Why I started Cherished-Memories.

I wanted to get a portrait of my child that was special to me. After using the commercial photomarts and continually getting the same under-whelming, boring shot, year-after-year, I decided to do something about it - take my own. After seeing my photo's, all of our friends wanted their children's portraits done as well. Miraculously by word-of-mouth, the need grew, and grew - thus Cherished-Memories was born. I wanted to make this same service available to everyone, so I continue to offer high-quality portraits that are affordable, and destined to be heirlooms.

My team can offer a variety of photographic services to help you create the memory you will adore for an eternity.

I believe that almost anything is possible, we just have to find a way. So, if you have an idea, just ask. Some of our more common solutions are:

• Children's Photography
• Senior Portraits
• Family Portraits
• Photo Restoration
• Photo Retouching
• Photo "Coloring"
• Scanning
• Digital Archiving
• Graphics Services

Our process for your keepsake.

After picking a date and time that fits your schedule, we need to select a location. We usually shoot out of our Seattle area home studio. However, we frequently do location shoots or go to a local park for the "natural" or "outdoor" portraits. If we need to do a session outside the Seattle area, give us a call and we can discuss our options.

Next we will determine the type of portraits that you desire. As you can see in our Gallery, we have a variety of options - we are only limited by our imagination. When we schedule your session we will discuss the sitting you are looking for. We have a quite a few outfits for boys and girls of all ages and numerous corresponding props. If you or your child has a special outfit, like a team uniform, or perhaps a family wedding gown or suite, feel free to bring it along as well.

We shoot all of our photographs digitally. This way, we know instantly if we are going to have a successful shot. With this digital master, we begin the final transformations. We typically retouch each image, removing background clutter, blemishes, bruises, etc. We can also take the original color image and go to black and white or sepia, and add in additional color's, effects, etc. (See examples in the Gallery).

Once we have finished retouching the best portraits, we invite you back to review them. We typically like doing this in person so we can discuss your options and any alterations you might desire. However, for convenience sake, we can also post your images to a private album on our web site.

After we have finished any last minute alterations we will send the images for processing. Normal turn-around time is typically 3-4 weeks. Occasionally we can have the portraits processed quicker, but it would incur rush fee's. Prior to pickup we ensure that all prints meet our high standards, if for some reason they do not live up to our high quality expectations, we reprint them out our expense.