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FAQs

(Yes these really are our most frequently asked questions)

Why did you change your name?

Why not? Actually, Arenz Photography was originally created as a portfolio website for Jon when he was in college trying to showcase his journalism work which was all about him, in the same way a resume is about the person who it is for (thus the reason for using Jon's name in the business name). It was never meant to be an actual business. Nowadays, Jon is a portrait and wedding photographer that is hired by his clients to take their photos so the business is no longer a "resume" for Jon. Jon feels that a business should be built as a brand and he didn't want his name in a brand name, if that makes sense. We have actually been working on a name change for a couple years, but couldn't think of a name that we liked until now.

Why BlackLine? What does it mean?

BlackLine means absolutely nothing! There is no hidden meanings, the origination is simply put that black is Jon's favorite color and when thinking of a name for the business Jon and his wife wanted something simple and there aren't many things simplier than a line. Sorry there are no interesting stories, other than BlackLine popped in Jon's head one day and he liked it.

What's the difference between Arenz Photography and BlackLine?

Nothing other than the name. There are going to be a few new policy changes as well, but they are changes that were going to made regardless of the business name, things that we have "lived and learned" over the past 5 years we have been in the portrait business.

What should I wear for my session?

Wear whatever you want, but make sure it is appropriate for your session. All the "experts" will tell you to stay away from patterns, bright colors, overly trendy clothes, etc, but we like to say wear what you are comfortable wearing. If you are comfortable in what you are wearing, you will look comfortable in front of the camera and vice versa. With family sessions, we like to recommend that everybody wear something at least similar, not necessarily matching, but not contrasting.

You can have as many outfit changes as you would like, this does not guarantee that all the outfits will get worn, it is all up to how often and quick you can change. Bring a variety of clothing, especially with senior sessions.

What is Jon's background in photography?

Jon went to college for journalism and has a bachelor's degree in that field. He actually bypassed the required studio photography class in college by taking an art photography class. Jon's first post college photography job was for Chain-Whipped Magazine, which was a hard rock music magazine. He took photos of touring bands as well as interviewed several of those bands. Nowadays, Jon's main concentration is on portraits and weddings.

How many weddings do you do every year?

We typically do anywhere between 10 and 15 weddings a year. We will not do more than 15 weddings a year simply because there are not enough hours in the day. Weddings typically fall into the busiest time of the year for us which is June through October and we are not exclusive wedding photographers, weddings account for almost 1/2 of our business (financially anyway). Our other half of the business encompasses children, families, and seniors, so if we would be sacrificing that half of our business to do more weddings. Weddings are booked on a "first come first serve" basis only, no exceptions, so if you are insistent on us shooting your wedding it is best to book as soon as you can.

How many photos do we get to see from our weddings?

Depending on the layout of the wedding day, we normally present our clients with close to 400 wedding proofs. That is with all day coverage, which is by far the most popular wedding coverage. There obviously is a variety of photos in that grouping, most of which are journalistic or candid, but there are also formals photos too. Rule of thumb, however, the less time we are there, the less photos you get.

How long will you be there for our wedding when you say "all day coverage"?

ALL DAY! We set no time boundaries other than 24 hours. Really, for our all day weddings, we usually start photographing the girls at around 9 am when the hair and makeup starts and we usually leave the party around 11 pm. That is a nice solid workday, about 14 hours to be exact, you get your moneys worth. We get there when you want us there and we leave when you tell us to.

How far in advance do we need to book our portrait session?

Again, like weddings, our time can be somewhat limited, so it is best to book as soon as you can unless you are flexible as far as when the session can be. Some people like to book months in advance and some like to wait until the last minute. Again if you are particular on specific dates and/or times you should book ASAP or you might not get that spot. We do book portrait sessions on Saturdays during the wedding season, if we are not already booked for a wedding. However, we will not book out more than 1 month for Saturday portrait sessions.

What are your studio hours?

Our studio is not open on Wednesdays and Fridays. We are available by appointment on weekends. Otherwise, we are in the studio (or on location) from 9-5 on our open days (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday). The reason we are not open on Wednesdays and Fridays is because Jon has 2 small children of his own and he stays at home those days to take care of them. It is his weekend, since with photography weekends aren't always weekends and we all need family time. It is always best to call the studio if you would like to come by the studio, that way you don't make a trip and find that nobody is there.

Do we need to do a pre-session consultation?

No, not unless you want to. We do not require this because we do not feel that it is a necessity. We recommend it for weddings, but believe it or not we have shot a couple weddings without formally meeting the couple, unless email counts as formally meeting. We also recommend it for model sessions, so we can plan the session out and have no surprises.

When and how will I see my proofs?

For portrait sessions, your proofs will be online for viewing withing 24 hours of your session. With weddings, your proofs will be posted online within 3 days. Weddings and some senior sessions also include a physical spiral bound proofbook which takes about a week to get back from our developer. Proofbooks are not included with the other sessions, but are available at additional cost.

Are my proofs going to be edited before I see them?

Yes and no. We do basic adjusting to the the proofs such as converting some to black and white, adding and subtracting color saturation as well as contrast. We will also at times throw in a special effect photo just to give you ideas on things that can be done. The majority of your proofs are essentially straight off the camera with little manipulation done, sort of like the old school film days. Once you place your order we "fine tune" each photo individually. With that we touch up blemishes, smooth out skin, crop in if it is needed, basically make the photo "perfect". The reason that we do not "fine tune' all the proofs is because we simply do not have enough time to do that. Hopefully someday soon we can hire somebody to do just the photo processing. If you would like to see all of your proofs "fine tuned" we can do that, but the processing time may be greatly increased. We also do the "fine tuning" if you were to purchase the negatives from your session. Oh and by the way, we DO NOT charge for any "fine tuning" or touching up of anything.

How does ordering work?

BlackLine offers what we like to call Flexible Ordering. Though our web proofing may change with the times, we will always continue to allow our customers to order what they want to order, not what we tell them to order. Flexible Ordering means that you may order as many times as you would like as well as whatever you would like with no minimums (or maximums). With us you are allowed to order single wallets, you are also not limited to the amount of poses that you can choose from. We regularly have customers order different sized prints from 20+ different poses.

Do you have any other questions or want more clarification?

Call (829-3378) or email us and ask.

Policies

1) Portraits session payment is due at the time of your session. Your proofs will not be displayed anywhere unless you pay for your session, so for example, say you forgot your checkbook or money when you left home to come for your session. That is fine, we can still do the session no problems, but you will not see any photos from the session until you pay for your session fee.

2)Complete wedding payment is due one month prior to your wedding. This is pretty much an industry standard.

3) We own all rights to all photos that we take, unless other arrangements are made (ie: you buy the rights and digital negatives or it is a commercial/business session in which the rights are yours). Most people do not realize that printing photos taken by a professional photographer is against federal law. Yep, that is right, you can be charged with a felony for going to your local Walmart and making copies of photos that we took unless you have written consent from us. This also goes for printing out your own copies at home on your own printer, whether the file is taken off of the internet or you decided to scan a photo that you bought from us. Sorry, I don't make the laws, but I do follow them and I expect you to do the same. The only exception of this rule is for internet use only (myspace, facebook, blogs, ect.). You CAN use our photos for web viewing. In fact we will even give you a disc of low res files of your photos if you ask us nicely, at no charge! Note these files CANNOT be printed (If you missed the explanation above, you can't do it because it is against the law).

4) Picked up orders DO NOT leave the studio without payment. We will mail out select orders to clients prior to payment.