1) connecting with chris / Making the reservation

Chris would like to have a quick ten minute chat (reserve here) to make sure he’s a good fit for your specific needs. If you can’t wait to talk, you can text Chris at 831-216-6210.

After talking with Chris, you can book your session here. All sessions are one hour or less, so the time commitment doesn’t really change with the package. There is NO COST to making a reservation, you don’t pay until the end of the session itself.

2) package decision

After you’ve connected with chris and made the shoot reservation, we’ll reach out via email or text. Please tell us the package(s) you are considering – the one that best fits the location(s) you want to shoot at and about how many photos you want to keep from the session (only the “Hang with Chris” package includes ALL the files up front, you must choose your favorites from the other packages).

3) shoot timing tweaks

Because there are a lot of factors when it comes to planning a photo shoot, we may want to tweak the exact start time for your shoot, based on sunset time, location type, tides and other factors we’ll discuss after your booking is made.

4) Choosing the location

Most people that come to our neck of the woods are looking for photos in the forest or at the beach. Those are our two precious resources that draw people from out of the area to come and stay here. Since we live here, we know ALL the cool spots, and are happy to suggest the perfect location to accommodate your general location desire, accessibility limitations, and general vibe. Although we can shoot throughout the day, we take into account tides, sunrise/sunset times, wind and other factors when planning the shoot and location.

If you simply want to browse locations from past shoots (organized by location type), then jump over to our gallery website here. If you have a specific spot in mind, please let us know – even if we haven’t shot there we love discovering new spots or working at places that have special meaning to you.

If anyone in your party has physical limitations, please let us know the specifics so we can recommend locations (some are much more accessible than others).

5) paying for the session

Payment-in-full is required no later than the day of the shoot (cash > check > Zelle (408-431-4808) > Venmo (@goodeye) > PayPal (chris@goodeyephotography.com).

We know that it can be hard to tell how many “keepers” we’ll manage to get, so we’re OK with you waiting until the end of the session to decide which package to go with. We used to have people pay for the package at time of booking, but there’s too many variables involved, which means parents get unnecessarily stressed with the pressure of the shoot. Of course it’s best for us to go into the shoot knowing which package(s) you’re considering, then ultimately deciding / paying at the end of the session when you know how it all went for everyone.

Please let Chris know which package(s) you think you want so he spends the appropriate amount of time with you (but never more than one hour!)

You may not change your package (or pay the difference) once you see the photos. You may purchase additional photos beyond your package at the a-la-carte rate ($75/ea or the “full collection” rate listed with your package. Prices subject to change during busy season. Prices locked in at time of booking.

6) seeing the results

Within one week, we’ll send you a link to a temporary online gallery, and you can choose your favorite photos to keep and do with as you wish. The gallery will automatically expire in one week (extensions available by request).

If you’re local or really want help getting photos up on your walls, we generally prefer to present the edited photos to you in person (see our process here).

If you had a large multi-generational family shoot, then whoever made the initial contact/booking should act as the point person to consolidate everyone’s favorites from the online gallery.

7) selecting your favorite photos to keep

Access the gallery with the link we’ll email you, then simply “star” the photos you want to keep. This process may take you a while, especially if you’re coordinating with others in your family. Once all the favorites have been agreed upon and selected, email Chris to let him know you’re done. If you have any editing / retouching requests, please communicate them in this email. If you’ve selected more photos than your package comes with, you can pay for the extra files separately (see payment options above). If you can’t bear to let any of the photos go, you can purchase the whole collection for the additional amount listed with each package on the pricing page.

8) receiving the final edited files

Once you’ve emailed us that your favorites have been selected and any additional files have been paid for, we’ll email you a download link to save the files to your computer (we recommend doing this on a laptop or desktop computer). The finished, hi-res files we include with every package are typically 4,000 x 6,000 pixels in size. If you have any problems downloading, just email us and we’ll figure out another method to get them to you if necessary.

9) Sharing your experience

Assuming we’ve provided a 5-star experience to you throughout this process, the best compliment you can give us is simply telling your friends who took your amazing photos. If you are feeling frisky, and would like to leave us a public review, the best spots are our Google page and/or Yelp page. Beyond that, the ultimate testimonial is when you come back to hire us again to capture your family memories next time you need them. We shoot maternity portraits, senior portraits, headshots, weddings and more – so pretty much any photographic needs you may have now or in the future, we’ve got you covered!