Matt MacDonald
Boston, Cambridge area Photographer
Capturing photo keepsakes of children and families in the New England area
A little about me
I've spent the past 10 years photographing my nieces and nephews as they have grown and as many of our friends started having children it was just natural to start taking photos of their familes. When my daughter was born, my muse arrived. I've spent countless hours working to capture her essence. Most of my work week is spent in Harvard Square as a Technical Projects Director at the non-profit, Public Radio Exchange, and I spend many of my weekends photographing creative, interesting families. I'm now branching out beyond the friends of friends to work with fun, artistic families that I have yet to meet. I don't have an BFA or MFA but I believe I am a solid, creative photographer who will work with you to create a lasting image of your family. Oh and a recent self portrait if you're interested.
What you can expect
Once you make the decision to work with me we'll work out a time when your kids are best rested. The hour before nap time is generally not the best moment to try and get that magical shot, dinner time is also a no-no, unless you're looking for Jill Greenberg crying babies style photos and yes I occasionally capture those too. I enjoy photographing children in their natural state be that happy, upset or just being goofballs, but for me the prize is capturing a deep, quizical look, one where you really wonder what they are thinking and will allow you to hold on to this special time in their lives.
How long will it take?
I'll spend the first 10-15 minutes chatting with you, getting introduced to your family and getting set up while scouting for the right location to shoot. Once we get going we'll play, snap photos and take snack and bathroom breaks when any of us need to. From my experience the rule of thumb has been 1 to 1.5 hours to get a good variety of photographs with the younger crowd and less time with older kids who are more malleable.
Getting those special shots
It's about comfort. Mine, yours and the kids. I sometimes bring my daughter and wife with me to make an outing of it. We like meeting new interesting people and having another kid to play with can often be the catalyst that that creates that spark. If my entourage doesn't tag along I highly suggest contacting your friends so that your children have familiar faces around. I like to think that I have a good rapport with kids but having a best friend to play with can really create a special interaction. Unlike many photographers I don't charge extra fees for additional people so tagging up with another family often is a great idea.
What do you get?
Not every photo is a prize winner so after I toss out the half smiles, the closed eyes etc. you get everything. You'll get all the photos as digital, high quality jpeg files. The files are high enough quality to print 20"x30" prints and you can use them to print at just about any photo location. I don't charge for prints like many photographers do, it's time consuming and honestly I think you should own the negatives. I will select 3-5 of your favorites, maybe a few of my favorites too, and professionaly re-touch them. That re-touching will be part of the booking/session fee. If you would like more than 3-5 photos re-touched we can work something out. There is a high quality, reasonably priced, on-line photo printing company that I'll recommend but you're free to print them wherever you like.
How much will it cost?
I'm a proponent of paying as much as you feel something is worth so I don't have set fees. There is a movement in the restaurant world where you sit down look at a menu with no prices and at the end of dinner you pay what you feel the meal was worth. It's an interesting concept and one I'm willing to try out. Will I get screwed from time to time? Maybe but I'm a firm believer in the good in people and I think that my work speaks for itself. Basically I want to keep a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and clothes on our backs. Oh and if I can offset part of my photography habit that'd be nice too.
Great so now you probably have no idea how much a session, plus negatives might cost. To keep with the food metaphor, Sears Portrait Studio is the McDonald's and Burger King of the photography world. Their basic 20 minute session starts at $14.99 and a CD of all photos ranges from $9.99 to $119. Now I don't have a Michelin Star but I do think that I'm better than fast food. I've Googled "Boston photographer rates" and seen everything from sessions without prints in the $150-$800 range. Some days a chef cooks their heart out and produces the best meal, other days not so much. Ultimately I think how much you pay comes down to how you respond to the photographs.
Have something to trade?
I'm also a firm believer in the barter system so if you're an artisan of any kind: cook, wine maker, graphic designer, painter, sculptor, photographer or musician maybe we can work out a trade.