What to expect from a portrait session in NYC
NYC portrait photographer Hunter Canning walks through how a portrait shoot runs, what to bring, and how to use the images you end up with.
- portraits
- process
Most people who book a portrait session in NYC have not done one before, or have had a bad one and want this time to feel different. Here is how a typical session goes when we work together. (If your shoot is corporate or branding-focused, the Corporate Headshots service page covers that.)
Before the shoot
- We trade a few notes by email about the use of the images: headshots, press, editorial, personal.
- I send a short prep note. Wear what feels like you. Bring two or three options. Skip anything brand new.
- If you wear glasses, bring an empty pair from your optometrist to cut glare.
On the day
- We block 90 minutes. The first 20 are conversation and warm-up frames.
- I shoot tethered when location allows. You can see what we are getting in real time.
- We do two or three lighting setups depending on the brief. Most sessions land between 200 and 400 frames.
Selection and delivery
- A first-round contact sheet within 48 hours.
- You pick favorites; I retouch those at film resolution.
- Final deliverables are color and B&W versions, web-sized + print-ready, with full IPTC credit metadata embedded.
After the shoot
Use them. Frame them. Put them on your reel. The license includes everything you would normally need short of a billboard. Anything bigger, we figure out together.
If this sounds like the kind of session you want, reach out with the use case and a couple of dates. Common questions on pricing and turnaround live on the FAQ.