Take a look at your family pictures, when was the last time you had them taken professionally? Maybe when a new family member was born, someone graduated, or got married and you made sure to capture those important life milestones….but what about the between years? The years where nothing particularly exciting happens, just life as usual? Do you have any photos of your kids (or even yourself!) outside of the usual photo opportunities on your walls or in your albums? We here at Anthology simply won’t stand for that, and are here to fix that with customized portrait sessions to capture life just because.
We recently worked with a family to capture those “just because” photos, and were there with them for every step of the process. We first started with a consultation with the clients to determine both what style of images the family wanted as well as what their plan was for the photos after they were completed. During any consultation we will determine what style of photographs the clients want (studio vs. location), what sort of clothing will be worn, and where the photographs will be hung in the home – are we starting a gallery wall, a coffee table album, or a marquee piece over your mantel place? We can conduct these consultations at the Anthology storefront, or we can come to your home to look at spaces where the photographs will hang and take measurements to start mockup layouts for gallery walls, or to determine what size a finished frame package will fit best in a space.
For their consultation, the family came to our storefront to design what they wanted their session to look like. The most important aspect for them was to capture images of their two girls, and to capture an updated family photo of all four of them. They planned to hang the photographs at the top of their second story landing, which was the perfect space for the three frames to hang right next to each other. Using the sample images and gallery walls we have at the store, we were able to determine what size they’d like the frame packages to be and were able to start looking at frames and mat samples for their finished project.
Once we iron out all the details, the fun begins! If you decide you’d like to go with a location shoot we will meet you there on that day with anything we may need during the session – hairspray, glasses wipes, a lint roller? We’ve got you covered, in addition to all the lighting we will need to bring your photographs to life! If you prefer a studio session, we’ll book you before or after our usual store hours to allow for privacy during your photos and let you choose the soundtrack for your session! This family chose Elton John radio for theirs, and we have to say they have great taste. This session was extra silly because they chose to go with a 9 series for each of their two girls to capture their many expressions and personalities to display all in one frame. This made for some really fun faces, poses, and prompts!
Once your session is complete we go through the photos and pick the best of the best, do some light editing, and create a slideshow of them. Two weeks after your session you will come back to the store to view the slideshow of the images to pick your favorites for the photo package selected during the consultation. Here is where mat choices, frames, or coffee table albums are finalized and ordered so we can begin to custom create your artwork. This reveal was a family affair, and we chose 9 images for each of their daughters photo series with one family photo to go between them and we got to work. Once the images have been decided on, each image goes through a full edit, is professionally printed, and we get to work!
Every single frame is custom made in-house using only conservation grade materials, with archival custom mats and hand-cut glass finishing out your package. Each piece is sealed with framers tape, and finished with a dust cover and all the appropriate hardware you will need to hang the photos in your home! You will also be given the corresponding digital files of your finished art to keep in your family archives.
The end result were beautiful, up to date family photos for them to enjoy just because. No wedding, no graduation, no recital, or holiday attire required! We finished the process by installing their new art in their home in the exact spot chosen during the consultation. Don’t feel like hanging them yourself? Don’t worry, we can help with that too! We will work with you to determine how many pieces will be hung, and will come to your home to hang them for you or coordinate professional art installers, depending on location and quantity. Don’t wait for the next big event to happen to capture your memories, give us a call or visit our website to book your next session!
