Please scroll down for answers to frequently asked questions. If your questions are not covered here please don’t hesitate to call (315) 452-1456.
Q: My son was not able to make our leagues photo day because of illness. Can we still get his photo done?
A:Please call and we can arrange a date when I can photograph your son.
Q: Do you accept credit or debit cards on site?
A: No, we only accept cash, checks or money orders (pizza maybe?). Under very unusual circumstances we can e-mail you an invoice that can be paid online with a credit card or PayPal account.
Q: How does a DT Studios “Photo Day” work?
A: See this detailed information (below).
Each team is assigned a date and time for their pictures to be taken. Generally, each team is given 20-30 minutes for individual and team photos depending upon the size of the team. It is very important for the majority of the team members to be on time and ready to go at their assigned times. Otherwise it could result in other teams (to follow) to have to wait past their scheduled start times. We prefer to have the entire team (including coaches) present before we begin. Once all athletes are present, we arrange them in numerical order (or alphabetically by last name when there are no jersey numbers i.e. cheerleaders). Doing so allows us to identify any duplicate jersey numbers, makes it much faster for us to process orders and greatly reduces the chances of order errors.
Prior to picture day, each team is given photo order forms to be distributed to the parents. The forms should be filled out in advance along with a check, cash or money order enclosed (credit cards not accepted on site). Completed order forms should be turned in at the photographer’s station at the time photos are taken. Extra order forms will be available for those who need them at our photo table and there will be assistants on site to answer any questions you may have. For those who wish to pay by credit card or prefer to see and choose the photos prior to purchasing, the photos will be available for purchase online within a few days of photo day at www.dtstudios.com (see the “Find your Photos page“). Please note: Ordering photos online is slightly more costly as you will be charged sales tax & shipping to your home ($5.00 plus tax), whereas orders placed and paid for on photo day are not. In rare cases, for those who forget or misplace order forms, they can also be mailed to our studio address (on the order form) within a day or two of picture day.
On picture day, we strive to get a great photo of each and every child. It really helps us if you could arrive early to avoid a rushed session and for each child to be prepared in advance (shirts tucked in, hair groomed etc.). We take 3-4 photos of each athlete and will carefully choose the best image (in our professional opinion) to fill your order. If you would like to choose the specific image we use to fill your order, you must order your photos online.
Once all teams have been photographed we sort & upload the images to our online store (within 24 hours of the event) and then we begin to process all photo day orders immediately. The completed orders are sorted and packaged by team and delivered to the league within approximately two weeks. The team Coach or team Mom will then distribute the completed photo orders to the parents.
Q: Can you come out to photograph action shots of my son/daughter at a sporting event?
A: Please don’t hesitate to call or e-mail with your request and I assure you I will do my best to attend (if my schedule permits). I will be happy to come out and photo your athlete(s) in action, in a “real game” setting, provided there is enough serious interest to generate print/collage orders to compensate for my time, (generally totaling approx. $200 as I do not charge for my photography or editing time).
Q: I can’t view all the photos, can’t see second page of photos, can’t get to the shopping cart, shopping cart is empty, can’t get to the second or third page of the shopping cart. There may be more symptoms…
A: The photo store, photo pages and shopping cart portions of the site are hosted by one of our vendors (Photoreflect.com). I have been informed by their customer service reps. that 99% of the problems experienced on their site is due to two reasons;
1.) When prompted you should always “log-in” to their site.
2.) In your browser settings, you must have “cookies enabled” to use the store portion of the site. This will help insure that items chosen as favorites, album items and shopping cart will be saved for future reference. If necessary, please type “How to enable Cookies” in Google search.
Q: How do I locate the image number of a photo that is posted online?
A: To find the ‘Image Number’ of a photo:
1.) Find your event on our site and open the folder by clicking on your team/event name.
2.) Click on a thumbnail sized image. This will bring up a larger version of the photo.
3.) Beneath the photo you will see the “Image ID” number. This is the photo number.
Q: I Need help ordering collages online. When I order a collage online, how do I order the rest of the photos in the collage without getting charged for multiple collages?
A: Please see the information on the right hand side of this page, or just call (315) 452-1456 and we’ll help you.
Q: Can a photo be cropped to focus more on my son/daughter?
