What's it like to have a photo session with Hannah Spray, a photographer on Salt Spring Island?


So you have booked or are thinking about booking a photo session here on Salt Spring Island (or elsewhere) and you're wondering what to actually expect on the day of your photoshoot. Let me walk you through what to expect when you work with me to capture what it is you care about and want to show and tell the story of, whether that's a family session, an engagement or couples session, portrait/headshots, photos for your business and advertising needs, or weddings and other special events. (Note: My real estate photography sessions run differently than below in order to return a finished gallery in a much quicker timeframe, and because I am not interacting with living subjects for these types of sessions.)

Salt Spring Island Photographer for families on vacation making memories together on the Southern Gulf Islands beach with view

Let's talk location.


The location of our session is going to be determined by a variety of factors. If there is already a location decided by you, perhaps as part of an event or to commemorate a property or piece of the world that holds special meaning for you, then wonderful! I'm happy to work to bring your dream images to fruition in the place that you choose. Chances are you've chosen the location because it's special to you, which always adds to the meaning and feel of the photos we create there.


If you don't have anywhere in mind, I'm happy to help suggest locations for your Salt Spring Island photography session. I love to incorporate the natural beauty of the environment, and there are many incredible locations that can make for an enjoyable experience together. We will chat together to come up with a location that best fits your desires for photography from the multitude of suggestions I can make for where to have your photos taken on Salt Spring Island (or elsewhere - but I know Salt Spring very well, having lived and worked all around the island for well over a decade, hosting forest schools and hiking groups for children, leading clients on photography sessions, and enjoying adventures on my own and with my family).


The right location will serve to set us all at ease, inspiring wonder and appreciation for this life, and will set us off on a beautiful path to creating images.

Salt Spring Island wedding photography eloping newlyweds couple press foreheads together while holding bouquet on a wooden bridge in garden

Share your photography wishes.


I want to help you tell your story in a way that makes sense to you. All of my wedding and larger project bookings include a meeting (virtual or in person) to chat about how I can best serve your needs, but no matter the size of the booking, I'm happy to provide support in prepping for your session. If you have any questions about wardrobe choices, potential props, abilities, or insecurities for me to be aware of so as to do my best to capture you in ways that make you feel your best, you are always welcome to reach out (via email works best). If you have any inspiration from photos you've seen before that caught your eye, you can share those with me so I can get a sense of what it is you like about them, to help us both when your session time comes.

Surprise engagement photography session on the beach with candles and flowers. Engaged couple cheers champagne glasses at sunset over ocean

Follow the leader.


If you've booked a session or photography project with me, it may have been for many reasons. I'm a fan of trying new things and stepping out of my comfort zone, so my breadth of photography subjects has been quite wide.


No matter what the reason we're out snapping photos, I'm going to feel out how to best lead our session.


Some days this may look like me ushering you with enthusiasm from spot to spot, directing you to try different poses and ideas that come to me as we work to capture what we're out there to do. I might pull out some prompts, questions, or even tiny games to play to lighten the mood and bring up some real smiles.

Salt Spring Island family photography of mom and young children running and playing together in the southern gulf islands of BC

In other situations this might look like me stepping back and noticing that your toddler wants to feel like an important part of the decisions being made, and let them (happily) lead the show while we snap photos that give you the kind of real memories that will last longer than the photo of you all standing straight and smiling the same way that Grandma asked for. (Don't worry, we'll get that one too, if you want it!)


And yes, some days (often days) the session will be led in a combination that's unique to your - the unique subjects - needs. If you want a casual experience and more candid images, that's what we'll do. If you want a more structured experience and mostly posed photos that give a more traditional feel, then that's what we'll do. What you can be sure of is that I'm going to feel out what's best and go from there, and no one, no matter how old they are, are going to be forced to do anything they don't want to do to get a photo.


Respect comes first. Then photos.

Family photography on Salt Spring Island Mom, dad, and child walk holding hands together and smiling through lush green forest

Let's have a fun adventure.


