ATHENA UNDERGROUND // FAQ

QUESTIONS
WORTH ASKING
FIRST

no surprises, just straight answers.

Everything people ask before booking — pricing, what to bring, and how a shoot actually works. Don't see your question here? Just ask.

Honestly? It depends — and I know that's the answer nobody wants to hear. An outdoor shoot somewhere that costs nothing to shoot at is going to run you a lot less than a full studio day with hair and makeup artists and a rack of designer looks to get through.

What I can tell you for sure: my rate is $200 an hour, $450 for a half day, or $750 for a full day. Studio access is separate — that's the studio's fee, not mine — and runs $60 an hour or $350 for the full day. Hair and makeup depends entirely on who's doing it, but plan on roughly $100 per person for the day.

If you want real numbers to plan around: an outdoor shoot for a full day, say 4 to 5 hours, usually lands around $450. A full studio shoot with everything that comes with it typically falls somewhere between $690 and $1,300, depending on what you need. If you just need agency digitals with no retouching, budget $250.

Whatever you're picturing, I can almost always make it work within one of those ranges — so if you're not sure where you land, just ask and we'll sort it out together.

Fashion, beauty, portrait, and product work make up most of what I do, alongside model development photography for people building out their agency portfolios, event coverage, and the occasional sports or active lifestyle shoot. If your idea doesn't obviously fit into one of those boxes, ask me anyway — some of my favorite shoots didn't start out fitting neatly into a category either.

However many you want to shoot in — genuinely, there's no cap. A few things worth knowing before you pack the whole closet, though: we can run out of time before we run out of outfits. If we're not shooting in a studio, we'll need to find you somewhere safe to actually change between looks. And sometimes more options just means more time spent deciding, not more time shooting.

None of that means hold back, though — bring everything you're considering, and we'll figure out what we can get through.

That depends on what kind of shoot we're doing. If it's digitals for an agency, keep it simple — black bottoms with a black top, or black bottoms with a white top. If we're doing something more artistic, you've got options: we can look into getting something custom made for the shoot, which costs a bit more but is often worth it. Or just bring pieces you already own and want to shoot in.

Yes — every image that leaves my hands gets a retouching pass, with one exception: agency digitals are intentionally left natural and unretouched, since that's what agencies actually want to see.

Turnaround depends on how much retouching a shoot actually needs, but most sessions are done within 2 business days unless we've talked about something different. That said, if you booked a shoot with a ton of outfit changes and I'm retouching over 100 images, that can stretch to a week or two — so if you're on a deadline, just tell me up front and I'll do what I can to prioritize it.

Yes — I take 50% upfront to book, and that deposit is non-refundable. Rescheduling is never a problem though, even if it has to happen more than once. As long as your deposit is in, I really don't mind being strung along until the timing works.

Cancellations are a little different: I'll almost always refund you if you need to cancel outright, but the deposit itself stays non-refundable. Honestly, my preference is always to reschedule rather than cancel, so if something comes up, let's just find a new date instead.

Usage terms are negotiable and worked out on a per-person basis depending on what you need the photos for. If you're picturing something bigger, like commercial use or a licensing deal, just bring that up before we shoot so we can figure out terms that work for both of us.

No, I don't. There's nothing wrong with that style — it's just not what I focus on. To me, fashion and beauty photography is about clothing on a model: wearable art, built for the person wearing it. If boudoir is what you're looking for, I'm happy to point you toward people who specialize in it — that's just not the work I do myself.

Absolutely — I encourage it. I won't be photographing them, but I want you to feel comfortable, and having someone you trust there is one of the best ways to make sure this feels like a safe space. A friend, a parent, whoever that is for you — bring them along.

I don't own a studio myself, but I work out of Miller Visual Media — 3768 Norwood Dr UNIT E, Littleton, CO 80125. You'll also find it marked on the map at the bottom of the Contact page.

Yes — I work with some genuinely great people in that world, and I'm happy to make a recommendation based on what your shoot needs.

Yes, within reason. If you're within about 60 miles of me here in Aurora, there's no extra cost — I'll just drive out. Outside that radius but still in Colorado, there's a $200 travel fee.

If it's out of state, whoever's booking covers all travel costs — flights, lodging, an assistant if I need one, and a food stipend. That last one hasn't actually come up yet, so consider it a starting point rather than something set in stone.

Head to the Contact page and tell me what you're picturing — even a rough idea is plenty to start with. From there we'll talk through timing, location, and what it'll take to make it happen.