Q: The photo seems a little dark, can it be brightened?
A: Yes and yes. Every single photo undergoes a careful editing process before it’s printed. All photos are cropped to get the best composition (unless it’s not needed), color corrected to make adjustments for poor lighting conditions and sharpened when the focus is a little off. You can see an example below.
Q: How can I include instructions with my order?
A: After you have filled your shopping cart and you are going through the checkout process, you will be presented with a window where you can send me special ‘Instructions’. This is where you can let me know of any design suggestions you may have. This is also where you will type in the athletes number, name & position (the team and year I will already know).
Q: How do I give you the text information that will appear on the collage or trading card I order?
A:After you have filled your shopping cart and you are going through the checkout process, you will be presented with a window where you can send me ‘Comments or Instructions’. This is where you will type in the athletes number, name & position (the team and year I will already know). This is also where you can let me know of any design suggestions you may have.
Q: Can I order by phone instead of using my credit card online?
A: Absolutely. We understand that there are customers who would rather not order online. We can not accept credit cards by phone however, orders by phone must be paid by check, cash or money order.
Q: Can I use a credit card for phone orders?
A: Yes, I can send you a link where you can pay via credit card or PayPal online. It’s very safe and secure. Or you can find the link on our DT Studios Payments page.
Q: Can I save on shipping if I pick up my order?
A: Unfortunately, the answer is no. I do not operate a traditional photo lab here locally. The photo lab I use for all my processing ships directly to all my customers from Virginia. It costs a few dollars more but their outstanding quality and quick turn around time are well worth it.
Q: What if I want to order a collage but I can’t find as many images as required?
A: Oftentimes, collages look much better with fewer images. It enables the photos to be larger and more detailed and also benefit from being un-crowded and less busy.
Q: I put my images into an online album but now I can’t find the image numbers?
A: If you have already placed your images in an album at the store you can find the image numbers by doing the following:
1.) Each image within the album appears with three small icons along the left side of it. A shopping cart symbol, a magnifying glass symbol and an envelope symbol.
2.) Click on the magnifying glass it will bring you to a page that shows the image number.
Q: How long will my sons/daughters event be available online?
A: It all depends on our servers storage space. So it’s difficult to say specifically, but generally speaking an event stays online for about a year. Please don’t wait too long to order your photos. A year is enough time and these images hold memories that you will cherish for your life time and your child’s lifetime.
Q: How long until I receive my order?
A: Most orders take approximately five working days from the day they are submitted to the lab. Under normal circumstances that is, there are exceptions depending upon what is ordered. Large prints and Specialty items generally take a little longer. Choosing Priority shipping can make a big difference during the busier mail periods.
Q: Can you frame my collage order?
A: Yes, we now do quite a bit of framing. Something new here at DT Studios. Please call for more information. Generally, it can add about $50 to the cost of your order.
Q: What if I have a question that’s not addressed here?
A: Call Dave at (315) 452-1456 or send me a quick e-mail (dave@dtstudios.com).
If you prefer to order by phone, we will need to know the event name (the folder where the images are located) and the image numbers you would like to include in your collage. Please note: We can not accept credit cards with phone orders.
The simplest way to order collages online is to first create an “Album” containing all the images you want to include in the collage.
You can create a collage without having an album created but it will take a little more time to locate your collage images.
NOTE: Before creating your album it is important to log-in and create an account, this way your album and shopping cart will be available later if you need to return to finish your order. Sometimes it can take several sessions if there are a lot of images to choose from.
Editing your album: Once you have created your album, you can add or remove images from that album. To add images just return to the thumbnails and click on additional stars, then click “add to album”. To delete album images, from within your album, click on “edit photos” and check mark the “Delete” box. To return to your album at any time, see the “My Account” link at the top of the page. You can create multiple albums for any purpose you wish.
If there are any questions we have upon receiving your collage order we will contact you.
Once you have sent your collage order, we will design it with your requests in mind. If you don’t have any special instructions don’t worry, we will design your composite as if it were our own.
We will send (e-mail) you a preliminary proof copy of the collage prior to printing it (for your approval). That way there will be no doubt that you will get exactly what you want.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call Dave at (315) 452-1456 or send me a quick e-mail (dave@dtstudios.com) and I will be happy to help you in any way I can.