Welcome to your Client Lounge
First Things First - I'm so glad you're here.
I have a feeling you're here because you did a lot of looking around, maybe asked some friends, and took your time choosing who was right for you.
Hear me when I say - I don't take that lightly.
Photography may not be the biggest deal to some, but I know if you're here, it means as much to you as it does to me. You're giving me access to sacred space in your life, and allowing me to find the little whispers that fill your heart every single time you hear them. That is something worth holding dear.
Just like you chose me - I promise I'm going to see you, in all your human messiness, as the person you are in each ordinary day. You're not just a client, not just another one and done. You're someone who is giving me permission to seek all their is to find, the little moments you know are already there, because you can feel them. I'm here to show you what they look like.
My hope is that you never have to interview another photographer again. I want to be in it for every chapter: birth, graduations, elopements, all the ordinary Tuesdays. I can't wait to watch your family grow.
This page is for you, its a breakdown of everything I think you need to know. If I'm missing something here, something isn't clicking, or you need a little extra help any step of the way - here are all the ways to reach me.
Sam Schinsky. 586-215-3618 (text or call). hi@samanthaschinsky.com
What's Next?
If you've secured your date with the fee, received your invoice and know when its due (one week prior to the session), and completed your contract - you're all set. Once we've locked in your location and time, I'll be in touch the week of your session with everything you need to know to wrap things up.
Still need to complete your contract?
Please have it done at minimum two weeks before your session but much earlier if your location requires permits, reservations, or travel arrangements, since some spots need advance notice to secure.
Full Family + Couple Session | Full Headshots or Senior Session | Holiday Half Sessions | Half Sessions | Kids Personality Portraits | Highland Cow MINI Experience | All Other Mini Sessions
Need help with what to wear?
Start with the Style Guide, it'll get you most of the way there. You can always text me photos and we'll figure out something cohesive for the whole family together. If you want more dedicated time, you can schedule a Style + Design Appointment (in person for Local and Zoom for further clients) and we'll go through it properly.
That same appointment works well for meeting the kids so the first time isn't so scary with a camera in my face and if you're thinking about wall art and need help with sizing or designing a wall space. For in-person wall art consultations, a deposit invoice will be sent before we meet.
Don't see yours? Broken link (it happens)? Just reach out.
We don't pose...
Before we get into the logistics, I want to tell you what I'm actually looking for when I show up with my camera. So you can stop worrying about what to do and just... exist. I'm looking for the feeling of a photo. I want to show you what your family looks like in the moments when you forget I'm there.
- I love movement. Think of our session more like a video you're living through. The more you keep movement, the richer the story we get to tell together.
- I love closeness. A mom with her face buried in her baby's neck. A couple coming in tight.
- I love joy. The kind that catches you off guard. Let go of the smile you've been saving for photos and find play again.
- I love romantic nostalgia. The kind of that you will feel in your chest 40 years from now.
- And sometimes, I want the intense portrait. Eyes straight into my camera's soul. Full commitment.
I'll give you direction and you can run with it or change it completely. Hold onto whatever speaks to you. Be present. Have fun that isn't performed. We are catching moments here, not constructing them.
If you're feeling nervous about being in front of a camera, about what to do with your hands, where to look, how to exist without performing - I wrote something for you.
Location and Time
Session Location
The location depends on what you indicated in your contract. I have a list of spots I love to work and if you have somewhere specific in mind, bring it up, it may absolutely work. Getting your contract completed early helps a lot here. Once I know where you're thinking, I can share my preferred location list and we can lock down any reservations or permits we might need before they're unavailable.
I'll be in touch to narrow it down once your contract is complete.
If you're looking for inspiration, see the Location List for a couple of my favorite spots.
Timing
Full family sessions run about an hour, but more if we need it. Its usually enough time to get everything we need and then some. Headshot and senior sessions find their natural stopping point around an hour and a half. Half sessions are thirty minutes. Mini and special sessions are twenty.
Plan to arrive ten to fifteen minutes early. Parking, walking, getting the kids transitioned and settled; that buffer protects the session time we actually have together.
Time of Day
I know what it's like to have little ones and need to be somewhere during nap time or the witching hour. Not cool. We'll work around your family's schedule as much as we can... you know your kids better than anyone, and that knowledge is genuinely useful here.
That said, here's what I've found works best depending on where we are:
In-home sessions need mid-morning. That's when the sun is at the right angle to light the inside of your home beautifully. We'll turn off the overhead lights, open the shades, and let the natural light do its thing.
Urban outdoor settings work well from mid-morning through mid-afternoon - we need the sun high enough to get light down between the buildings.
Natural settings are best in early morning or late afternoon, when the sun isn't directly overhead creating harsh highlights and heavy shadows. Midday in a natural setting isn't out of the question, the colors can be stunning, but it takes more intention, some extra patience, and an extra creative eye to work with.
Golden hour means early or late. We'll watch sunrise and sunset times together. and I generally lean towards evening more so. One thing worth knowing - overcast skies won't give us that golden glow, so if the forecast looks heavy we may need to adjust our timing to make sure we still have enough light to work with.
Browse the portfolios and notice what light and background you're drawn to... that'll help us narrow down not just the location but the time that gets us there.
Family | Solo | Intimate Weddings | Kids | Highland Cow Experience | Open Fields and Flowers
Want the full breakdown of how time of day shapes your session: by age, schedule, and light? Hit the button below.
Expectations
Nothing will go perfectly the day of your session. You might miss your alarm. The kids won't eat. Someone will be late and someone else won't be cooperating. That is a guarantee, not a possibility... and it is completely fine. We will get through all of it, and the photos will be beautiful anyway.
