a maternity photo shoot is somewhere around the 7 – 8 1/2 month mark of your pregnancy with the compromise of your belly size being balanced against your energy level. Some women have greater tolerance for doing their photo shoot later while others have very limited energy the closer they get to their due date.
The other thing that can make a huge difference for your maternity photos is choosing a nice dress or other outfit that showcases your pregnant belly. This means taking the time to shop for an outfit that is form fitted around your belly or one that exposes it.
If you’re interested in having me capture your maternity photos, I strongly recommend you reach out to me sooner rather than later to secure your photoshoot date. I’m usually booked out at least a month or two in advance, so it’s best to reach out early in your pregnancy so I can reserve a date in my calendar for you.
Bridal Portraits
Weddings can be photographed anywhere in the world but are most commonly documented in the San Francisco bay area since I am based out of Sonoma, California. Weddings can typically be broken down in to four segments consisting of:
If you are looking for an elopement photographer for your Sonoma or Napa wedding, most couples choose to cut coverage down to include only the ceremony and formal documentation.
Engagement sessions, pre-wedding portraits and bridal boudoir are all great ways to experience what it’s like to be photographed by me without the added pressure of the wedding day. Doing these photo shoots before your wedding not only allows for more time to capture these portraits, but it can also help give you more time with your guests.
Boudoir Portraits
In addition to photographing portraits, I am arguably best known for my work as a boudoir photographer. Originally using boudoir as a tool to train myself to get better at photographing portraits, I am now among the top boudoir photographers in the San Francisco bay area.
Having mastered posing and lighting all body types, age ranges and ethnicities, my primary goal when photographing boudoir today is all about helping women change the way they see themselves with the images I create.
Boudoir sessions are typically a stand alone event intended to give you a life changing self confidence boost and make you feel good about yourself as you are. These sessions can also be for special events or gifts like in the case of bridal boudoir or maternity boudoir. No matter the occasion, It’s important to me that your boudoir photos be sexy, timeless and above all else classy.
For those of you who think you aren’t photogenic or that you lack the courage to do this type of photo shoot, I invite you to come check out my before and after boudoir gallery. The examples in this gallery show what you can expect your images to look like when you book your photo shoot with me. In this gallery you’ll also find testimonials of past clients experiences. These testimonials showcase in my clients own words the fears they had leading up to their own sessions and how their experience helped change their perceptions of themselves.
Learn More About My Portrait Process
You don’t have to worry about feeling awkward or unsure in front of the camera. That’s my job, to guide you every step of the way and create the most beautiful, confident images of you that you’ve ever seen of yourself. Your only struggle will be deciding which portraits to keep from your session!
I am passionate about helping you look and feel your best in your photos. To help you get ready for your shoot, I have curated these posts to show you how I get images like I show in my portfolio. These articles are filled with actionable tips and ideas to ensure a truly amazing experience!
Studio Portraits On Location | Bay Area | Sonoma, CA
I create studio-quality portraits at your location. Studio portraits can be photographed on white, black or muslin backgrounds. Additionally, I’ll also arrange for a hair and makeup artist to join us at your location to enhance your features before your photo shoot!
Portrait Photo Shoot Overview
If you love my portfolio and want pictures like I show, this post will provide an overview of my process. My goal is to give you total clarity so you know exactly what to expect, when you book your photo shoot with me!
Every photo shoot with me consists of four main segments: Planning your photo shoot, booking your date, the photo shoot, and your photo reveal.
What Makes A Good Portrait: The 5 Elements All Great Portraits Have
There are 5 core elements that make up a good portrait: Location, lighting, composition, emotion and technical settings. When all 5 of these elements are well executed, a great portrait is created. If any of these elements comes up short, the quality of the portrait suffers. A fanatic obsession with good implementation of these elements will lead to better photos, and more consistent portraits.
