Senior Portrait Sessions

Is your child getting ready to graduate from high school? It is an exciting time for them, and a stressful time for you. When you are worrying about things like graduation, college applications, proms and formals, the last thing you need is the added stress of senior portraits. You know senior portraits can be so complicated and finding the right photographer to capture the personality of your senior is no easy task...so you let it wait. And wait. And before you know if your senior is a freshman in college. Don't let this happen to you. We are here to make it easy on you!

First off, if you take the time to do the research, you will find that you are probably more confused after you've done the research than when you first started. This can be very frustrating. Each photographer has their own way of doing sessions, breaking things down into how many outfits, locations, or hours. Giving you so many different options as far as print products and digital products. This is very overwhelming if you have no idea where to start. 

The best place to start is take a deep breath and slow down. Ask yourself where you want to do the session. Would you like a senior beach session or another outdoor location or would you like a studio? This will limit your options a bit based on what you want. Then, ask yourself if outfit changes are important to your senior, how many do you want to be included for the session? Some photographers do limit the amount of outfit changes as it takes up extra time. Finally ask yourself what you would like the end product to be? Are you more interested in print products or would you just like to purchase digital files of your senior photos? Once you have all the answers for yourself, this will help you to limit which photographers will work for you. 

To help limit your decision even further, you should find out from the high school if they provide senior portraits for the yearbook or if this is something they will ask you for. If this is something they will ask you for, you should check with any potential photographers to see if providing a chosen photo for the yearbook in the correct format is something they can do and if there is an additional fee for this service. 

We love our seniors and we try our best to keep our sessions simple for the families as well as the seniors to reduce stress on everyone. We like to cover all of the details so you don't have to! We are scheduling senior sessions now so be sure to schedule your session with us today!

Did you know we also do architectural photography? We don't specialize only in family portraits, and although we love our families, let's be honest: we don't get very many visitors in the winter. Architectural photography is a fun way for us to keep up with the art of the photography business while keeping our creativity flowing all year round. 

If you are a real estate agent or if you are a construction company looking to show off some home renovations, we love to get the best photos to help you show case the home you are working with! If you are a business looking to show your on-line clients what your location is like, we can also do a business profile for your website. We have studied and taken classes and purchased specific equipment to get the best angles, the best lighting, the best detail, and the best overall photo of the house that you can imagine. 

Not only do we offer photography for the architectural businesses but we also offer a unique way to show case the interior or even exterior of the house or business. We offer 360 imaging which is a full 360 degree view of a specific room or the outside of the house. You want to know what it is like to be in the kitchen of a house you are interested in buying? We can put you there. Virtually. It is so life-like you can even look down and see the detail in the floor and look up and see the detail on the ceiling. It is becoming a popular way to showcase homes especially for potential northern residents who are relocating and are shopping via the internet.

Please contact us for cost of both the architectural profile as well as the 360 imaging. We would love to showcase your home and help you get it sold!

With the busy season being upon us, many of you are wondering how this family portrait business on the beach works! We have the answer! We are here every step of the way to walk you thru the process from booking to picking out your photos we never leave you hanging!

Step 1: Booking your session. This can be the most overwhelming part of the process since there are so many decisions to be made. Since you're here, you've already found the best photographer on the island for beach portraits so congratulations!

Then you can decide which Collection you want. Our Collections are listed here. If you don't see a Collection that is right for you, let us know and we can customize any collection to fit your needs.

Next, we can schedule your session by phone (call/text) or e-mail. Just let us know what dates you will be here and we will get you in! We prefer to schedule at the beginning of your vacation stay just in case the weather doesn't cooperate, we have time to reschedule. We also like to book early morning or evening shoots for ideal lighting. The hour before sunset we refer to as "the golden hour" is the best time for optimal lighting. 

Once we find a date that works, we will send you via e-mail an agreement with everything you get in your Collection as well as the cost. You can sign electronically and send it back. Then, we will collect a booking fee of $50 which goes toward your session and is deducted at the end when billed. 

Step 2: Getting Ready! Once you arrive to the island safely, you can decide whether you would like us to come to your beach house or if you would like to meet at a public beach. We prefer Bradley Beach, or Dreissen Beach Park at the end of Bradley Beach Rd. or Burkes Beach. There are a lot of public parking spots as well as bathrooms (just in case) at both beaches. We always collect payment prior to the session. We send an invoice over the week prior to your session which you can pay on-line or you could write a check at the time of the session.

