Frequently Asked Questions

THE WOMEN ON YOUR WEBSITE ALL LOOK LIKE MODELS - COOL, CALM AND CONFIDENT - I DON’T THINK THIS WILL WORK FOR ME…

Let me assure you, ALL the women in the galleries here are regular, non-model women, just like you and me. The same women you’d see at school pick-up or at your local wine bar. Most of them came in believing they wouldn’t get a single good image from their shoot, and most were utterly terrified to stand in front of my camera... but quietly hopeful, and trusted me to deliver what I promise. This is my specialty. I truly believe that Every. Single. Woman. can look and feel beautiful in photographs, and I will guide you through every single step of your photo shoot to help you relax so you can be authentically you. It’s not your job to be ‘photogenic’, I actually believe there’s no such thing - there’s people who’ve made friends with the camera, and there’s those who haven’t - yet. It’s up to me to guide you gently into the safe space I’ve created where you can let down your barriers and simply be unapologetically you. I’ve got you.

DO YOU ONLY TAKE BLACK & WHITE PHOTOS? WHAT IF I WANT SOME IN COLOUR?

I LOVE black and white photography! When I think back to how I fell in love with this medium, it was through looking at classic B&W images that made me FEEL something. There’s a minimalism to B&W that I adore. When the colour gets stripped away, there’s less for the brain to process, and I think it draws you more into faces and expression - which is always my highest metric. I’m drawn to the images I ‘feel’ (imperfect / unposed / full of real emotion and authenticity) rather than the ones I simply ‘see’ (perfectly posed / structured) and I feel like B&W helps achieve that extra emotional punch.

Having said all that - some images lose something when you take them to B&W and will always look best in colour.

I think the choice between colour and B&W is like choosing between chocolate and vanilla - there is no wrong answer here!! It’s simply a matter of how you want to enjoy them today.

So, even though I love B&W and will preach about it’s minimal awesomeness all day long, I shoot everything in colour so you will always have both options. All purchased images come as BOTH colour and B&W on your USB, so you always have full control.

I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROFESSIONAL HAIR & MAKEUP STYLING OPTION…

We all know that there’s stylists, and then there’s stylists.

The stylists I work with at the studio are first-rate. I am incredibly picky about who I will or won’t bring into the studio here, as (in my book) these artists need to tick many, many boxes. The women who end up providing this service are proper professionals - meaning, they’ve trained and certified in this craft, they derive their primary income from this work, and they perform to an incredibly high standard. Safety and hygiene always come first. After that, they’re chosen because they’re easy to communicate with, cool, friendly humans to be around.

This service is about having you look in the mirror at the end and feel 100% beautiful and confident to be in front of the camera. It’s not about achieving a certain look or outcome - you do YOU. I have a really easy, nothing-gets-lost-in-translation visual guide where you can point to the level of how light or dark you’d like to take your look, from a very natural no-makeup look, right through to a full smokey eye.

You will not come out of styling looking like a drag queen or feeling like you’re about to step onto the set of a daytime soap. This is NOT the same experience as 80’s/90’s glamour photography!! This is about being camera-ready and feeling your best. Because hair & makeup styling is really about you feeling beautiful, like you’ve got your armour on, that you can do this. And when you feel like that, you stand a little taller, and smile a little easier… which is actually what makes you beautiful.

I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS, BUT I WANT TO WAIT UNTIL I LOSE WEIGHT / GROW MY HAIR / FIX MY TEETH / {INSERT PERSONAL HANGUP HERE}…

I get it, most people feel pretty exposed standing in front of the camera. Hell, you may have been avoiding the camera for so long it’s become habit, and losing weight, getting your dream wardrobe, lasering your skin - or whatever other goal-post you’re hiding behind - feels like The One Thing that will magically make all your fears and doubts disappear and you’ll suddenly be confident and ready to do this. Yeah, I’ve heard this one a few times before...

In my experience, if you’re waiting on external factors to be ‘just right’ before doing this, chances are, as soon as you’ve knocked down That One Thing, another one will pop up to take its place and you’ll never quite get to that feeling of Enough. In more than a few utterly heart-breaking instances over the years, I’ve had clients book and postpone a few times (because they weren’t quite at their goal weight yet) only to lose someone unexpectedly who they were wanting to be photographed with, most often their Mum. From that perspective, that extra 5kgs just really didn’t seem important anymore. It’s really, truly not worth the wait/weight.

