With Heavy Heart I say Goodbye for now ...

Hello Lovely friends!

It is with a very heavy heart...I have made the choice to postpone all my sessions until June and close my studio while we re-evaluate this pandemic. My top priority is and will always be my little boys Benson & Robby and for them, Ben and I feel strongly that what is best is to give our family time to adjust to a new normal and this life-altering pandemic.

While we are in good health and following all the CDC guidelines, as a Family Portrait Photographer, I must also consider the best interest of my Lovely Families.

The truth is... my love for what I do, cannot outweigh the severity of this situation and the importance of my little clients' and their family’s health. As many of you have experience when you have walked in my studio no shoes are allowed period at all. The moment you walk in your shoes are off and sitting by the door. During Portrait Sessions no shoes are allowed on set floors unless shoes have never been worn or Clorox wiped cleaned. You have probably also noticed the number of wipes, hand sanitizer, automatic soap dispenser and even a little potty for my little clients. We also have greatly invested in custom flooring for the entire studio that is padded, yes padded flooring. Why we did this? Most of my clients are littles who are in the studio for Milestone session some who are just learning to walk and during this precious learning to walk milestone comes many falls. Safety is very important to me and so flooring is extremely important when keeping my moving little clients as safe as possible. So, if and when they fall the extra mile of padded floor will be much safer. Oh, and the lavender smell … with all the cleaning I do before a client and after the lavender is much appreciated so that you do not feel you are walking into a hospital. And even with all that said I still feel strongly that it is my and my family’s social responsibility to keep all of those around us safe. We want to protect you and your littles on the off chance that we could be carrying the virus, but asymptomatic during your Portrait Session.

Many of my sessions are purchase sometimes a year or well over a year in advance. This first quarter of the year has been detrimental to us over the last two weeks especially and with possibly several more weeks ahead of us. We are all seeing the devastating impact on small businesses right now. Photo sessions have quieted for most professional socially responsible photography businesses. I support all the social distancing and shutdowns for the greater good. The sacrifice we make will help many. It is the right thing to do, but it is so hard for small families like ours to face 0 dollars in income for an unknown amount of time from our business. This is the hard truth to face.

Many families, friends, clients have been so thoughtful and asked how they can help directly during this time. I would love to encourage clients to buy my Special LOVE Collection, STAR Collection or a Gift Card. If you’re already a client who normally hires me each year, I will have one very special collection unlike I have ever done. This collection may be scheduled to take place between 8/1/20-12/1/2021. YES, YOU WILL HAVE UNTIL DECEMBER 2021 to redeem. These collections will only be available for a short period as it is heavily discounted (50% off) as they where created in full transparency to allow us to continue to operate our business.

LOVE COLLECTION - $325+tax (Valued $650+tax)

STAR COLLECTION - $200+tax (Valued $450+tax)

GIFT CARD - Every Gift Card purchased for $50+ will have an additional Portrait Credit of $50 added to the total! (Now thru April 30th)

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE COLLECTION

Please think of all your local makers and restaurants and other small businesses during this time. You can support by buying gift certificates, visiting them for pick-ups while you still can, Ubereats/Doordash. You can also support them online by liking posts, partaking in giveaways, checking their online shops each week, sharing about them, reviewing them (honestly) on FB/Google/Yelp. Invite friends to share with them their Facebook page and ask to show support by Liking the page. Also, message them directly to ask what help they really need at this time as many will be afraid to share publicly, they are struggling.

And if you are not in the position to purchase no worries friends I understand. However, I do ask that if you have ever had a Portrait Session with me that you leave a review a Google Review and a Facebook Review HERE I would so much appreciate it.

As of right now... anything scheduled between 3/20/20 – 5/31/19 will be rescheduled and moved forward. Everything else outside of this window is still scheduled as normal and I will address things if we need to as we approach those dates based on government and CDC guidelines and restrictions.

As we get ready to open my Studio back up, I will have a few but not limited to the following implementations. That I need for you to be made aware of before you book with me.

I will be expanding on my rescheduling policy. It will continue to be a very strict policy nonetheless it will be within guidelines to accommodate the new normal that will be life after COVID19.
Until vaccination becomes available to the masses one plus person will only be allowed in the studio. That means if you book a session for 1 individual only that 1 individual will be allowed in studio if it is a minor only 1 legal guardian will be allowed in studio. I will not be making exceptions. No additional children, parents, grandparents, etc. This will minimize everyone’s exposure to any asymptomatic individuals.
If you book two sessions and schedule them back to back especially with little ones. I will ask that you bring one additional person and have that person and child wait outside the studio until the first child is done and it is time for the second child. This will continue with my new 1:1 ratio and the ability of a parent to child control. Having a 1:1 control ratio it will allow for a parent to have full focus and control of one child minimizing wondering and touching anything outside Set Design. If this is a more than 1 individual Portrait Session, I will ask for full cooperation from parents at all times. If parents are not in full control of the child (children) during our time together Portrait Session will be canceled on the spot, no exceptions to refunds will be done. The less touching, the less time disinfecting and anything that I can not wipe, spray, the wash will be trashed and so this will be very important.
I love my little clients, many I have become great friends with, they see me and give me great big hugs that I LOVE AND LIVE FOR!!! Moving forward until we have vaccination available for the masses, I will, unfortunately, move forward with keeping at all times social distancing and I know it may be awkward and uncomfortable but we all have to work together for the greater of all of us.
I will be wearing masks throughout our Portrait Session. Because of the nature of COVID-19, I want to protect you and your children on the off chance that I could be carrying the virus, but asymptomatic during your Portrait Session. I will be following all the recommendations of the CDC for safety including wearing gloves.
I will continue to prioritize sanitizing, you will find the new sanitizing station at the entrance of the studio that I will ask EVERYONE to partake in … for my little clients whose parents do not agree with alcohol bases sanitation, I will have non-alcohol based sanitizing wipes so their will be no exceptions to sanitizing your hands as soon as you walk in.
During our Portrait Session, I will be taking a step back from my usual close shots, so that I can keep a safe distance. I will be utilizing longer focal lengths to compensate. And still, be able to get the close beautiful shots you love.
Please know that I am structuring sessions, so there is no client overlap, and I am rigorously cleaning and sanitizing all areas of the studio, including props.
Outdoor Sessions: All of our outdoor sessions will be held in areas that are not heavily populated to minimize contact. If there is a specific place you would like to shoot but it is a high traffic area I will not be shooting at that location.
If I become ill and I am being forced to quarantine myself, I will contact clients immediately. We will work on an arrangement that best works for both. I will make sure to make it up to you. You know me … I will usually include a little extra gift for you!

WHEW! That was a lot, I know. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to reach out. I want to have an open discussion about this with all of you! I am all ears and ready to help in whatever way I can.

Because I had to reschedule a lot of people from March, April and May even June... if you or someone you know is looking for a session within June, July, August please do not wait to book. I will also begin to book Christmas Portraits starting in July. Last year I photographed over 60+ families and this year with the new implementations I will be scheduling with greater spacing and thus the earlier you book your session the greater the chance I will be able to get you in. Last year toward November I had to regretfully turn away many families.

In the meantime, I wish you and your families all the very best in health, warm cuddles & extra long naps.

If there are any concerns, please reach out directly to me. You can click up to Let's Chat, email, or message me directly to my Facebook page and we can work through this together. This crisis is hitting us all hard, and as small business owners, we are doing our best to serve our customers and stay afloat.

We appreciate you so much. Be safe. Be well. We are looking forward to seeing you soon.

Sending love and virtual hugs,

Kimberly (KC)

Let's book your LOVE, STAR, or GIFT CARD!

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