Step 3: Meeting your photographer! Once you let us know where to meet you, we like to meet about 15 minutes prior to your session so we can be sure not to miss the Golden Hour. Your photographer will introduce himself and his assistant and explain how the process works. At this time, you can let him know what specific shots, if any you are looking for. 

Step 4: SMILE! This is the easy part! The photographer and his assistant do all the work for you! You just need to sit back, pose and smile. The assistant will direct your posing to make sure all of your photos look natural. We try to make the sessions fun for everyone (not just kids - dads too!) so loosen up and remember to have fun!

Step 5: Wait. No-one likes this part! No-one wants to wait to see their photos that they are all so excited about! We know this, and we work quickly to get all of your photos edited/retouched and into your on-line Gallery within a week after your session.

Once they are ready, we will e-mail you with your Gallery ID and instructions on how to view them from our website.

Step 6: Receive your photos! You can place an order straight from our website and they will be shipped promptly! It is so exciting to see your photos in print and on your wall! 

What makes photography so expensive?!

A commonly asked question that we hear a lot is what makes photography so expensive? The kid down the street is doing it for a lot less. Why should we choose you? 

Sure it seems like a scam because all we do is "point and shoot", right? Anyone can be a photographer...right? The truth is, this assumption couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, it takes a lot of skill to make it look like you're just "pointing and shooting". Have you ever seen a ballet dancer performing and thought "I could do that, it looks so easy!" and then you go home and try it, and it's actually not easy at all. This is the same thing photographers do. We make it look like nothing, however there is a lot of skill and training that goes into it.

Our staff here has been trained thoroughly to bring you these high quality photos. Our photographer has been trained to use manual settings, perfect the lighting, adjust the exposure among other various factors that occur while working outdoors. If that's not complicated enough, our staff is also trained in posing people, setting up props in a way that feels natural, and getting expressions on our subject's faces. 

You also have to take into consideration that for a professional photographer, this is a career. It is not something we do on the side. We put ALL of our energy and effort into giving you the best photos possible. When you pay $435 for a Collection, we do not make $435. After the cost of the products included in your session, marketing costs, editing programming and computer equipment that can handle large files such as your photos a large chunk of that $435 is already taken out. Then, we have to pay our assistant and the photographer for their time. That's not even to mention how expensive photography equipment is!

The time that you pay for does not only include the session itself, but also preparing for the session, getting things ready for your family, and post session editing. Each one hour session is about an 8 hour day for our staff. 

Yes, you could hire a "Professional" photographer who will gladly take your photos for half or even a third of the cost, but what are you getting? We had a client recently tell us that when they were on vacation last year they hired a different photographer in an attempt to save money and in the end it only cost them more money. They spent $198 for their session which they thought was a great deal. Turns out it wasn't. Their photographer cut off their heads in some of the photos, posed some family members behind others so you couldn't see everyone's faces, and edited very poorly. Also, when they got their prints back, the quality was so bad they couldn't hang them on their wall. The image was stretched out and everyone in the photo looked like they had gained 10 pounds. Not to mention the color was horrible.

After "saving money" on the session, they had to reorder prints multiple times until we got one that looked somewhat normal, all of which they had to paid for. They also couldn't use the majority of the images because they couldn't see everyones faces. Their total cost after getting the one print that they could actually use and then getting their portraits retaken by a real professional was over $600. Looking back, it just makes more sense to do it right the first time and trust the real professionals. It may seem more expensive at first, but in the end, you get good photos, good quality products and much less hassle. 

We love the families that we work with and we want everyone to have the best experience possible. Family Portraits don't have to be a negative thing that everyone dreads except for mom. Sessions can be fun for everyone and getting your photos on your wall doesn't have to be agonizing. We are here to make the process more enjoyable for everyone and to help people relax and be at ease with what they get for their money. We want you to love the photos and make you and your family feel good about yourselves! We make sure every dollar is well spent!

Behind the Photos

You're flipping through your family photos, and you see that one perfect photo that gets you thinking: "Why has this photo been hiding in the family album all this time? It should be framed!" We at Island Life HH Photography have been studying and learning the science behind how the human mind processes images and what makes our brains label those images as "perfect". There is a lot more to it than just a perfect photo. 

