About your Photographer, Becky Nerpel

"What does 623 stand for?" It's the most frequent question I get so I'll start off my bio with the answer! Ever since I can remember, I've randomly seen the clock almost daily at 6:23 am or pm. It's kind of a weird lucky number thing and I went with it when naming my business. Being asked to think about it so much in answering the "Why" behind the name has inspired some deep thoughts though. My job as a photographer is essentially to freeze time and preserve memories so I recently incorporated a clock into my logo to tie in the reference to my lucky time number and my mission as your photographer. Pretty neat huh!?

More about me; I am a stay at home Mom to 3 little ones, a 5 year old girl, 3 year old boy and a new baby boy born in January of this year. My husband and I recently moved our family to a 3 acre piece of land in Sandy, Oregon in the foothills of Mt. Hood where I have an appointment only indoor studio as well as several outdoor photo locations on my property. We are wanna-be farmers, and DIYers, so I usually have some pretty cool props around. I love to shoot in local parks and places of interest as well and have traveled over most of the Pacific Northwest to capture various events.

I have loved to take pictures for as long as I can remember. My mom had a 35mm film camera and took great flower and other scenic photos that were displayed around our house which I think is where I got my inspiration. My best friend and I used to do photo shoots (glamor shots style; I should blog it someday) with my first camera; a little Olympus 35mm flashbulb circa 1985 and I remember always having my camera with me on road trips. I ended up taking photography in high school and really enjoying it. I took some photos that were published in the school newspaper and yearbook and even won an award for an artistic portrait I took.

When my 5 years younger sister was a Senior, she asked me to take her senior photos so I did, with my Sony point and shoot 5 mega-pixel camera that was pretty top of the line at the time (DSLR's were out of the question on my college budget). I was getting some pretty decent photos out of that thing though. Some of my favorite Oregon Coast and other Scenic shots were taken with it. I graduated college in 2003, but in 2006 I was given the best gift I've ever received: as a belated graduation gift my parents bought me a Canon DSLR (XTi-Rebel) and a 70-200 lens. I was in heaven. I could manipulate shutter speed, aperture, focus; all the things I hadn't been able to do with a point and shoot. I think that very day I headed to the gorge for some waterfall shots so I could slow the shutter speed. A couple months and a few thousand close up flower photos later, I booked my first wedding for a couple I knew at my day job. Then, my cousin asked me to take her senior photos in the fall of 2006. They turned out FABULOUS (still some of my favorite photos of all time) and soon several of her friends asked me to take theirs as well. Word of mouth got out and I ended up booking seven senior photo sessions that fall. Then most of the families of those seniors wanted to do family photos for Christmas. Then I was lucky enough to take some maternity and newborn photos for my sister in law who referred several of her friends as well. I started taking on 1-2 sessions a month, a wedding here and there and slowly began to upgrade my equipment with my earnings.

Fast forward 5 years from when I was first given that wonderful SLR (still love the pictures it takes, although I'm no longer used to the controls) and I'm married, have 3 great kids and over 800 portrait sessions and 50 weddings under my belt. I've upgraded to top of the line Canon equipment with the best glass (although I still keep two older model bodies and a couple lenses on hand for backup). I feel at ease handling a newborn just as much as I do quickly organizing a wedding party and coordinating a multitude of photos. My goal is to let memories happen, so I can capture them on film. I want the session to literally be, a walk in the park that I am simply observing. Or if it's indoors, with family, maybe some gathering from out of town, I want you to look back at the photos and remember that taking them was a good time. I like to see people's emotions come out in photos. I love that many of my clients were brides who hired me to capture their wedding, then their newborn, then their growing family. I also love that many of my clients are my friends. The years of experience and training I've picked up has made me good at editing which equates to a quick turnaround time...typically a week to 10 days depending on my workload.

When you contact me for a session, we will exchange information over the phone and talk about your vision for the session. We'll discuss package options and add ons, like albums, payment methods (you can pay me in person at your session or via PayPal on my blog) and schedule the place and time for our appointment. If you are looking to do a maternity/newborn session (aka Belly to Bundle), we'll talk about timing; it's usually best to schedule maternity and newborn sessions pretty flexibly, which I can certainly do. In the rainy northwest we'll also discuss alternate dates in case of a rain out (hey, it happens. In fact, MY family photos were in pouring rain a couple of years ago. Not good for the hair).

At your session, you'll be asked to sign a model release and pay the balance of your package in either cash or check. I don't usually carry change... I always forget to bring it to my sessions :) During your session we'll stop at several locations that seem "just right" and just sort of wander around getting various shots. If you have ideas, share them! I really like to capture people being themselves so that the photos I take tell a story. I'm a big scrap booker in my "spare time" (ha-ha) so I kind of always keep an eye on how I can make a sequence of photos tell a story, and how would I scrapbook it. Your session will last about an hour... maybe more if it involves a newborn who needed a lunch break in between snoozes :)

I try to post blog sneak peeks as soon as possible (I can't wait to see your pictures either!) Then I get to work editing the rest of your images, which can range from 25-100 images, depending on the type of shoot. Once the photo shoot is complete it will take up to 14 days to complete the proofing process* and receive your disc in the mail. Shipping is free on digital packages. In the case of getting a proof book with your package, once proofs are complete, it will take up to 5 days for the proofs to arrive at the studio. At that point it is up to the client to arrange for pickup, so an estimated 20 day lead time to see proofs on print packages (just something to keep in mind when scheduling for things with deadlines... like senior pictures). Optional onetime shipping charges of $10 can be paid at the time of the photo shoot to cover the shipment of the proof book and final print order. There is an extra charge of $5 for photographer delivery. Once the final order form is received, it will take up to 5 days for prints to be ordered, processed and delivered back to the studio. At that point it is once again up to the client to arrange pickup or delivery. *Time estimate can vary based on discussions at time of shoot. I'm usually able to meet deadlines.

I look forward to working with you soon!
Becky