FAQs

Where are you located?
I live in Lawrence, Kansas & am available for travel free of charge in a two hour radius of Lawrence. Are you farther away than that? I love to travel. I will gladly cross seas for you, just let me know & we can work it out!

What is a shoot like?
Basically, we walk around any number of locations, stopping for a few shots at every place that you or I find to be pretty.

What is it like when you photograph a wedding?
I like to stay as out-of-the-way & under the radar as possible when photographing weddings. I view a wedding as an event. At a sporting event, you can’t tell athletes to reenact plays for a better shot. Much like this, I am very opposed to staging or reenacting anything on a wedding day. If the moment is forced, the photograph shows it. …& there’s very little worse than an awkward photo. I make it my priority to capture the love, excitement, & emotion of the day, & am more than willing to work with any of your requests, ideas, or needs.

Can I bring my dog to the photoshoot?
Please bring your dogs…. & your cats, & horses, & goats, & ferrets. Animals are awesome.

What do you recommend wearing to a photoshoot?
Wear whatever is most comfortable to you & expresses your style & self the best. Bring as many outfits as you want. Don’t worry about being completely color coordinated, or put down the outrageously patterned dress because it’s “too much”… You can wear running shoes, stilettos, overalls, or a fancy cocktail dress (or all of the above)– just make sure you’re not dressed out of character.

How long does it take to get the photos back from a shoot?
This depends a lot on how busy I am at the time. I try my hardest to have everything completed within three weeks of the date of the session. Sometimes it only takes me a week. I try to keep everyone updated on my progress as much as possible.

Where should I print my photos?
I really wouldn’t print them at Wal-Mart or Walgreens or any of those places with a “instant printer” machine. You might turn out to have bright yellow, purple, or green skin in most of the prints…. It’s totally up to you in the end, but I recommend going to a professional printing service. There are many online options & stores in your area. Contact me for more help/ details!

Who is your second shooter?
I have two different people I work with when a second shooter is requested. More information about them & their work is available. Let me know if you’re interested.

I want to roll around in paint for my senior photos, is that okay with you?
Ok, this was actually my question when I was a senior in high school to a photographer, & the result wasn’t at all what I had in mind. Haha. However, I love new ideas, concepts, & experiments & am more than willing to work with you on pretty much anything! Please let me know of any thoughts you might have in regards to a photo session.

How did you get into this whole photography thing?
Creating things is my livelihood. It’s what makes my eyes shine & my heart happy. Without this outlet I would probably wither away & die. Growing up I was imaginative, stubborn, & talked constantly at an obnoxiously fast pace about anything & everything. My days were filled with exploring, making countless paintings & drawings & writing millions of stories. I wrote song after song, put on way too many plays, & invented ridiculously intricate games I would force my dogs & cats & five-years-younger sister to play with me. Nothing has really changed since then, except now I live in my own apartment so there is nobody to stop me from drawing with crayons on the refridgerator. Once I discovered my love for photography, my mind exploded with excitement & my whole world opened up to new possibilities. For years I brought my camera pretty much everywhere & photographed my poor friends constantly. As I got older, I started traveling as much as possible, documenting the faces I saw, the cracks in the pavement, the shadows on buildings, a red flower in a mass of green leaves. Little things fascinate me, & every person I come in contact with is a new teacher, opening my mind to more ideas, understandings, & possibilities. The streets are classrooms to me & each photoshoot is a new assignment. I can’t explain how exciting the last few years of my life have been, & continue to be. Starting in January 2009, I began steadily booking weddings, portraits, & commercial work, & Chelsea Donoho Photography officially began.