Answers to the questions readers, families and local groups ask most often about our stories, sessions and collaborations.
Here is how our photo essays, interviews, portrait sessions and sponsored work run in practice. If your question is not covered, write to us and we will answer it directly.
Harbourlight Stories is an independent publication based in Kingston, Ontario, founded in 2014. We pair documentary photography with interviews and first-person accounts from communities across Canada. Our work is photo essays, community interviews, portrait sessions and clearly labelled sponsored collaborations.
Most stories begin with a conversation. A reader, a local group or one of our editors suggests a place, a tradition or a person worth spending time with. We visit first without a camera where we can, explain what we are making, and only photograph with consent. Anyone can step back from a story.
Yes. We offer natural-light portrait sessions in a home, a workplace or a studio for families, makers and community groups. Write to us with who will be photographed, where, and roughly when. We then confirm the details in writing before anything is arranged.
Every sponsored piece carries a clear label at the top of the page and in its listing, and names the organization that worked with us. We shoot and write them to the same standards as our own stories. The partner may check facts and spelling, but does not choose our images or edit our wording.
We offer curated sets of high-resolution documentary photographs for personal viewing, and we handle licensing enquiries by email or phone. Nothing is bought on the website itself. We discuss what you need, send a written confirmation, and invoice once the details are agreed.
You send an enquiry through the contact page, and we reply with a written quotation or confirmation. After you accept, we issue an invoice, which is paid by bank transfer. There is no cart or card payment on the site. The Prices page gives guide figures for each service.
Tell us as soon as you know, and we will look at what can be moved. Cancellations and refunds follow our Payment and Refund Policy, which sets out what applies at each stage. We would rather reschedule a session than lose the opportunity to make it well.
Yes, we place transparent, clearly marked display advertising next to our stories for businesses that want to reach thoughtful local readers. Daniel Whitfield, our partnerships manager, handles these enquiries. Advertising is always separated from editorial content and never presented as one of our own stories.
Behind each photograph is a person who agreed to be seen. These are the working habits that guide how we approach consent, accuracy and the way stories are labelled, so readers know what they are looking at.
We explain the story we are making before we raise a camera or switch on a recorder. People see how they will be named and captioned, and they can ask for a photograph to be left out. For interviews, we send the edited first-person text back to the speaker before publication. If someone changes their mind, we listen and talk it through.
Claire Beaulieu writes the captions that accompany each photo essay, and she checks them against our notes. A caption says who, where and what is happening, in plain words. We avoid guessing at feelings or motives. When we do not know something, such as a date or a name, we leave it out and say nothing rather than fill the gap.
Readers should always know what kind of piece they are reading. Our own stories, sponsored collaborations and advertising are marked differently and kept apart on the page. A sponsored collaboration states who it was made with. If you ever find a piece that is unclear about this, tell us and we will correct it.