FAQs

You will find answers to the most common questions on this page. However, if you have any other queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Who owns the copyright?

I retain the copyright for all of the photos that are produced, however, if you purchase the high resolution images or if they are included in your package, the images that are provided on the CD/DVD are available for personal use. Broadly speaking this means that:

You cannot:

• Use any of the images or photos in any commercial work. This is true both for the full image, any cropped elements, or any derivative works.
• Sell or give away the use of any photos or derivative work.

You can:

• Print as many copies as you like for personal use, including products for friends and family using the online pro-gallery account that you have been given. If you have purchased the digital negatives, you can also make prints and products for personal use using any other company of your choice.
• Make derivative works of the photos if purely for personal use (e.g. creating your own photo books or cards or calendars)
• Put copies of the image on personal websites/blogs as long as I am attributed. If you are unsure how to do this, just use the following code: <a href="http://lilysawyer.com" title="Photography by Lily Sawyer London " >Photo by Lily Sawyer</a>

What can I do with your images? (Model Release)

By agreeing to be photographed by me, you consent that your name and photos from the session may be used by Lily Sawyer Photography for the purpose of display, portfolio, advertising, website or any publication to promote my business and name. You also agree that the images can be used only for these purposes without additional compensation to yourself.

What to wear during a photo shoot?

Personally, I believe that ‘simple’ goes a long way. Choose clothes that you love and mean a lot to you but keep in mind that the focus is on you, therefore, simple clothing choices are best for creating timeless portraits. Avoid busy bold patterns or logos/words, especially cartoon characters on children’s clothes (if you want to have a wall print of your child’s portrait, you probably would not want Winnie the Pooh to steal the focus away from your child). Classic attires that photograph well include jeans, shirts, simple sundresses in the summer, plain winter clothes that colour-coordinate. Do contact me for specific advice on what to wear before your session if you are stuck for ideas.

What to expect during the session?

Most of my shoots are on location or in your own home. I will be in touch with you again nearer the time of the shoot and re-confirm our prior booked arrangements. I will arrive at the agreed location on time (unless otherwise prevented by unforeseen circumstances) with my equipment and if previously agreed, with my assistant or second shooter.

The time I will spend with you during your session includes conversations to get to know you a little bit and connect with the you and especially the children to be photographed. I am not a ‘luck’ photographer; I choose my moments and often wait for the right moment to get the shot I have envisioned in my head. So please do not expect me to snap away and take a thousand images in 2 hours.

I will be engaging in conversation with you as this helps in capturing natural images. I also like to use some natural posing that I believe helps makes a strong photo so I will be providing some direction on where and how to stand, where to put your hands, how to look etc. I will be editing my images as I go along and at the end of the session, we will together edit out the images from the camera LCD you may not like of yourself.

What to expect after the session?

Within 2 weeks of the session {4 weeks if it’s a wedding}, you will hear back from me and we will arrange an in home viewing of your images. Turnaround time for prints is usually up to 2 weeks. Other products such as canvas, wall prints and album take up to 4 weeks.

Your digital files are only kept available up to 1 month, should you decide to purchase them. After that time, they will be archived and a £25 fee applies to un-archive them.