The Sweet Spot: Why Five Fine Art Portraits Are Enough (and Perfect)

One of the most common questions I hear from families booking Fine Art portraits in Charleston and Goose Creek is:

“What kind of pictures should we even plan for?”

It’s a fair question—especially in a world where most photography sessions deliver hundreds of candid images. But Fine Art portraiture is not high-volume photography. It’s not about quantity. It’s about intention.

That’s why I believe five images is the sweet spot.

Not excessive. Not minimal.

Just enough to tell a meaningful, cohesive story.

Five Portraits. Designed with Purpose.

When approached thoughtfully, three to five Fine Art portraits solve the “what should we photograph?” question almost effortlessly—especially for families with children, blended families, or multi-generational households in the Lowcountry.

Here are a few ways those five images can be designed:

• A Fine Art portrait of the parents together
• A portrait of the children as a group
• Individual Fine Art portraits of each child
• A portrait of stepchildren for extended family keepsakes
• A parent-and-child portrait
• A sibling duo portrait
• A legacy-style family portrait designed specifically for wall art

Instead of dozens of random images, you walk away with a curated collection—each portrait created with intention, emotion, and visual harmony.

Designed for Wall Art, Not Just Galleries

Three to five portraits also create the perfect foundation for a cohesive wall installation, whether that means:

• framed Fine Art portraits,
• canvas wall art,
• statement pieces for living spaces,
• or a gallery wall that feels elegant rather than cluttered.

This is one of the key differences between Fine Art portraiture and high-volume outdoor photography.

High-volume photography is designed to capture moments quickly, with minimal post-processing and large galleries of images.

Fine Art portraiture is designed to create artwork—where each image is crafted, refined, and completed long after the session ends.

Why I Don’t Deliver Unedited Files

Occasionally, a client will ask whether they can receive all of the digital files from a session, including the unedited images. In one recent conversation, a client’s spouse shared that he had requested this in the past with outdoor photographers, and it had never been a problem.

From that perspective, the request makes sense.

In high-volume candid photography, the difference between an unedited file and a final image is often relatively small. The photos look close to finished straight out of the camera, so asking for additional files can feel like “no big deal.”

But Fine Art portraiture works differently.

Here, the camera capture is only the beginning. Each portrait is shaped through hours of artistic post-processing—lighting refinement, painterly toning, compositing, color design, and detailed retouching that simply doesn’t exist in high-volume workflows.

A Fine Art portrait is not finished in-camera.

Think of it like commissioning a cake from a master chef. You’re not paying for the raw eggs, flour, and sugar—you’re paying for the finished cake. Asking for unedited files is a bit like asking the chef to hand over the eggs so you can “do something with them later.”

The eggs are not the artwork.

The cake is.

Unedited files don’t represent my portfolio, my artistic standards, or the work that happens after the session. That’s why the only digital images I make available for purchase are fully edited Fine Art portraits—the same level of quality you see in my portfolio, framed portraits, canvas wall art, and final gallery.

High-volume photography delivers quantity.

Fine Art portraiture delivers intention.

And the difference matters.

Digital Files with Meaning, Not Noise

Because I provide both high-resolution digital portraits and physical Fine Art artwork, your images are designed to live beyond the session.

Digitals can be shared with family members across Charleston, Goose Creek, and beyond. Loved ones can choose their favorites for framed portraits or canvas wall art. Each image becomes a keepsake—not just another file lost in a phone gallery.

More images doesn’t always mean more value.

More intention does.

And when it comes to Fine Art portraits,

five isn’t just enough—five is perfect.