My main goal is to make sure we're all having a positive experience together. I want you to feel respected and at ease. This is the best way to set things up to capture meaningful photos with genuine expression and get creative juices flowing. If we're having fun, all the rest comes much more easily.


If your session is to commemorate time spent together with loved ones or on your own with yourself, the experience part of going out to capture photos together is often a highlight for my clients. Yes, the pictures are an important treasure from our time together, but the adventure in finding joy together outdoors cannot be dismissed, and can be a fun family-friendly activity to do on Salt Spring Island, itself (and not just for my vacationing clients!)

Salt Spring Island business photography for local women-owned ceremonial cacao cheers in white cups.

Goodbye Hannah, Hello Selection Gallery


After our session together, I'll carefully back up the photos, then get started on going through the hundreds (or thousands, in the case of full day weddings and events) of images to choose all the best usable shots. This means that unless an image just didn't work out or there are very similar images to choose a "best" version of, you are going to see all the possible choices of photos taken at your session, with slight basic edits applied to give you a good sense of what the final image will look like once final edits have been completed.


The selection gallery process typically takes 1-2 weeks, depending on which time of year your photography session has been booked for. During wedding season (May to September) it typically falls closer to 2 weeks. **For wedding and event sessions, where all best images are to be delivered anyways, there will be no selection gallery.**

Maternity photography on Salt spring Island of man & pregnant woman sitting close on grass, holding one of each of their hands on the belly

Once your selection gallery has been prepped and sent off, you can easily view and mark each photo you would like to have fully finished, with careful hand editing and tweaking of many different possible photo setting adjustments. You'll then send me a quick email to let me know that you've made your final choices on photos, and you're ready for me to finish editing and send those final files. If you have selected more images than included in your chosen package, I will send you an invoice for any additional images. Once I receive payment (if additional images are wanted) I start on the final edits. The timeframe for returning a finished final photo gallery is within two weeks of submitting selections. This is often less than the two weeks wait as I try to be as timely as possible, but during busy season it can run up to that long.


If there is ever a need to receive photos in a shorter timeframe than my typical, please do let me know and I will do my best to accommodate your needs.

Salt Spring Island wedding photography of bride and groom holding hands while walking through a field into the sunset with ocean in view

Your gallery is ready! Now what?


Hooray! You've had your session, seen the best shots, and made your selections for the ones you would like to have edited to keep. Your final gallery of these beautiful digital files has just been delivered, and you can't wait to share them. But how?


My final photo galleries include an easy way to download the gallery as a whole with one click (in both web size - best for social media use - and full size files), or you can download individual photos from the gallery on their own. You will have been given a gallery password to access your private gallery, and a PIN that you will need to download photos from it. If you would like to share the gallery only with no download ability for viewers, you can share the link and password only (some couples prefer this for their wedding galleries, as well as some parents who would prefer their children's images not be used by family on social media), or you can provide the PIN for them to download as well.

Salt Spring Island Wedding photography Southern Gulf Islands of moment when bride and groom kiss during their first look at eachother

Personal projects come with the license to use for personal reasons, such as in personal emails and social media, and printing at your choice of printer (I always recommend choosing a professional print lab, and have some great suggestions for labs I use that are based in Canada). The only thing you can't do with those photos is use them for business purposes (ie, in business websites, social media, ads, pamphlets, flyers, etc) without my consent, or reproduce for sale as a product or as part of a product that you will sell or use as advertising.


Commercial projects provide a commercial use license, which allows use in your advertising (website, socials, business emails, flyers, etc), and receive my support on and from my professional social media accounts as well.

Salt spring Island portrait photography of a woman sitting in grass wearing natural flowy clothing and a headpiece. Palms open facing up.

Any Questions?


If you're still left with some questions about how working with me will look, please reach out to me! I would love to hear from you, and help you to find the right photographer for you, whether that's me or one of the many other amazing local Salt Spring Island photography businesses I have worked with and can recommend.


Wishing you the very best on your journey to capture what's special to you!