Anyone can go out and purchase a professional grade camera and take good quality photos. Just because the photo is taken with a professional camera doesn't make it a professional photo. Have you ever had a photo taken with a professional camera and still not liked it? This is probably because the person who took that photo missed a few key points that bring that professional quality to the photo. Most people who purchase their professional cameras don't have the time to put in to learning how to use them properly. Shooting with your camera on automatic versus manual can make a huge difference. Sure shooting in automatic is much easier and simpler, but you also get much simpler photos that lack that quality that you pay the big bucks for! Taking the time to learn how to shoot manually is worth it and improves the quality of the photo tremendously. Our photographer at Island Life HH Photography has gone to many classes and workshops to learn how to bring these settings to your family photos so you can always have that "perfect" family photo.

Not only do the settings of the camera matter, but the lighting matters as well. Professional lighting can be achieved through the right settings of the camera, but sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes, you have to use off camera lighting to achieve a certain look. Our staff here is specially trained to obtain perfect lighting no matter the setting, as we are used to working in environmental situations where light is constantly changing. 

The most important part of a family photo that makes the brain light up with excitement are the faces in the photo. We can give you the most technically perfect photo but if everyone looks miserable in it, would you want to hang it on your wall? No. Fake smiles don't work for us here either. You're on an island! On your vacation! We are digging for real smiles, even laughter! When you flip through your photos and you come across a photo where everyone in it looks truly happy and everyone is having a genuine good time, that's the photo you want on your wall! We want to remember those good times and we want to preserve those moments where people are at their happiest. We want our photos, 20 years later, to take you back in time to that moment and make you feel what you felt while you were on Hilton Head that summer, 20 years ago with your family. We don't settle for family portraits. We want to create a time capsule of sorts for you and your family.

Lastly, if we give you the most technically sound photo, with genuine smiles, and perfect lighting but we give it you you on a canvas where the photo is distorted and the color is way off and everything is off center, that makes all the work we put into capturing that amazing photo worthless. That is why we use professional printing services. You can get your photos printed at super stores or drug stores, but with staff who has no experience at printing photos and product that is made simply to save you money, the quality of your photo will not be evident on these products. Our printing services are through a Professional Photo Lab where the staff is trained specifically to print photos on high quality products. All they do all day long is print photos. The lab technicians genuinely care about the services they provide. They want your photos to look amazing, just like you do! It may be a little bit more expensive than taking them to the drug store, but the quality is well worth it especially for something you will hold on to forever! 

If you think about it, a family photo is something you will have forever. You never get rid of family photos. They outlast your car, your clothes, your couch, even your dog! If you're going to invest your money into anything, why wouldn't you invest it in your family photos? Getting the family together is a big deal now a days. With technology becoming more advanced, families are becoming more separated. People are more likely to face time you than actually spend time with you. When you actually do get everyone together, isn't it worth it to capture that moment and save it forever? Don't capture that moment with cheap services or cheap products. Value that moment, and value the professionals that help bring that moment to life and preserve it for you.

The Island Life HH Photography crew, Rick and Nina, dedicated to bringing you the perfect family photo!

Ultimate Hilton Head Island Experience Photo Contest

The photo contest is officially underway! We already have 10 entries and lots of voting! We will be announcing the winner on May 14. The winner is determined by the number of votes each photo gets. The photo with the most votes by May 13 at midnight will be the winner of over $1,100 in the Ultimate Hilton Head Island Experience! The winner will receive:

$100 SERG restaurant Group gift card

$50 Captain Woody's gift certificate

$100 Hudson's gift certificate

$20 Hilton Head Ice Cream gift certificate

$50 Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe gift certificate

Starfish Collection ($435 value) from us! (Island Life HH Photography)

4 dolphin tours ($80 value) for Palmetto Bay Water Sports

18 hole game for 4 ($48 value) for Pirate's Island Adventure Golf

​Harbour Town Lighthouse admission for 4

Boardwalk print of the Harbour Town Lighthouse ($130 value)

$40 gift certificate to Island Winery

3 day bicycle rental for 4 for Pedals Bicycles

All you have to do is click here and submit a photo and get as many votes as possible and this could all be yours! Good luck to all of our entrees!

See you at the beach!

 

Have you heard?!

