Question 1

How much is a shoot and how many images will I get?

Accepted Answer

Minis — AED 1,500. A 25-minute session on one of my seasonal dates, with 8 professionally edited images that you choose from your private gallery. If you fall in love with more, upgrade options are available when your gallery arrives.Bespoke — AED 3,500. A two-hour session planned around your family, with 40 professionally edited images. This includes a conversation before your date to plan your location and timing, and guidance on what to wear.Both include full personal printing rights, and print and album options if you would like them.

Question 2

What happens before, at and after a shoot?

Accepted Answer

MinisBefore: Once you book, I send you a short email with everything you need - your time slot, the location, parking, and a few notes on what to wear. There is nothing to prepare and no forms to fill in. Just arrive five minutes early so we can use every minute of your session.During: You will be welcomed by Mayra, who looks after arrivals and makes sure everything runs on time. Then we play for 25 minutes. I do the guiding, you enjoy being together.After: Within 5 working days I send you a gallery of lightly edited images to choose from. Once you have made your selections, your fully edited images follow within 7 working days. BespokeBefore: Around two weeks ahead, I send you my pre-shoot questionnaire. It gets you in the mood for your session and asks what we are celebrating (life, a new baby, your family, something particular) and which moments you would most love to capture.I also ask you to start thinking about what you would like to hold in your hands afterwards: prints, a photobook, framed images, canvases, for you, your children and your extended family. Thinking about it early means I can help shape those ideas and bring them to life on your walls.We then have a call, so we are on the same page and not quite strangers when we meet. Building that relationship from the start is part of what makes the images work.During: Two unhurried hours, at the location and time we have chosen together.After: Within 5 working days I send you a gallery of lightly edited images. Once you have chosen your favourites, your finished images follow within another 7 working days.

Question 3

Where and when do you do your shoots?

Accepted Answer

MinisEach mini date has one location, chosen and announced in advance. You simply pick a time slot on that date.Locations rotate through the season. Villa dates run mid-morning, in shaded outdoor spaces and beautiful indoor rooms, so nobody has to be anywhere at sunrise. Beach, desert and Old Dubai dates happen occasionally, at the golden hour those places deserve, with only three spots each.Announcing a single location per date is part of what keeps sessions calm and running on time - and it means I have already found the best light there before you arrive.BespokeFor bespoke sessions we plan your location and timing together. Popular choices include the beach, the desert, a park, Souk Al Bahar, Souk Al Manzil for Burj Khalifa views, Al Seef - or your own home and garden.Timing depends on the location. Beach and desert sessions are best at sunrise, from around 5.30am depending on the season, and the desert is also beautiful at sunset from around 4.30pm. The beach at sunset is tricky because of how busy it gets, so I recommend sunrise there. For a park, Al Seef or Old Dubai, an 8 to 8.30am start gives us the loveliest shade.Home newborn sessions work at any time of day, and my preference is a weekday morning.I take only a small number of bespoke sessions each year, and I shoot them on weekday mornings from 8.30am. Weekend dates are occasionally available and are booked well in advance.

Question 4

I'm pregnant and I have no idea when is the best time to schedule in a shoot.

Accepted Answer

In my opinion the ideal time for a pregnancy session is around 34 to 35 weeks. Your bump is lovely and round, and you still have good energy and feel comfortable.Fresh 48 sessions happen in hospital, within 48 hours of your baby's arrival. Those first few hours together are unlike anything else, and they pass extraordinarily quickly.For a newborn session, being a lifestyle photographer means your baby's exact age matters far less than it would for a posed shoot. I have photographed babies from four days to six weeks old and considered all of them newborn.My preference is an awake, alert baby rather than a sleepy one. We get so much more interaction, expression and cooing from a baby who is awake - those are the moments that make you catch your breath.Booking: Please get in touch early, ideally in your second or third trimester. Babies arrive on their own schedule, so these sessions are booked around your due date rather than a fixed day, and I hold a flexible window open for you.

Question 5

What shall I wear?

Accepted Answer

This is entirely up to you, and it is hard to advise without knowing what suits you. But a few thoughts:All white or all black can wash you out on camera depending on your skin tone - and black picks up every fleck of dust and sand.If you are a jeans person, stick to jeans. If you love a floaty beach dress, wear the floaty beach dress.If you do not feel comfortable in what you are wearing, it shows on camera. Choose something you feel good in.I always advise my female clients to dress themselves first, then coordinate husband and children around you.Dress for the location. Beach and desert are a more relaxed feeling than home, Al Seef, Souk Al Bahar or the Madinat. If we are in a villa, think easy and summery - you will be moving between shaded outdoor spaces and indoor rooms.Blues, greens and turquoises always work beautifully on the beach. Then again, so does a bright flash of red. You will see a lot of families in my images wearing different shades of blue - I did not tell them to wear blue! For me, the brighter and more varied, the better.Choose clothes your children can move and play in. We will be doing plenty of that.Lots more inspiration on my Pinterest board if you are still stuck.
One note for minis: please arrive dressed and ready to go. With sessions running back to back there is no time to change on the day, so pick outfits the night before and put them by the door.

Question 6

Will you share our photos on social media / your website?

Accepted Answer

I love sharing images from sessions, but only ever with your permission. You will be asked when you book, and you can say no without it changing anything. If you would rather your images stayed private, they simply stay private.

Question 7

Do you travel outside of Dubai?

Accepted Answer

Yes - I travel to other Emirates for my 'bespoke' shoots only.  There is a travel fee of +350 AED for this.

Question 8

What are your payment terms?

Accepted Answer

MinisYour session is confirmed once payment is received - AED 1,500, paid in full at booking.Because each date has only a handful of spots, a cancelled session cannot usually be filled at short notice, so mini payments are non-refundable. If something comes up, tell me at least 3 days before and I will do my best to move you to another time on the same date, subject to availability. You are also very welcome to pass your session to a friend or family member - just send me their name in advance.Sessions run back to back, so please arrive five minutes early. If you are late we will still finish on time, as another family will be waiting.BespokeA booking fee of AED 950 secures your date, and the balance is due 7 days before your session. The booking fee comes off your total.Life happens - with three children of my own I am realistic about last-minute illnesses and everything else that crops up unexpectedly. You may move your session once, free of charge, with at least 7 days' notice, and we will find a new date together. Within 7 days, or for a second change, the booking fee is non-refundable, as I will have held the date and turned other work away.Pregnancy, Fresh 48 and newborn: babies arrive on their own schedule, so these are booked around your due date rather than a fixed day and I keep a flexible window open for you.Weather: if a session cannot go ahead because of extreme weather or anything else outside our control, you will be offered the next available date at no extra cost.

Question 9

I would love to gift a photoshoot to a friend.  Do you do vouchers?

Accepted Answer

A photo session - the best kind of gift. You are my kind of person.Vouchers are available for both minis and bespoke sessions, and I have voucher cards you can send to your friend.Minis: AED 1,500, redeemable against any mini date within the next 12 months. The recipient joins the waitlist and books a spot on whichever date suits them.Bespoke: vouchers are available for the full session or as a contribution towards one, which works beautifully when a few people are giving together.Once you have gifted your voucher, it is best if I start the conversation with the recipient directly, so we are all on the same page.Vouchers are valid for 12 months from purchase, are non-refundable, and can be transferred to someone else if plans change.