What does CSI stand for?
No, it’s not Crime Scene Investigation… that would be too obvious… it actually stands for Commercial and Senior Images :)
Do you only photograph high school seniors?
No, we actually are a group of full-service photography studios. Even though CSI specializes in seniors, we also photograph business headshots, real estate, actor headshots, dance images, and modeling portfolios. Our sister studio, Cherished Images Fine Art Portrait Photography photographs newborns, maternity images, children, and family portraits.
What are the studio hours?
Hours are exclusively by appointment, or by chance :) This allows us time to serve each client individually.
Why doesn’t someone answer the phone all the time?
When we have clients in the studio, we make it a policy to not answer the phone, so we don’t take time away from either the person in front of us or the person on the phone.
What is a full-service studio?
A full-service studio offers services from before the session ever takes place until way after the session is over and the whole time in between. Everything from clothing consultations to hanging portraits may be included. A full-service studio delivers a finished product to enjoy, as opposed to leaving someone to do it themselves. It’s a little like comparing a store where you can purchase all the parts to repair your car, to a full-service mechanic, that not only provides you the parts to do the repair but also fixes your vehicle… except this is a lot more fun!
What kind of camera do you use?
It takes really good pictures!! Well, we happen to use the professional line of Canon cameras, but that’s a little like saying to someone… What kind of oven do you have, because it makes really amazing cookies!! :)
Do you just sell a disk?
Being a full-service studio, we pride ourselves on quality and service… from the very beginning to the very end. A disk has files on it, files are free… we all take them all day long with our cell phones and digital cameras… why would we charge you for those? You are paying for a service that results in a finished product, not something that sits on your computer or hard drive. Don’t we all have enough of those?
Can I copy “my pictures” you took?
Because image integrity is of utmost importance, if you need copies of prints, please let us help you with that. Because they are protected by copyright law, not only is it illegal to reproduce them, it’s just not very nice. This is how we feed our families. We want any additional prints to look just as nice as the originals… and there’s not a copier or printer around that is gonna make that happen, so please, just let us help. Respect the artist’s rights and you will like what we can do for you! :)
What is copyright?
This is complicated, but basically it means that whoever’s finger pressed the shutter on the camera is the “owner” of the copyright. Anyone else needs permission to duplicate the image, even if it’s just for Facebook or social media.
Do you photograph on location too?
Absolutely! We are as well versed in location lighting as we are with studio lights. Locations can add a dimension and sentiment to your images that are amazing… a studio works great when it’s Idaho cold or Idaho hot. Let’s meet and we can help you determine what’s best for you!
What should we wear?
Well, this depends a lot on what type of look you are hoping to achieve from your portraits. But we can go over all that during your pre-session appointment. We have also found that Pinterest is an amazing tool when it comes to helping determine what you want to wear. Let’s chat…
Why are weekends more expensive?
Well, in a nutshell, because we love our families. We work Monday-Friday, pretty normal business hours, so if we have to work ANOTHER day, and then pay someone to watch the kiddos and take time away from them, it’s important that someone else is as committed as we are. So it helps cover those “extras.” If you can book during the week, we will reward you for that! If you need the convenience factor of a weekend, we offer it, it just costs a little more.
How long do you hold images?
Short answer, 90 days, no questions asked. Long answer… after 90 days they may be moved into storage. Once they are moved into storage they are no longer guaranteed and there is a retrieval fee of 55- to go and get them. Since we are kind of sentimental, we don’t just trash them, but over the years we have seen all kinds of crazy things happen, especially with digital media. Never think those disks or hard drives are “safe”. PLEASE back up anything important to you in MULTIPLE ways and if it’s actually really important to you, make a print!! With technology changing every day, you never know when that DVD is going to turn up damaged, when that disk is not going to read, or when that hard drive is going to fail… or worse still… images that were “high res” years ago, now look worse than a cell phone pic, because cell phones now take files that would take 6 floppy disks (remember those?) to back up ONE file! And printers will keep increasing in quality for the size of the files, making printed old files look like ugly web files now. Yup, we’ve seen it, lived it. PRINT YOUR IMAGES, NOW!! That being said, we make no promises, but we do the best we can, and if anyone is going to be able to keep your images safe, we have a better shot at it than most!!
I’ve worked with another photographer who gave me the disk and I’ve never done anything with them… Can you help?
Yes! We would love to help you finish the memories you started! Please contact us for help with this service. If you’ve paid for something and didn’t really “get anything” from it… Please let us help. Just make sure you have the right to reproduce the images from the photographer and we will gladly work with you to get a product that you can touch, hold, and feel!
