Photographer in Kensington-Cedar Cottage

Portrait and family sessions: 2-4 weeks. Newborn sessions: book in the second trimester, since timing depends on the birth. Weddings: 6-12 months for in-demand photographers. Seasonal peaks (spring blossom, autumn colour, pre-holiday family shoots) fill up fastest.

Portrait and family sessions: 1-3 weeks is standard, with a few preview images in the first days. Weddings: 4-8 weeks. If you need images by a hard date (visa, listing, campaign), put the deadline in the contract; rush delivery typically adds 20-50%.

Headshot pricing is usually per person or per finished image rather than per hour: studio sessions delivering 1-5 retouched images sit well below a full portrait session's price, while premium personal-branding shoots cost several times more. For teams, per-person rates drop sharply from about 5 people up — ask for a group rate.

Typically: a pre-shoot consultation, the shooting time, culling, basic editing of a set number of images, and digital delivery. Not always included: all raw files, extra retouching, prints, albums, travel beyond a base radius, and commercial usage rights. Get the deliverables list in writing before paying a deposit.

Look at full galleries, not highlight reels — ask to see a complete delivered set from a session like yours in Kensington-Cedar Cottage. Consistency across a whole gallery is the real skill signal. Then check turnaround time, what's included, and how they handle bad weather or reschedules. Style fit matters more than gear.

Hourly rates run CAD $125-$400, with Toronto and Vancouver at the top. One-hour portrait or family sessions commonly total $250-$600 plus tax; minis run $125-$250. Full-day wedding coverage clusters at $2,500-$5,000.

Yes — GST/HST (and QST in Quebec) applies to photography services once the photographer exceeds the small-supplier threshold. Ask whether the quoted price is tax-inclusive; a 13% HST surprise on an Ontario wedding package is a meaningful sum.