Child's Play

Family Photographic Services

The Service

We stop short of turning up at your home with a hammer & nails to hang the picture, but only just.

The use of professional film and/or digital equipment and digital processing techniques mean that we delight in being able to produce warm, characterful and vibrant images of those close to you, whether singly or in groups.

The process we follow to allow that is quite straightforward:

shoot - view - order - deliver - results

shoot

Child's Play do not charge for the shoot. The reason for this is simple; the shoot is our opportunity to make great images which we would love you to buy. We make no pretence about this; our goal is to have you like our pictures so much that you can't resist buying one. We also make it clear at every stage that there is no pressure to buy; if you go away having enjoyed the shoot but buying no images, we need to shoot better pictures.

The shoot takes place usually in our studio but if circumstances mean it is elsewhere this is no problem. It's a relaxed event, typically taking 1-2 hours and not to any particular format; it's all about making time and space for the warmth and vitaility of the subjects to surface, and then grabbing it with the camera. This is especially true with children.

view

One to two weeks after the shoot, at a time to suit the clients, a viewing is arranged. This is a "digital slideshow" using the latest in display technology - typically a high definition cinema screen or similar. At this point all the images have been processed and selected to weed out the mediocre, leaving you to look at the good and the great ones.

During the viewing we will dicuss which images you like and dislike and how you like such images to be presented - from basic ideas like "colour or black & white?" to the more elaborate options made possible by modern software. We typically allow 1-2 hours for the viewing. As the viewing progresses, we will circle and iterate to come up with a small number of really great images and then home in on how best to present them in reality - whether a canvas wrap, a framed print under glass or some other medium. Sometimes an additional session is necesary to perform a "final review" on favoured images.

If, and only if, you are happy with the images and their presentation, we will agree and process an order. One of the phrases you will hear repeatedly during the viewing is "if there is any doubt, there is no doubt" - we have no desire to sell you something you are not delighted with. There is no pressure to buy and nor is there any time limit; the images from your session are stored in Child's Play's digital archive and you may come back at any point to place an order for images. "It's now or never" is not a sales technique we subscribe to.

order

When you have identified what you would like, we will ask you to review and sign our terms and conditions. We typically ask for payment in advance for all orders and are equipped to take all modern forms of payment - cash, cards and cheque. We use state-of-the-art business banking equipment to ensure your security is not compromised. Orders and payments are not refundable save for exceptional circumstances and so we will always make sure you are sure before asking you to commit.

deliver

We aim to fulfill all our orders within three weeks although sometimes there are delays associated with the very high standards of quality we ask from our suppliers. We will make every effort to keep you informed of the status of your order and will always ensure it is handed over personally. Sometimes for multiple orders, parts of the order are finished before others; we can hand over item-by-item or else hold back until the order is complete and we take guidance from our clients about what they prefer on a case-by-case basis.

results

We always ask for feedback from our customers and so we will typically call around two to four weeks after delivery. We hope that by then your images are on display and that you will have had some reaction from visitors and family.