Feeling good in your body is absolutely a gateway to self-confidence, but… remember to embrace where you’re at right now, and understand that although you may not yet have arrived at your ideal destination, you are worthy of (self) love and acceptance exactly as you are today, right now, perfectly imperfect. You know, just like we tell our daughters, sisters and best friends x

I / MY FRIEND / MUM / SOMEONE I KNOW - HAS HAD A REALLY BAD EXPERIENCE WITH ANOTHER STUDIO IN THE PAST, WHY WILL THIS BE ANY DIFFERENT?

Firstly - I’m SO sorry to hear this. Mark & I have been on the receiving end of truly THE worst customer service and sales experience of our lives through another studio (almost 10 years ago, not in Brisbane), so I can literally feel your pain here. My industry is unregulated, which, unfortunately, means that anyone can pick up a camera and call themselves a photographer.

My best advice when choosing any service provider - read all the reviews. Don’t ever take it from the business owner as to the value of the experience, take it from the clients, the ones who pay. Do your homework, ask around. Don’t trust what I say, trust what’s said ABOUT me. If it makes any difference (and I honestly don’t think it does) but, for what it’s worth, I have a Bachelor Degree in Photography (back when that was actually a Thing, and I’m sad to say it’s no longer offered as a degree), I worked for 7 years in an American 5 star service hotel environment as a cruise-ship photographer (part of the reason for my dodgy, bit-of-everything accent) and mostly - I like to think I’m just a good human. First and foremost, I’m a people-person. I want to relate to you human to human, not in some kind of cold, distant business transaction (yuck).

If you’re having doubts or feeling gun-shy for any reason, please - give me a call or drop by the studio for a chat. Very quickly, you’ll be able to take measure of my character, check out the studio, and assess for yourself whether or not I’m the photographer for you. Ask any question you want of me, and get all the information you need to move forward with confidence. I want to change your mind about what to expect from this kind of experience. I want to provide such incredible service and results to my clients that stories about Beautiful Images will become the new standard that other photographers aspire to.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE’S NOT A SINGLE GOOD IMAGE OF ME?

Most of my clients have been utterly shocked (in the very best possible way!) to see the results of their photo shoot (check out the gorgeous testimonials from clients here) as they truly believed they would be the one client who simply didn’t get any good pictures, and I’ve been thrilled to show them how wrong they’ve been. I understand that you have doubts and fears, but I make a promise to create the most beautiful photos you’ve ever seen of yourself, and I make it a point to deliver.

I’ve been told countless times during their shoot, my clients feel more beautiful than on their wedding day, or that their images are more valuable than all their wedding photos, and that the experience of the day itself is one of the best of their life, to be remembered and treasured always. I have always offered a 100% money-back guarantee (even though I always worry that sounds totally corny??) so that you can be sure I put my money where my mouth is - if you are not 100% happy with your images for ANY reason, I’ll either re-shoot at my expense or refund you in full - your choice which. BUT - in over 11 years and 3 different studios in 2 different countries, shooting hundreds of clients, no one has asked for a refund or a re-shoot yet - so you should totally expect to LOVE your images.

HOW MUCH DO YOU ‘EDIT OUT’?

I keep things pretty natural here, there’s no big, magazine-style retouching going on as it goes directly against my idea of embracing yourself in all your imperfect perfection.

My personal metric on editing is that if it isn’t a permanent part of your body - such as acne, bruises, scrapes - or if it’s a visually distracting detail (like a clothing tag) it shouldn’t be a permanent part of your images. Those things will ‘disappear’ in editing. If it is a permanent part of your body - scars, freckles, stretch marks, tattoos - they will be in your images.

Not everyone is keen to celebrate every scar, wrinkle or bad tattoo (coming from someone who can speak from experience), so if there’s anything you’re wanting to minimise, please talk to me about it before your shoot. Chances are, I can easily minimise, if not avoid showing said area altogether just by how I position you to my camera or the choice of lighting I use.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO WEAR FOR MY PHOTOSHOOT…

In the lead-up to your shoot, I’ll send you loads of info on how to choose clothes to get the best results. Here’s the basic ideas…

Be yourself. First and foremost you want to look and feel like YOU. This is about embracing your authentic self, not an overly-styled, contrived version of you that no-one - including you - will recognise when you see the images. If you’re a jeans & T’s kinda gal - bring that. Just search for the best fitting, most flattering, nicest jeans and T you own, or go out and buy your ideal version of that. Your photos will last FOREVER, it’s ok to go and buy a new shirt for this.

