Hello, neighbors! I invite you to take the first step with me on my studio's journey to the fine art Christmas portraits.
Many call them Christmas mini-sessions. While there are some logistical similarities, I beg to differ. The end results will be different from most other studios. Coming from the fine art portraiture, I developed a distinct style of Renaissance portraits with their minimalistic but deep and thoughtful character. Where I fall short on the props and elaborate setups, I overcompensate with the fine art feel. Take a look at some of my earlier non-Christmas fine art portraits:
Images by Zorz Studios
Fine Art Christmas Portraits Pricing
I already launched free Mother's Day and Halloween portraits in my community. Taking fine art Christmas portraits to a whole new artistic level, I will offer them at a premium that reflects my 16-year expertise. The skills required to produce such creative portraits are valued high and will be offered for about $400-600 next year and on.
This year only, we're in a unique situation for Christmas portraits. I will offer them at an introductory price of $199. There are several reasons for a discount:
- I'm late. Many studios started them in September, and the most avid Christmas portraits clients are lost to me by now. I'm expanding my reach with a lowered price.
- Never done. Look, I don't even have my own fine art Christmas portraits samples! UPDATE: Yesterday I ran the the first Christmas sessions so the opening Christmas image you see above can give you a sense of my "holiday magic" vision.
- Unexpected outcomes/challenges. There is a bit of room for something not to go as planned. Can't think of any but again, never done yet. On the other hand, look at this underwater killer shot I took doing my very first underwater shoot in 2008... Can't really say that the following underwater sessions were much better.
- Limited choice of props/themes. As I invest more into props and build additional sets, the value will increase even more.
- Set dates and in-studio location. You would pay more for full flexibility with time and location of your choice, including me coming to you along with the full setup. For this project, I set own dates and time that work for me.
Take advantage of this low risk - high return investment!
Quality
Each of your fine art Christmas portraits will be fully retouched, then digitally enhanced to give them a holiday magic feel. I'm talking about the elements of fantasy art that I also do (samples). What's more, they will be provided to you in high resolution so you can make own wall prints or cards at your consumer photo lab. For the highest possible print quality, I strongly recommend using my professional lab.
Quantity
Fine art Christmas portraits don't come in bulk. Rafael or Rembrandt wouldn't give you 20 portraits. Their power and lifetime treasure lie in singularity. Your session will only include two digital portraits which you can choose from several dozens of online proofs. Additional digital portraits are optional at $99 each.
Session Duration
Each session is about 20-30 minutes long for up to two participants. Extending time for additional participants is optional, for a fee. It needs to be either arranged prior to the session, or not conflict with the preparation for the next session.
Participants
The fine art Christmas portraits are designed and envisioned for children, up to two. They can be photographed individually and together. Including adults is acceptable but only if fitting within the allotted timeframe and only upon conclusion of the intended main fine art portion. They will be digitally processed as regular portraits (no special effects).
Props and Clothing
This project is envisioned with a distinct style so to support it, I will provide the props and clothing similar to what you see in the examples: a candle, Christmas cape, Christmas floral headpiece, and a scarf. You may bring own clothing and props, too!
Payment
A $99 retainer is due to reserve a spot and get me involved into preparing/consulting. It is non-refundable but in case of cancelation, turns into a studio credit with no expiration date. The balance will be due upon session completion.
Dates, Time, Location
To offer greater flexibility but ensure the digital files are available to you for timely printing, fine art Christmas portraits will be offered Thursday-Saturday, November 17-19 and, due to popular demand, Friday-Saturday, November 25-26, 2022. You can conveniently pick your time slot and book from the form below. Rescheduling to any available slot is quick, easy, and free of charge. The address is 167 Lakewood Drive, Dingmans Ferry, PA.
Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions, please! I'm all ears and happy to discuss to make it work out for everyone. Thank you for your interest!
First Outcomes
The inaugural Fine Art Christmas Portraits 2022 campaign has successfully ended! I thank those who entrusted me with this experimental project and trust that I met, if not exceeded, your expectations. I'm pretty pleased with them and see them as a solid base for my future Fine Art Christmas Portraits campaigns. They may or may not be more elaborate but surely more expensive. See some of the first samples below.
Before and After
Let me give you an idea of what goes into these Fine Art Christmas Portraits. For the intro price and testing, I only used a moderate amount of digital art—adding the flame to the candle, flare, and a flat background. For the last client, however, I cranked it up a bit just to show a greater potential for future series.
I photographed the client with a vision in mind, as if she was surprised to see something flying above her. I then strategically added a Christmas fairy in post-production. The original clipart was flat so I worked on its adjustment layers (levels, photo filter, blur, opacity) to give it volume and realism. An essential part of achieving it is adding shadows by hand-painting them on and around an object. Lastly, I created a glow around the fairy, matching it to the surrounding lights.
Finally, I added a three-layer background for a more dimensional, wraparound feel.
As you can see, a good amount of work goes into these, and I didn't even go full-scale to stay within the introductory price. Future Fine Art Christmas Portraits campaigns will be better aligned with my effort and skills, so as already mentioned, they'll at least double in price. It's a good thing—my traditional Christmas mini-session peers who don't offer such advanced digital art will keep their market, while I'll cater to another niche, driven by a higher budget or desire to do something different for a change.
Behind the Scenes
Here are a couple of behind-the-scene shots. One shows the minimal props used. The other is of a family and our good friends, who shared an after-shoot cup of tea with me.