We are sponsoring the Ultimate Hilton Head Island Giveaway! It is a photo contest where you submit your old family photo that you think needs a makeover, and collect votes on Facebook. The winner with the most votes not only gets Family Portrait makeovers from us, but you also get the Ultimate Hilton Head Island Experience totaling to over $1,100! The prize includes:

• $100 Hudson's gift certificate
• $100 SERG gift card
• $50 Captain Woody's gift certificate
• $50 Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe gift certificate
• $40 Island Winery gift certificate
• $20 Hilton Head Ice Cream gift certificate 
• Island Life HH Photography Starfish Collection ($435 value)
• Bike Rentals for 4 for 3 days from Pedals Bicycles
• Eco-Dolphin Tour for 4 at Palmetto Bay Watersports
• 18 hole game for 4 at Pirate's Island Adventure Golf
• Boardwalk print of the Harbour Town Lighthouse
• Admission for 4 to the Harbour Town Lighthouse

To enter to win, stay tuned to our Facebook page. We will be launching the contest later this week! Make sure you get your friends and family to vote for you so you can win the Ultimate Hilton Head Experience!

You may love those romantic sunset walks on the beach, but if you haven't seen a Hilton Head sunrise, you haven't seen anything yet! The sun rises in the East, which means Hilton Head beaches have the perfect view of the sunrise every morning. Sunsets are gorgeous in Harbour Town, but if you're looking to walk on the beach during a sunset/sunrise, sunrise is your best bet! We do take family portraits and/or engagement photos during sunrise because we, too love to watch the sunrise in the mornings and the lighting is always great! It is worth waking up early in the mornings! The sunrise provides the perfect backdrop for your romantic portrait session or even for a fun session with your family. 

​Once you are done admiring the sunrise and exploring the beach and it's natural surprises, you will most likely have worked up an appetite. The best places for breakfast is Palmetto Bay Sunrise Cafe located in Palmetto Bay Marina, and Southern Coney located in the Coligny region. Both places are great for breakfast, with a relaxing environment and fantastic food to motivate you for your upcoming day of adventure!

Nothing brings you closer to the "Island Life" than starting your day off right with a beautiful sunrise. Live your own Island Life and start your mornings off the Island-way!

Sea Turtle Season starts April 1!

Sea turtle season is upon us! Beginning April 1st, we will be on the lookout for sea turtle activity as well as their nests. You may ask how this affects your beach portraits. If there is a nest where we plan to shoot, we will just have to change our location. These nests (pictured below) are protected by law, which means if we are in an area where there are nests around, we are not to disturb these nests. If the nests are disturbed, the baby turtles may die or not hatch. Luckily it is not a big deal to walk just a little bit further, past a nest for your beach session. 

Sea Turtle season doesn't just affect you during your beach portrait session. While you and your family are at the beach, you are also expected to leave the nests alone. This means you have to keep your dogs on a leash and watch them at all times. How bad would you feel if Fido dug up a nest of sea turtles? Fido isn't the only one you need to worry about, as children with their curious minds often like to wander over to the nests as well. 

When you are winding down for the night in your beach rental, keep in mind also that Hilton Head Island has a "Lights Out" rule anytime after 10pm. This means if your house or rental can be seen from the beach, you must turn all lights off by 10pm. Sea turtle hatchlings follow the moonlight into the ocean when they hatch. If they see your lights, they can get confused and go further inland, which could result in ultimate death for those hatchlings. 

Respecting the wildlife of Hilton Head Island isn't hard, and it's not a huge adjustment. It's just small changes to make throughout your day and being more aware that they are there and it is up to you and your family to protect them! 

 

So you may find yourself asking if you should use props for your family portraits. You like posing with props but don't want your family portraits to look tacky. You also don't want to take away from your beach setting, which you just don't get every day. The trick is to add props in a classy, discrete way. At Island Life HH Photography we use different props for different types of sessions, as most photographers do. For example, we use a clam shell for infant and baby photos. We also use a picture frame to shed an accent on your family, as we make the rest of the photo black and white and bring out the color in the frame (which is where your family is). This forces the human eye to focus on what is inside the frame instead of wandering around the photo. 

Tricks like this help add character to your family photos without the tackiness of props. We also like to use props to remind us that you are in fact, on the beach. We add starfish and different sea shells to "beach it up" for family portraits. We like to keep things natural so you won't see us with beach balls and sand shovels. Part of our passion is that we love to bring out the natural beauty of the beach behind your family. What a better way to do that than to add a colorful sea shell?

We love our holiday photos as well! Have you ever built a sand snowman? It's very difficult. Luckily, you will never have to! We did all the work and made one for you! If you want your holiday photos on the beach, what better way to emphasize that than with a sand snowman? We have other holiday props as well which follow the classy theme but still bring the holidays to the beach.

