Help Topics

PORTRAIT SESSIONS
Where do sessions take place?
Is a deposit required?
How long does a portrait session last?
What should we wear?

PROOFS
When will the proofs to be ready?
How many proofs will I receive?
How long are proofs available online?
What are custom borders?
What is sepia?
What is the proof number or image number and where do I find it?

PICTAGE
What is Pictage?
How does Pictage work?
What is the Event Key?
Pictage FAQ

ORDERING
May I still place orders once the proofs are offline?
What is the typical turnaround time for orders?
What forms of payment do you accept?
What is the proof number or image number?

PRINTS
What is the difference between Proof Prints and Final Prints?
What are Custom Borders?
What is sepia?
Cropping

SCHOOLS & PLAYGROUPS
What is the fee for school or playgroup portrait sessions?
How does a school or playgroup session work?

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PICTAGE
What is Pictage?
Pictage provides the online hosting, ordering and print fulfillment for Dodgen Photography. Pictage is one of the largest online ordering and professional digital labs in the country.

How does it work?
When your proofs are ready online, you will receive an e-mail detailing how to access the proofs. You may share this information with family and friends so that they may also view the proofs.

Once logged in, you may view the proofs in several ways (as a slide show, as thumbnails or as individual large images), you may e-mail an image(s), preview how an image will appear with a custom border, in sepia, cropped in a different way or how it will be cropped on the final print. You may place print orders online by using the shopping cart or place your order through Dodgen Photography by mail or by phone (see Contact above).

What is the Event Key?
The Event Key is essentially a password that may be required to access proofs online. It is different from the password that you created when you set up your account with Pictage.

If you do not know the Event Key for your private portrait session, look at your session receipt or contact us. If you are wanting to view portraits taken at a school, playgroup or event look at the order form you received or contact the school, teacher or host.

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PORTRAIT SESSIONS
Where do sessions take place?
All of our portrait sessions take place on location, in your environment, someplace where your family is comfortable being themselves, whether that is at home, a favorite park or the beach.

Is a deposit required?
No deposit is required to hold your session date and time. If you need to reschedule, please do so as soon as possible.

How long does a portrait session last?
Sessions last approximately 45 minutes, enough to capture a wide variety of expressions and emotions.

What should we wear?
Solid colors work best. Avoid busy patterns or words on shirts, they can be distracting. For photographs of more than one person, it is best to wear similar tones/shades of clothing, they don't have to be the same color, but they should be the same tone.

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PROOFS
When will the proofs to be ready?
Please allow one to two weeks for the proofs to be available online. You will be notified by e-mail as soon as they are available. Other proof products take from one to three weeks and will be delivered directly to your home.

How many proofs will I receive?
Portrait sessions include approximately 50 proofs presented on a password protected web site. In addition, you may purchase a variety of proof print options. Please contact us for more information.

How long are proofs available online?
Proofs from portrait sessions are available online for three months. Proofs from portrait parties are available for one month (the hostess receives a credit from orders placed within the first month). The amount of time proofs from schools and other events are online varies. If your proofs are no longer online, contact us to have them posted again for no additional charge.

What are custom borders?
We offer a variety of borders that you can choose from to enhance your proof prints.
Bleed - A printed photograph that extends beyond the trim edge of the paper (no border)
Art - A black "messy" edge on the image placed on white paper.
Keyline - A thin black border between the edge of the image and the white paper, or vice versa.
as well as, White, Large White, and Large Black. See samples.

What is sepia?
Sepia prints have a reddish-brown tone.

black and white	sepia tone

What is the proof number or image number and where do I find it?
The proof number is used to identify which image you want to order. It is located just above the proofs on the web. It is a one to four digit number located on the back of all prints following the Session/Event ID.
Example: Back of a Print

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ORDERING
May I still place orders once the proofs are offline?
Proofs are available online for three months. Once they are offline, you may either have them re-uploaded or if you know the numbers of the proofs you want to order, you may place your order through Dodgen Photography by mail or by phone (see Contact Us).

What is the typical turnaround time for orders?
Please allow two to four weeks for orders - some specialty items may take longer.

What forms of payment do you accept?
Orders placed online through Pictage may be paid with Visa, MasterCard American Express and Pictage gift certificates. Deposits, session fees and orders placed through Dodgen Photography may be paid with Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Pictage or Dodgen Photography gift certificates, check or money order (payable to Dodgen Photography).

What is the proof number or image number?
The proof number is used to identify which proof you want to order. It is located just above the proofs on the web. It is a one to four digit number located on the back of all prints following the Session/Event ID.
Example: Back of a Print

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PRINTS
What is the difference between Proofs and Final Prints?
Proof Prints are purchased as a set (all of the images from the session), are available in only a few sizes, may not be cropped and are not the same quality as Final Prints. Final Prints are purchased individually and are available in a wide variety of sizes. Each Final Print is printed by trained digital imaging experts to ensure the highest quality level.

What are Custom Borders?
We offer a variety of borders that you can choose from to enhance your proof prints.
Bleed - A printed photograph that extends beyond the trim edge of the paper (no border)
Art - A black "messy" edge on the image placed on white paper.
Keyline - A thin black border between the edge of the image and the white paper, or vice versa.
as well as, White, Large White, and Large Black. See samples.

What is sepia?
Sepia prints have a reddish-brown tone.

black and white	sepia tone

Cropping
The original image from the camera is closest to the proportions of a 4x6 print. When you order a print that is not the same proportions (e.g. an 8x10) some cropping is necessary. Pictage includes a tool that allows you to see what the image will look like cropped and even change the cropping, or you may request a sample from Dodgen Photography.

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SCHOOLS & PLAYGROUPS
What is the fee for school or playgroup portrait sessions?
There is no charge to the school or playgroup. Teachers and parents may purchase prints after they have viewed the proofs online and/or in the classroom.

How does a school or playgroup session work?
Our approach to school portraits much more like photojournalism than traditional school portraiture. We do not pose the children, but rather photograph them participating in regular classroom activities. We are unobtrusive, and younger children quickly go about their business forgetting we are there.

After the session, proofs are presented in the classroom and online, order forms are provided and orders can either be placed online, collected in the classroom or placed directly through Dodgen Photography. Orders are delivered to the school or mailed directly to the parents.

Can't find an answer to your question?

Contact us:

Dodgen Photography
PO Box 3917, Long Beach, CA 90803
562-856-2755
jeremy@dodgenphotography.com