FAQ's

1.What is the quintessential Kiranphotography image?

A Kiranphotography image is impactful in that it tells a meaningful story about a moment in your life. It is meaningful, aesthetic, and narrative. My goal is to help you share how you see yourself. Fundamentally, I aim to bring glory to God by showcasing His blessings, whether they be relational, social, vocational, experiential, or spiritual.

2. What does the fee cover?

The sitting fee covers the time and talent of the photographer. It covers the cost of the time, photographing, and basic retouching the images to prepare them for you, placing your order, as well as professional insurance, equipment, computer systems, financial services, software, training, travel, taxes etc that are associated with running a legitimate business. All payments are due a minimum of 2 weeks before the session or event. When we schedule a session and reserve the time and date for you, the retainer portion of the total fee is non-refundable. We will gladly reschedule for you subject to our availability and a $30 rescheduling fee.

Note: If receiving a contract or event proposal and reserving a date by mail, the quoted rates are valid for 30 days. If the contract is not returned and the date booked within that time frame, prices are subject to change.

3. When will I be able to see the images?

Conservatively, your images will be ready for your ordering appointment about 2-3 weeks after the sitting - for a typical 2 hour portrait sitting anticipate between 30-40 finished photographer selected images. For an event most clients can anticipate roughly 40-50 images/hour (depending on the events pacing, timeline, and other variables) and they are usually ready in 2-3 weeks.

For a full wedding or large event: Anticipate 3-7 weeks for delivery of images depending on the length of the contract time.

Please understand: After a sitting or event, a professional photographer goes through all the images taken, removes the unflattering or test shots, retouches and polishes the final selected images up to the standard of quality that is consistent with the brand. This is a large part of what you are paying for when you hire a professional, so though it can be difficult, please be patient while we spend the time creating artistic images to deliver to you that tell the story of the moment of your life in a meaningful way. When I photograph, I use RAW format which is basically the rough draft of the image, I will color correct, retouch, and enhance the image so that it reaches it's full potential and is completed for final delivery. I will deliver the final photographer selected images for proofing when this process is complete. I do not deliver RAW or un-retouched images or files.

4. Are you on Facebook?

Absolutely we are - we love to share! Check us out at www.facebook.com/kiranphoto and give us a like! We typically try whenever possible to get at least one image awesome ready on the day of your sitting/event and up on our facebook to share with you (as a sneak peak). If you friend me, I can tag you in as soon as it's ready, and you'll be able to share it with all your friends and family! Liking us on Facebook also has the advantage of keeping you up to date whenever we have special offers or sales on prints and products!

Kiranphotography retains the copyright to all images that we create, though we license them for printing or web use, please understand images we create are still our property and we do reserve the right to request that our copyright is respected. This simply means that if you use our images on facebook, please cite us or tag us in the images. We also reserve the right to reproduce and use any and all images for our own promotion or marketing. All images are protected by federal copyright law.

5. What type of camera do you use?

I use professional level Canon camera systems, flashes, and lenses. I have a backup body as well in order to be prepared for any eventuality.

6. Do you sell Digital images?

I do offer the option to purchase digital image files with limited printing license as a premium product. Please do be aware though, that Kiranphotography is not a "shoot and burn" business. I believe strongly in the value of tangible art work that hangs in your home, sits on your coffee table, and brings you consistent enjoyment for years to come. I create art work for homes, not for hard drives. While digital image files are currently stored on compact discs or flash drives, the technology is so rapidly evolving that it becomes quickly obsolete, whereas printed imagery has been appreciated and stood the test of timefor hundreds of years. This value and belief in the printed image is one of the key distinctions between my business and others. I also care very much about the quality of the prints that are derived from the images I create; therefore, I do the extra work to quality check that the prints we create are the highest quality before they are delivered. For these reasons as well, we do not deliver incomplete/unretouched work.

7. What's the difference between a Web Resolution image versus a High Resolution Image?

A Web Resolution image does not mean a poor quality image. It has certain advantages and is used for different reasons. Typically, a "web" resolution image works best for use through email to relatives, on social media such as facebook, or websites. It allows the page to load more quickly with regard to varying internet connection speeds. Ideally, images for these uses should be 72ppi resolution level to look best on web or mobile devices. It also takes up less space on servers (uploads more quickly) or digital storage media (like a digital photo frame). The web resolution JPEG images that we provide are typically between 350-800 kb in digital storage space and look best at about 4-5 inches in size; they are not suitable or licensed for printing. Web resolution images are usually provided to the client as a means of "proofing" and making decisions about purchasing prints or products.

