I’m pleased to announce my acceptance as a Certified Professional Photographer through the Professional Photographers of America! This certification requires passing a written test and an image submittal that must meet several requirements and be approved by a panel of judges.
This certification marks a proud milestone for my photography as I continue to learn and develop my skills while working in the Indianapolis community!
Choosing the right photography location can depend on several factors. Would you like a more urban/architectural type backdrop to your images and would you prefer something more natural? Luckily the Carmel, Indiana area has a wide variety of parks and urbanized areas to fit the style your family is looking for. See below for my top 5 locations in or near Zionsville, Indiana to take photographs.
Located on Springmill Rd. near 64th St, Holliday Park sits on 94 acres and has a wide range of settings to choose from. This park is unique with its ruins centerpiece, with lots of landscaping and water features surrounding the tall columns. Moving away from the center piece there are beautiful trees and grasses that present a pleasant backdrop, and then a walking trail down to the water front is surrounded by flower beds and a wooded area with stone steps that have several photo opportunities. Once your session is complete you can spend some time in their nature center which has some fun interactive activities for young children.
Located on Springmill Rd. near 64th St, Holliday Park sits on 94 acres and has a wide range of settings to choose from. This park is unique with its ruins centerpiece, with lots of landscaping and water features surrounding the tall columns. Moving away from the center piece there are beautiful trees and grasses that present a pleasant backdrop, and then a walking trail down to the water front is surrounded by flower beds and a wooded area with stone steps that have several photo opportunities. Once your session is complete you can spend some time in their nature center which has some fun interactive activities for young children.
If urban architecture fits your style best, then this area should definitely be of interest to you! Located near Main Street and Town Road and featuring an early 20th century traditional architectural style there are several parks, fountains, public areas, gazeebos, ponds, pergolas, and buildings to give your images a unique touch. With over 760 acres of development you can easily spend an entire session in West Clay exploring the various options!
Built in 2011, The Palladium in downtown Carmel, Indiana is a 1,600-seat, 151,000 square foot concert hall. The architecture of the hall itself is something to marvel at, but the surrounding gardens and buildings all add to the aesthetic the area provides. Whether you choose to sit on the ultra wide east staircase or stand near the reflection pool and fountains to the west you can’t go wrong with this wonderfully urban area that is central to Carmel.
My personal favorite due to the wide variety you can find here, introducing Coxhall Gardens! Located near 116th and Shelborne in Carmel, there's a plethora of options across this 125 acre park. Whether it's the beautiful centerpiece and surrounding wildlife, the pond with fountains outlined by aged weeping willows, or the children's playground there are wonderful combinations of nature, water, and architecture all unique to this particular park. The two bell towers can provide some wonderful brick backdrops and the mansion along with the accompanying barn can provide some modern yet rustic settings for your photos as seen below. You really can't go wrong with shooting at Coxhall and the location is beautiful any time of the year!
Choosing the right photography location can depend on several factors. Would you like a more urban/architectural type backdrop to your images and would you prefer something more natural? Luckily the Carmel, Indiana area has a wide variety of parks and urbanized areas to fit the style your family is looking for. See below for my top 5 locations in or near Carmel, Indiana to take photographs.
Located on Springmill Rd. near 64th St, Holliday Park sits on 94 acres and has a wide range of settings to choose from. This park is unique with its ruins centerpiece, with lots of landscaping and water features surrounding the tall columns. Moving away from the center piece there are beautiful trees and grasses that present a pleasant backdrop, and then a walking trail down to the water front is surrounded by flower beds and a wooded area with stone steps that have several photo opportunities. Once your session is complete you can spend some time in their nature center which has some fun interactive activities for young children.
Located on Springmill Rd. near 64th St, Holliday Park sits on 94 acres and has a wide range of settings to choose from. This park is unique with its ruins centerpiece, with lots of landscaping and water features surrounding the tall columns. Moving away from the center piece there are beautiful trees and grasses that present a pleasant backdrop, and then a walking trail down to the water front is surrounded by flower beds and a wooded area with stone steps that have several photo opportunities. Once your session is complete you can spend some time in their nature center which has some fun interactive activities for young children.