If you love frilly dresses but everyone else in your group is jeans and T’s - still do you. Just TONE in your outfits so that no one outfit will pull attention away from faces. So, jeans and black tops to tone in with your black frilly dress, sorted. Wearing a bold colour while everyone else is in similar tones - won’t look great.

Simple is stylish. Classic and timeless wins every day over trendy. The more simple you can make your choices, the better.

Don’t wear patterns or prints. If I could say just this one thing, I’d be happy. Of course rules were made to be broken, and there’s a HUGE difference between a large, soft timeless floral print and a black & white zig-zag stripe with splashes of lime green thrown across it, but as a rule - block colours always work best. Instead of a print, go for plain colours in a texture - like lace, sequins, leather or velvet - these will provide beautiful detail and catch the light without stealing attention from faces. Plus, they’ll never look out of fashion in the years to come.

Black is always a good idea. Everyone has something amazing in black, from those perfectly cut trousers, to that killer LBD, you can’t go wrong with this one. And although they don’t make much for little people in black, you can tone in kids clothes with anything dark - like navy or charcoal.

Think of how you want to look and feel in these images, and bring, buy or borrow to suit that look. And don’t be afraid to go a little extra! If you get to the studio and tell me you’re a dancer but didn’t bring your pointe’s, you will see me ugly-cry.

If you’re looking for visual inspiration, scroll through the images on my gallery and really look at what is being worn in the images you love most and go from there. Or, you can scroll through my Pinterest board What To Wear For Your Photoshoot for inspiration.

In the lead-up to your shoot, keep an eye out for my emails on this, they’ll be full of great tips for this part. Still have questions? Let’s jump on a quick call 07 3148 2624.

DO YOU EVER PHOTOGRAPH GUYS?

Yes! and No! I always encourage my clients to make the most of their photo shoot by inviting whoever it is they want to be photographed with. I specialise in Generations shoots, so I’ll wholeheartedly encourage you to bring everyone - even your dog! I make it a point of pride to have the men in your group leave happy and having actually enjoyed this experience - yes, it’s possible!! For so many guys this is the LAST thing they want to do, and I promise to make it quick, painless and dare I even say it - actually real-life fun for them. Don’t take my word, read through my testimonials to see for yourself.

Other times, this is a solo journey that needs to be taken alone, free of the pull of all the roles and relationships in your life - the roles of wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, grandmother… a chance to simply reconnect with yourself as a woman first and foremost. You can choose to enjoy this experience entirely on your own, or you can have most of this experience all to yourself, or with just the girls (your Mum and your daughter) before your partner, children, parents or extended family join you for the last part of your shoot to get all those images as well #doitall - it’s totally up to you.

So yes, partners/ husbands, sons and fathers are most welcome at the studio. But for the kind of one-on-one, journey into self-discovery and stepping into your full confidence experience that I offer for women - I can’t offer for men.

I am not sexist, and I absolutely believe that men (and boys) could use an empowering experience just like this, it’s just that I’m not the right guide to take them through it. My jam is centred around knowing the female energy, the female form and all our little quirks, hang-ups and insecurities - that’s my specialty and after all the years I’ve been guiding women through this experience, I know I’m the right person to guide you on this journey. And equally confident in saying I’m not the right person to guide any male seekers through a similar solo path.

WHEN, AND HOW, WILL I CHOOSE MY FAVOURITE IMAGES FROM MY SHOOT?

About 2 weeks after your photo shoot, you’ll come back in to the studio for your Image Reveal session, this is the time you get to see the results from your shoot, choose your favourites, purchase your images and order any products.

This part is really fun! Some of the most hilarious comments I’ve ever heard traded between loving family members have been at these sessions, and it can be quite emotional for some people to see their images for the first time.

You should allow around 90 minutes for this session, some folks whip through it much faster, and some people need closer to 2 hours, it all depends on how clear of an idea you have going in as to what you want to keep from the experience, and how you want to enjoy your images or see them displayed at home. These decisions can feel big, so anyone and everyone who wants or needs to be included in any decision-making needs to attend. If you’ve done your shoot completely by yourself, invite someone you would take clothes shopping with you, they’re usually the best friends to weigh in here.

