How long have you been a photographer?
I graduated with a degree in photography in 2009 but have been fascinated by photography since high school.
What can I expect during a session?
If we are doing an outdoor shoot typically we'll meet at the location, I will arrive early to scout and set up.
Depending on the natural lighting I may set up some equipment such as reflectors or studio lights in order to accent or otherwise modify the scene in order to provide a more pleasing and flattering light.
Often for mixed outdoor lighting scenarios I will put the sun behind you for a hair light and use fill light from the front to actually light you. This balances the ambient daylight which would generally put you in shadow so that we get an evan exposure for you and the background. See my blog post about balancing daylight for examples how how we can avoid overflown backgrounds or the foreground (you) in shadows.
What is magic hour?
Magic hour refers to a time where the sun is near the horizon and the light is within a few degrees of horizontal, it is generally a preferred time to shoot portraits as th shadows are more flattering. The sun also travels through more atmosphere on its way to you so is slightly warmer - this is why sunsets are red - and slightly more diffused and scattered.
Catching the sunrise or the sunset during this can also add dramatic backgrounds to your photos.
Magic hour sessions are limited to the time right around sunrise or sunset and slots fill up quickly.