Is Scheduling a Mini Session Right For Your Family?

Mini Sessions are almost here! Our annual fall mini session event sells out year after year, and we are so excited to be hosting mini sessions again this fall. We don’t want you to miss this opportunity, but we also want to make sure you know what mini sessions entail and how they are different from a full session so you can make the best investment for your family portrait needs.

Mini Sessions are:

Fun, 20-minute session time slots booked back-to-back with other mini session clients, at the same location, on the same day. Due to the nature of the sessions, they are a little more fast-paced than our regular sessions.
Focused on capturing your group family photographs first, followed by smaller combinations as time allows: mom + kids, kids only, dad + kids, mom+dad, etc.
Like all our sessions, a mix of posed portraits and candid moments, giving you a well-rounded collection of images.
A once-a-year opportunity to book a session at a discounted rate. Because this event sells out, a non-refundable retainer is required to hold your date and time slot. If you are needing to cancel a booking of a mini session due to sickness, unforeseen circumstances, or a schedule conflict, you are welcome to use the non-refundable retainer as a credit towards any full session within 6 months of the mini session event date.

You might be wondering if a 20-minute session is the right choice for your family. Below are a few things to consider about your own family dynamics and your personal photography needs before booking a mini session.

Are you wanting to photograph multiple generations during your session?

We absolutely love documenting the generations for our portrait clients. If you want to bring grandma to your mini session we just need to know what your expectations are for including her in photographs. Do you want the session to be centered on her? Are we focusing on getting multiple photographs of your kids with their grandparent, OR is she being added in for just a quick minute for a full family portrait.

If we spend more time on her, it will take away from capturing other combinations.

Do you have more than 6 people in the mix for your session?

Because of the shorter nature of the session, mini sessions are designed for up to 6 people. If you and your spouse have more than 4 kids we would love to document your family during a full session.

Do you have more than one baby not walking yet?

Whether you have sets of multiples, or two children closely spaced age wise, if you have more than one baby needing to be held for pictures, a full session might be a better fit for your family.

Mini sessions could still work for your family, you just need to be mentally prepared for not getting a break from holding your babies. Since they are booked back-to-back with other sessions we do not have much opportunity for a break.

What are your own expectations for your family portrait session?

Mini Sessions are a great opportunity to capture your family for Christmas cards, some group photographs and various combinations of siblings, parents with individual kids, and some individual portraits of each of your children. However, they are still a pared down session experience. You will have between 30&40 finished images.

But, if you are looking for very specific poses of your kids, or have a long list of photograph combinations you are hoping to capture, a full session will be a better investment.

Because mini sessions are booked back to back, we prioritize posing family groupings first, then work down to the various combinations that time will allow.