"3P's" of Fine Portraiture

"3P's" of FINE FAMILY PORTRAITS

The planning, scheduling and creation of your family portrait should be an enjoyable experience. To this end Mark Jordan has classified the entire portrait process into three detailed, yet simple, sessions:
1. Planning
2. Portrait
3. Preview

1. PLANNING Session
After an informal, informative talk, Mark Jordan will ask which of our three portrait design services (A la Carte, Traditional, or Unlimited) best meet your particular needs. Your choice of portrait session and the corresponding nonrefundable commission/retainer must be decided before we move forward to the actual design phase of your family portrait. Therefore, if you feel there is anyone else who might want a voice regarding the design of your family portrait, we kindly ask that you bring them along.

Once Mark Jordan has been commissioned to create your family portrait, he will segue into the actual planning/design phase. Besides discussing the spirit and style of your portrait, Mark Jordan will also assist you with clothing arrangements and consider possible portrait locations: we specialize in beach portraits, park portraits, home portraits and studio portraits.

Lastly, Mark Jordan will provide a Primer To Clothing, which will serve as your personal, at home guide (it's also provided here on our website). If you already have clothing in mind, please bring them along. You'll be one step ahead - quickly. Mark will never tell you what to wear but only help you harmonize your choices.

2. PORTRAIT Session
- Once the preliminary design preparations have been made, a portrait date and time will be reserved.

- Outdoor portrait sessions, whether at the beach, park or home, may be scheduled on most any day of the week. Depending on your desired location (beach, park, home or studio), family portraits are arranged 1-2 hours before sunset. Beach portraits are frequently captured just moments before swiftly setting sun. Because of their more casual, unstructured feel, outdoor portrait sessions are fast paced and last only 30-40 minutes (except beach portraits, which can speed by in ten minutes).

- No Compromises: Mark Jordan creates only one outdoor family portrait per evening so that every portrait creation is enveloped in that magical, setting light known as the "golden hour." Besides capturing the moment, this is yet another reason for the fast paced nature of outdoor portraits.

- Studio portrait sessions, tending to be more structured and exacting, can last about an hour (depending on number of poses). If wind, sand, tousled hair/clothing, and imperfections in general, aren't your thing (which are associated with portrait sessions primarily at the beach, and sometimes at a park) we suggest keeping with the controlled setting of the portrait studio.

Though family portraits in the studio are usually reserved for a more formal look, casual portraits can be created as well.

Regardless of which location you choose, Mark Jordan and his wife, Kari, make each portrait session fun and painless.

3. PREVIEW Session
- The final phase is selecting your favorite expressions while viewing them on a monitor in our studio. Since we are a digital portrait studio, paper proofs are now a part of the past. During your Preview Session you will see every expression, as well as have the option of comparing as many as eight images/exposures at a time. Should you like, we can also zoom in on one person at a time or even a single facial feature. Exciting!

- To determine the portrait size most appropriate for your family portrait, Mark Jordan will project your portrait selections onto a large screen while considering the ABC's of Portrait Selection, which are conveniently provided here on our website.

As always, should you have any questions, know that no concern is too small.