Kids. None of them love being told what to do, where to stand, where to look, and least of all to smile. That's okay, because I don't need any of that from them. I need them to be themselves. That's the whole point.
Let them explore. Engage with them the way you naturally do. We'll give them loose guidelines while letting them stay completely themselves - working with them, not against them. I'll be shooting through all of it, including the chaos, including the breaks, including whatever detour they decide to take us on.
Want more on how to set them up for a great session? Click the button below.
What to wear. Let me know if you need help with styling your families outfits. But I give lots of advice in the very detailed | Styling Guide. | In short, dress for the season, dress for the environment, dress for your comfort and personality, and try to coordinate colors and patterns as easily as possible. Less is almost always more, simple is beauty, neutrals with a splash of color every once in a while is good. If you need some extra help, you can schedule a style appointment here.
Please. Please. Please. Remove bulky watches, hair ties, keychains, and phones from your body. I'll carry them all if we need it during the session.
If we are having a session in your home. Please don't feel the need to make it miraculously clean. A quick declutter is all that is needed. If needed, we will clean up areas where we are shooting as we go along. The laundry basket, the breakfast mess, the way your home is lived in... that is what we want, because that is how it is. Honestly, some of the mess adds to the story. I am a mom, I have a home, I work, I live in real time America too - I know what it is like... you'll want to remember these messes just like I know I do.
What To Bring
You don't need much. But a few things will make the day noticeably smoother.
For the kids: A snack they actually like — something dry, easy, not messy. Their favorite stuffie or comfort item if they have one. A change of clothes for little ones, because something will happen. If your toddler has a specific thing that buys you five minutes of cooperation; a sippy cup, a matchbox car, the one particular cracker.
For the adults: Lip balm. You'll thank me later. A hair tie even if you don't think you'll need one (but don't wear it around your wrist, please). If you're shooting somewhere you'll be walking, wear shoes you've actually broken in. And if you're the kind of person who needs a snack to stay human, bring one of those too. Blood sugar is not just a kids issue.
For everyone: Leave the idea of perfection at home. Seriously. It won't fit in your bag and it'll slow us down.
What I'm Bringing
Everything you don't have to think about.
Backup memory cards, backup batteries, a lens for every kind of light we might find ourselves in. A small blanket for little ones who need a soft landing spot. Snacks for kids who hit a wall mid-session, because it happens and I've learned to be ready for it. A little patience, a lot of it actually, and zero expectation that anything will go according to plan. I usually have a pack of wipes in my bag, a backup water bottle in my car too.
I've been doing this long enough to know that the sessions that surprise me most are the ones that went sideways first. I come prepared for that. You just come as you are.
Cancellations and Reschedules
This one is nuanced and we all know it. I'm a mom, a wife, and a human being who understands everything life has to offer. I know that the day you booked you were excited, and then the worry set in, the unexpected happened, the kid got sick, the trip got planned, the job fell through. I've lived all of those.
I'm also a business owner juggling all of it from the other side. So I know that flexibility and transparency are what make trust and compassion actually work in practice.
Here's where I land on it:
Reschedules I offer one reschedule per session before a fee applies - and as a friend of mine likes to say, "we all love cancelled plans." Weather-related reschedules are always fee-free, no questions asked.
Full sessions have the option to add a backup date directly to your contract, I'd encourage you to do that now so we already have something to fall back on if we need it.
For all other sessions, we'll work reschedules into the calendar as best we can. I can't guarantee a specific time frame, but I'll do everything I can to make it work.
Cancellations Session fees are non-refundable, but they don't disappear. You have two years to reschedule for the same or similar session, and your full fee applies.
You also have the option to transfer your session to someone else entirely. If someone in your life wants to pick up where you left off - that works too.
Weather. Sometimes it gets in the way. Full sessions have the option to include a backup date before hand so we're not scrambling if we need it, that's the easiest thing you can do right now to protect your session.
If we don't have a backup date I will get you rebooked, its just not a guarantee when. Weather dates for Mini sessions may or may not be preplanned, but we will get it worked out - I promise.
After your session...
This is the part I love most. You've done the hard work, showed up, let your guard down, chased your kids through whatever location we landed in. Now it's my turn.
Your gallery will be delivered within 30 days of your session. If you've added rush delivery, expect it within 7 to 15 days. I'll send it straight to you, fully downloadable, with everything you need to order wall art, prints, or albums directly from the gallery itself.
Any products you order: prints, albums, wall art, the gift included with your session, will arrive at your door within 30 to 60 days after your session. Good things take a little time, and I want everything that comes out of this to be something worth holding onto.
The Album
An album isn't a purchase. It's the thing your kids pull off the shelf twenty years from now and sit down on the floor with. It's the whole story, held together, in the right order, exactly the way it felt.
If your session includes an album, you have already given me the details in your contract. If you'd like to upgrade or if you'd like to add one to your order, start here... I'll take it from there.
Other Products
It's not just the album, its all of the ways your memories can be stores. If you're interested in how your Digital Images come, Wall Art, or Prints for all types of sessions - head to The Product Page Here
You're going to be great.
I have been in front of the camera. I've paid full price for other photographers to capture me: by myself, with my family, just the two of us.
I know the vulnerability that it brings. The awkwardness. The "what ifs". The "I'm not feeling this today the way Past-Sam was when she booked it."
The pressure to perform.
I get it all.
But come just as you are. Don't pressure, don't push, don't try to mold or conform to whatever you think this is supposed to look like.
Trust the process, let me guide you, and your natural rhythms will take over.
They always do.