The Grand Forks Herald sat down with Rachael Jorgenson Photography for 5 Questions this week.
Q: How did you get into photography?
A: I actually started taking pictures with my dad’s old 80s Fujifilm when I was like five or six, and it just sprouted from there. My grandpa was into photography, too, and would do slideshows when he’d go backpacking on the old school slides, and he would have him on a projector. So, that was really what got me into it.
Q: Why and when did you decide to do it professionally?
A: I have four kids at home, and I’ve been taking pictures of them, and I wanted to find a business opportunity that would be a combination of something that I love and also have a flexible schedule for my family, because we’re super busy. It kind of just fell into place, so then I decided to start going to school for it and just kind of took it from there.
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Q: What kinds of photography services do you provide?
A: For clients, I do portraits, which are lifestyle portraits, so not the like awkward poses, but more of the candid photos. I also do newborns. I haven’t done seniors yet, but I will do that. And for myself and for selling prints, I do landscape. That’s actually like where my heart is — landscape photos.
Q: What are the price ranges for different services?
A: I think go pretty low. I like to try to make it so families can actually afford to get photos done. So typically, a two-hour session with me for a full family is about $250 to $300, depending on how many people, and a newborn session, they last a little bit longer. They’re about three and a half hours, and I do between $400 and $450 just depending on how many photos the client wants.
Q: What should people know before reaching out for a session if they’ve never had professional photography done?
A: Just try to be as relaxed as possible. It can be really intimidating when it’s your first family photo session or anything like that. Parents especially tend to get really nervous if their kids are going to act out and stuff like that, but as I said, I have four children and I love working with kids. Those are my favorite kind of clients to work with, because they’re fun. So, just let loose and just be yourself, because I’m not one of those people that’s going to boss you around and try to make you look like something that you’re not.