I’ll have given you all the details about our products, pricing and a la carte packages when you came for your shoot so you can spend the few weeks between your shoot and Image Reveal having a good look through, discussing options and getting an idea of what you’d like to come away with. So this session is the time to make any and all purchase decisions, we have an awesome piece of software that makes it super easy to compare your images and choose your must-have favourites. Come expecting to have a fun time choosing your very own beautiful images x

WHAT DO YOUR PACKAGES INCLUDE? WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO SPEND?

Photography today is all about the digital files, it’s how we keep, share and store our memories. But - just like the thousands of photos on your phone - you don’t really get to enjoy them in the same way you can when you just walk by a printed image, on display in your home. There’s an immediacy to print, and in over 200 years of photography, it’s the one technology that hasn’t been made obsolete, it’s the only non-living thing people will run back into a burning building to save, and - we believe - it’s just bad service not to include a professional quality print with every image sold.

So, we have all the usual options for owning and displaying your images - canvas wall enlargements, true photographic print enlargements, gorgeous display boxes and digital file packages - and no matter what kind of package or product suits your needs, your budget and your desires, EVERYTHING comes as both a print (of one kind or another) as well as the digital file. Because you need both.

Our options are thoughtfully built around our most requested items, and the more you buy, the better the rate individually, as with most things. There are no minimums or set packages, and no hard sell, you set your budget, buy what you love and leave the rest.

DO YOU OFFER A PAYMENT PLAN?

Yes! You can choose to pay using AfterPay in-store, and we offer a finance option through PayRight as their terms are great, and every time we need or want to speak to someone there, a real-life, local friendly human is on the other end of the line to sort things out. Of all the options available for this kind of thing, they have shown us to be the best mix of practical and warm & fuzzy, so - our kind of people. You can read all about them here.

How it works is that after you’ve chosen your image package and decided you want to choose this payment option, you put down a 10% deposit and fill out a quick 4 minute application online in the studio. You get to set the terms of how frequently you want to make payments (fortnightly or monthly) and over what term (anywhere from 2 months to 2 years) and you get to view and approve a full breakdown of what that looks like before hitting the green light. If it all looks good to you, they’ll send their T’s & C’s right to your phone and you’ll get confirmation immediately when you’re approved. You get to take home and enjoy your images straight away, and they take care of all the rest. We also have the option for eftpos or cash at the studio.

CAN I SHARE MY IMAGES ONLINE?

Yes! Your images are YOUR images and we believe you should be able to enjoy them in every way you want. Digital files come sized both for printing and for sharing online (they’ll be in seperate files on your USB, I’ll take you through this personally at your Reveal session) so if you want to email them to friends or family overseas or upload them to your socials - go right ahead!

There’s no restrictions on how you choose to use them, but if you do decide to put them online anywhere, tagging or crediting Beautiful Images as the image creator is the mark of an awesome human and SUPER appreciated!!

WILL MY IMAGES BE USED ON YOUR WEBSITE?

This is up to you. When you come for your shoot, you’ll fill in a Release Form, which gives your consent to be photographed (just a reflection of the day and age in which we live) and states that all images copyright remains with me, their creator. That simply means that I can say that they are my work, I created them. As the creator of the images, it gives me permission to show them as examples of my work to market my business and add to my artist portfolio.

How I like to work is that after you’ve had your shoot, I’ll ask if you’re ok with me posting a sneak peek to my socials for you to see before your Reveal Session. If you’re not ok with this for any reason, I won’t. After you’ve seen your images at your Reveal Session, I’ll send you a feedback form where you can specify exactly which - if any - images I can use in my folio and marketing. And I will 100% respect your decisions.

Most of my past clients who visit my website and see their images in my gallery are thrilled to be featured there! I’ll bet that before you booked with me, you had a real good look through all my galleries here so you could see for yourself exactly what to expect from your shoot. So, having lots of images to show is a good thing - for you and for me. But if we’ve created images where you’re not fully dressed or you would just rather they remain private for any reason at all, your wishes will be respected.

GOT A QUESTION I HAVEN’T ANSWERED HERE?

Drop me an email at the address below, or better yet - call the studio on 07 3148 2624 - I’d LOVE to chat. Carol x.