Commissioned Portrait Photography in Sacramento
You see them.
Let's make sure they see it too.
You are not hiring me to take photographs. You are commissioning a piece of artwork, and it starts with a conversation about who this person is.
Based in Sacramento and available throughout the greater Sacramento region, including Elk Grove, Folsom, Roseville, and the surrounding areas.
Free your mind past what you think a portrait is.
Most portrait sessions run one way. You show up, we shoot, you pick from whatever happened.
This runs the other way. We start with the person. Who they are, what they are deep into right now, what you would want to see on a wall in twenty years. Then I design the picture around that and build it.
A senior who loves to cook belongs in a kitchen. A kid fascinated by astronomy belongs somewhere nobody has photographed him before. There are thousands of photographers who can light you nicely. That is not what this is.
You do not have to know what you want. That is my job. You just have to tell me about them.
TWO WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
Both start the same way, with a conversation about the person. What changes is how much of their life we get to cover.
THE COMMISSIONED PORTRAIT
01
One person, one idea, made properly.
We decide together what we are making and why, and I design and build the picture around it. A milestone, a season that mattered, someone who has never once had a photograph that looks like them.
Good for: a single person, a moment worth marking, a wall you already have in mind.
02
THE SENIOR STORYLINE
A whole year, not one afternoon.
A senior year is the senior sunrise, the last club game, the last time they walk off their home field in that uniform. So I photograph it across the entire year as it happens, much of it during game coverage, and we build it into one body of work at the end. You can see how the pieces come together in the portfolio.
Storyline books roughly ten months ahead, and Storyline families get first call on my calendar all year. If a final season is coming, start a conversation early.
Good for: seniors, a final season, a last year that deserves more than an afternoon.
This isn’t just for athletes…
The kid who plays an instrument. The one who builds things, or performs, or is quietly becoming themselves and won't look like this again next year. Parents who are getting older, while everyone is still here. An anniversary. A retirement. If there is someone in your life you want to see properly, that is what this is.
Heirloom portrait photography, designed for your home and your legacy.
I am not trying to sell you digital files. As a fine art portrait photographer, I want to make you something that becomes part of your home.
So after the session we sit down together and go through everything, and we decide what it becomes. The piece over the stairs. The album that gets picked up by everyone who visits. The print your kid takes with them when they move out. That is what luxury portrait photography actually means here: work made to live on a wall, not sit in a folder.
I will tell you what I think works, because I have done this a while and I can see the room. But it is your house, and you decide what belongs in it.
Your digital files come with whatever artwork you choose, so you will always have them. I do not sell a files-only collection. A portrait made on purpose is made to become something.
What working together actually looks like.
This one is hands-on, and it is meant to be. Sports coverage is simple, you hire me and I show up. A portrait starts with a real conversation, because I cannot design something for your family until I know more about who I’m photographing and where it is going to live.
From there we plan it together, I make it, and we sit down with the results and decide what it becomes. It is a collaboration the whole way through, and that is the part I actually like.
What I am not looking for is someone who wants me to meet them at a random park for twenty minutes. I prefer to create images with intention.
Is a commission the right fit?
You have someone specific in mind, and you want the picture to be about who they are.
You want something on the wall, not a folder of files you never open.
You like the idea of being part of designing it rather than just showing up.
You are marking something. A milestone, a last year, a person you do not want to forget what they were like.
You would rather do this properly once than cheaply twice.
You're probably in the right place if:
You want a quick session with all the images included.
You are looking for a mini session.
You want someone to meet you at a park and take a few pictures.
You want the files and nothing on the wall.
This probably is not the right fit if:
Your Questions Answered
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Game coverage is documentary. You hire me for the game, I photograph your athlete, and you get the full gallery back quickly.
A commissioned portrait is a different kind of project. Before anything is scheduled we talk about who this person is and what we are making. I design it, light it, and build it. Afterward we sit down together and decide what becomes artwork for your home.
It takes more of my time and more of yours, and it costs more. Both are real things to want. I would rather you know the difference before we start than after.
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Your digital files come with whatever artwork you choose, so you will always have them. I do not offer a portrait collection that is files only.
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No. Tell me about the person and let me do the rest. Most of the best ones started with a parent saying, he is really into this one thing right now, and me saying, let me think about that.
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Yes, and often.
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Every commission is different, because one portrait and a full year of them are not the same thing. Once I know what you are looking for I will walk you through exactly what it costs before anything is booked. Nothing to decide on the spot.
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As early as you can, especially in the fall.
Tell me about them
Who they are, what they are into right now, and what you would love to end up with. That is all I need to start, and there is nothing to decide today.