If urban architecture fits your style best, then this area should definitely be of interest to you! Located near Main Street and Town Road and featuring an early 20th century traditional architectural style there are several parks, fountains, public areas, gazeebos, ponds, pergolas, and buildings to give your images a unique touch. With over 760 acres of development you can easily spend an entire session in West Clay exploring the various options!
Built in 2011, The Palladium in downtown Carmel, Indiana is a 1,600-seat, 151,000 square foot concert hall. The architecture of the hall itself is something to marvel at, but the surrounding gardens and buildings all add to the aesthetic the area provides. Whether you choose to sit on the ultra wide east staircase or stand near the reflection pool and fountains to the west you can’t go wrong with this wonderfully urban area that is central to Carmel.
My personal favorite due to the wide variety you can find here, introducing Coxhall Gardens! Located near 116th and Shelborne in Carmel, there's a plethora of options across this 125 acre park. Whether it's the beautiful centerpiece and surrounding wildlife, the pond with fountains outlined by aged weeping willows, or the children's playground there are wonderful combinations of nature, water, and architecture all unique to this particular park. The two bell towers can provide some wonderful brick backdrops and the mansion along with the accompanying barn can provide some modern yet rustic settings for your photos as seen below. You really can't go wrong with shooting at Coxhall and the location is beautiful any time of the year!
Great Question! The amount of time needed for your session depends on several variables and the style of images you are looking for.
Indoor sessions are either done on location, typically in your home, office, or a professional photography studio that allows space for backdrops and other larger props that typically can’t be fit or staged in a home. For modeling or fine art types of images, a professional studio works the best as this allows the photographer to control every aspect of the lighting through the use of a wide range of specialized studio lights, lighting modifiers, and gels to achieve the look and emotion desired. Sessions that take place indoors generally don’t have a restriction on the time of day due to the studio lights being used, however if you’re looking to have natural light portraits through the use of a window this is typically done best in the mid/late afternoon when there’s plenty of beautiful sunlight still in the sky.
For indoor sessions, each lighting and backdrop changeover can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes due to the time needed to dial in the lighting setup to achieve the perfect results. Therefore if you are looking for more than two settings/setups I would expect a session to last 45-60 minutes if not longer. For 1-2 settings/setups, 30 minutes would be adequate. Look through the gallery below to see some of my recent indoor studio work.
Outdoor sessions require specific timing to achieve the best light for the day. In the photography world, the best photos are taken during ‘golden hour’ which is considered the hour after sunrise, and the hour before sunset. If you are thinking of booking an hour session and the sun will set at 7:00 PM, then I would advise scheduling your session to start at 5:45 PM to end around 6:45 PM. Depending on the look and feel of the photos you are looking for, studio lighting can be incorporated to provide a controlled, specific look even in an outdoor setting. See below for some of my recent outdoor session images.
When considering an outdoor session, the two big variables are the number of scenes/locations, and the number of outfit changes. When photographing a family, there are a number of grouping and poses that you will want to have photographed in each location, and this can add a bit time. For example a family of four we’ll want to shoot images of everyone together, the kids together, the parents together, each parent with the kid, etc. For the larger group sizes there are more of these combinations that need to be worked through which needs to be considered. If you are doing a session by yourself or for a senior portrait session, it’s very reasonable to move through 2-3 scenes in a 30 minute session if the locations are close together.
For outfit changes, plan to add 5-10 minutes for each outfit change. You’ll also need to consider the location of the session as not all locations have restroom facilities. I can certainly help out with recommendations, if you are interested you can read some of my location recommendations at the following link: Top 5 Portrait Locations in Indianapolis.
1 outfit studio session for a family or individual. Perfect for fashion sessions or influencer sessions.
1 outdoor setting for a family session
1 setting / 1 outfit outdoor senior portrait session
Great for 2 or more outdoor settings for a family session
2 outfit changes for a senior portrait session, maternity session, or portrait studio session
Couples or engagement session
Creative modeling / artistic fine art studio sessions
3 outfit changes for a senior portrait session, maternity session, or portrait session
Lifestyle session in your home
Photographing an event or activity
Longer events, lifestyle sessions, or corporate sessions
Portrait or studio sessions where four outfit changes are needed
Lifestyle session in the home
As noted above there’s quite a few considerations to make when thinking about your next photography session. When it comes to professional photography, the planning and thought that goes into the session ahead of time often dictates how well the images turn out!