A High Resolution JPEG image has certain advantages and is used primarily for producing photographic prints (see #8). These files are any where from 8 to 22Mb in size - ergo, they take up storage space very quickly. Due to their large size, these image files are not suitable for emailing, or use on social media site such as Facebook or websites. Trying to upload High Resolution images will not make your facebook pictures look better as Facebook will automatically compress them anyways. Trying to use them on a website will take up a lot of server space and cause your page to load very slowly. These large files are suitable and guaranteed to print up to 16x24".

*Important note: We remind you please DO NOT post high resolution images to the internet as it makes it very easy for others to steal the images and claim credit for them. (Yes, sadly this happens a lot these days with the advent of digital photography - even by others who claim to be "professional" photographers.) Read more about this sad trend in this article from Philadelphia Wedding Photographer Mike Allebach. The process we use to export web resolution images as well as our logo/company information are security measures intended to protect our copyright on the images, which we retain at all times. When we sell or provide high resolution images, this is because the client has purchased the license rights to do their own personal printing, that is not the same thing as a copyright. The high resolution images that we provide are explicitly NOT for distribution or web use, and it is a violation of the licensing agreement to do so. Web resolution images provided by Kiranphotography for the web are the only ones that are licensed for use on the web or distribution via digital means (email, social media, or any other form of digital communication currently in existence or later devised).

8. What is a copyright? What is a license?

There is a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding about these concepts, but simply put, copyright is the right or ability to determine how the image will be used. License is permission to use the image in a specific way. As an artist, KiranPhotography always retains original copyright on images we create. Licenses may be purchased for different uses, personal online use, personal printing, commercial use, commercial printing, and more. Contact KiranPhotography for more information on licensing specific to your need.

9. How do I order prints or products?

As part of our custom artwork process, we offer a personal ordering appointment where we will view the images together, choose your favorites, and select the perfect size and format for display of your artwork. While we primarily focus on wall art, we also create custom designed photo books and albums, and gift prints to share with friends and family.

10. What is the advantage of ordering my prints through Kiranphotography?

Especially for prints that are displayed at greater than 5"x7", there is a significantly noticeable difference in quality between the discount chains such as Walgreens or Walmart and Kiranphotography's professional photographic prints. If you're going to invest in custom photography, it is important to have the best quality finished product possible. The printers and machines in discount chains are made to handle high volume with speed, not high quality with accuracy; they are typically calibrated (the process of scientifically balancing color and output) monthly or quarterly and can produce muddy colors or less than satisfactorily sharp fine-details whereas in Kiranphotography's lab they are calibrated daily to ensure the highest quality and precision in the finished product, i.e. an image that truly tells the story and artistic vision as I intended. I care very much that your images last, which is why they also feature higher quality papers, mounted backings, and protective coatings for longevity that discount labs do not.

When you purchase digital copies of images, I license the images to you for personal printing. However, when considering images for display in larger formats, I recommend you purchase your prints with me to get the best finished product possible.

11. "Make sure to get a shot of..."

For any event, our goal is to tell a meaningful story of the event and the people who are a part of it. With that being said, if there are particular moments or things that you'd like us to capture, please give us as much detail about those as you can during our consultation. While no photographer can 100% guarantee any specific shot due to circumstances sometimes out of our control, we will do our best to capture everything of importance to you in remembering that event. For this reason as well, Kiranphotography does NOT work from a shotlist. For samples of our photo-journalistic/editorial style of event photography, take a look at some of the featured events in our portfolio galleries.

12. When's the best time to do a portrait sitting?

Any time is fine in studio; however, on location we prefer the early morning or late evening angle of light for the specific tone/feel that characterizes KiranPhotography images. Furthermore, in Texas, these are typically the coolest times of the day to photograph.

13. What if something happens and you're unable to photograph my event?

This hasn't happened to me yet, but in the event something were to happen (car accident, flu, etc.) , I am networked with several high quality local professional photographers. I will contact a suitable replacement to cover for me, and as far as I am physically able, I will still retouch your images and deliver them to you. If a suitable replacement can not be found, I will refund all monies paid for photographic services of the event.

14. How long do you store and keep images from my sitting?

We will keep the final edited images from your sitting stored on the website for up to 3 months from your ordering appointment, after that retention is not guaranteed. If you would like to keep your own back up digital copies of the images, you may purchase the high-resolution files for your own archives.

All information, text, and images herein copyright Kiran Fernandes, KiranPhotography 2011-2021