Using these subtle tricks doesn't seem like it should make a big difference, but it's all the difference when it comes to props. Overdoing props is a big no-no and really takes away from the quality of your photos. It is important to keep it classy, and for us, to keep it natural!

For all the ladies out there, have you considered what you're going to do with your hair for your portrait session? If you're opting for the "beach waves" look, you may want to reconsider on a windy day. Those stray hairs can place themselves in the worst places possible when we are photographing during that summer breeze. You may want to consider a style that plus you hair away from your face more. For example, a classic ponytail, bun, or even pigtails. If you're intent on the "beach waves" look, you may want to add a barrette or headband to help keep those strays from your face. Ever thought of putting a flower in your hair? It is the beach, after all! Flowers and other accessories help tuck your hair back and make it more manageable. Us ladies tend to be creative when it comes to keeping the annoyance of our long locks under control, but in case you have writer's block or "hair styler's block", here is an article to give you some suggestions that are both easy, yet perfect for the beach look you're going for!

Click HERE for more ideas on how to style your hair for your photo session!

 

It is a well-known fact that there are many photographers on the island offering different things. So why should you choose Island Life HH for your family portraits over other photographers? Sure, it's easy for any of the photographers to tell you they're the best but let us tell you WHY we are the best! 

First off, we use professional lighting and equipment. But why do you need professional lighting when you're out on the beach? Isn't there enough sunlight that we don't need professional lighting? The answer is yes! There is plenty of sunlight on the beach however that sunlight is creating harsh lines and shadows on your face because it is so direct. Don't get me wrong, we all love the sun, but it can sometimes cause too much contrast in your family photos. Our professional lighting fades out those harsh lines and shadows and brings an even tone to our subjects. Our lighting in combination with our high quality cameras are what make your photos look fantastic!

Second, our photographer always has an assistant to help balance lighting, direct posing, and place props. This is more helpful than you might think because without an assistant, the photographer would have to concentrate on everything all at once. With an assistant placing our subjects, watching for lighting, and balancing props, this frees our photographer up so he can focus on taking great photographs of you and your family.

Third, once you're done getting your photos taken, we are still working on them! We have professional editing software along with an editor whose passion is editing! Our editor pays close attention to detail to ensure that everyone looks perfect but not photoshopped! This gives you a real feel to your photos without unwanted blemishes. 

If that's not enough, we have a quick turn around because we have a great staff who LOVE working on your photos! Once you see your photos on-line, you can purchase them on our website. We use professional print companies who specialize in quality for portraiture. Why not take your photos to Walmart and get them printed? It's much cheaper! We have found out the hard way that when you are looking to get prints, display prints or canvas especially with larger prints, but with smaller prints too they come out grainy and the color is not preserved in the photos. We have even had photos come back where the size has been distorted to make it fit on the canvas. As the saying goes: "You get what you pay for!" We stand behind this way of thinking and we prefer not to have our photos on low-grade print products as it can reflect poorly on us and our name. 

Take all of this into consideration when booking your photographer. You want quality photos! You don't want someone who picked up a camera one day and pretends to know what they're doing to take your family photos that will be hanging above your mantle for years to come.

One of our most frequently asked questions is "What should I wear for my family portrait session?". Since we do a majority of our sessions on the beach, these aren't your average family photos. Light colors are best. White shirts and khakis or jeans as well as white dresses always look great, but why not make your family stand out and add a pop of color? Add some blue, green or orange accents to spice up the look of your family. What is your favorite color? Use it to add uniqueness to your family for your session. Keeping patterns to a minimum is best as they are distracting and will focus the view on one person rather than the entire family. Another thing to steer clear of are big bulky items such as wide belts, big necklaces, or large patterns. These are also very distracting to the eyes and will draw your attention away from the rest of your family. Of course, this is just a guideline. You can wear whatever you want! Bring your own style to the beach. Some people prefer more formal photos and some prefer a more casual look. We can work with anything and always make you and your family look awesome! 

Are you spending this Valentine's Day with your loved one on the beautiful Hilton Head Island? If so, check out Marley's Island Grille. They are running a special for $60 you get 2 entrees, a desert and admission to Park Plaza Cinemas. You can't pass up that deal! Happy Valentine's Day! 

Our custom made social media videos are a great way to show off your family beach portraits, these videos are included in some of our collections.  We take some of our favorite photos of your family on the beach here in Hilton Head and put them together with music to create a great addition to your Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages. We send you this video on your USB Flash Drive along with your other social media photographs.  Below is an example of these videos :