Mini sessions are one of my most popular offerings — and I sincerely LOVE doing them! I was actually just talking to Caleb about this the other night. While I completely understand why some photographers shy away from doing mini sessions, they are something I always plan to offer.

That being said, I also wholeheartedly believe that mini sessions are not the best fit for every family. Let me explain 🙂 Last summer, I had a session with a beloved client whose family has three young children. Less than five minutes into their session, their middle child — a toddler — decided she was done with pictures. She wouldn’t even look at me! But because they had booked a full session, mom was able to comfortably pull this child aside and talk with her about what she was feeling. They were gone for about 10 minutes, and I took this time to photograph the dad with the other two children, as well as some individual portraits of each of them. In that time, mom and daughter were able to regroup, and she decided to rejoin the family for photos! We had a wonderful rest of our session together, and got lots of BIG laughs and smiles from someone who initially, wasn’t so sure.

If this same experience had happened during a mini session, our time together would have been over just as mom and daughter were ready to rejoin. It is a situation that can feel really stressful for parents in the moment if they are pressed for time. That is why it is important to think about what session makes the most sense for your family given the season of life you, and your kids, are in.

My goal for the remainder of this post is to offer clarity on mini vs. full sessions, with the hope of helping parents decide which one is truly best for their family! Going into a session, I find that not everyone has the same hopes and expectations for their photos. And, those hopes and expectations can change from year to year! Reevaluation can be really important as your kids, or family, grow! It is incredibly helpful to think about these things when booking your session 🙂

Mini Sessions

Being a shorter sessions (20 minutes or less), mini sessions are a great option for:

• Smaller families without kids, with older kids, OR
• Families whose kids are comfortable in front of the camera, with new people, and in new experiences!
• The main focus of mini sessions is to capture more traditional portraits of the family
• They are also great for headshots, or updated portraits of your kids!

Mini sessions take place on predetermined dates and locations, one-to-two times per month, May through October. They are first released to my Mini Session Email List, which you can subscribe to here!

Full Sessions

Being a longer session (up to 60 minutes), full sessions are a great option for:

• Larger families who are hoping to capture several different combinations of people during their session
• Families whose kids take time to warm up to new people or experiences
• Families anticipating they may need time to be able to “go with the flow” or be present if and when things may go “wrong” or in an unexpected direction
• In addition to the more traditional family portraits, full sessions are where we have the time and space to play, wander, and explore. This extra time allows me to also capture candid interactions between those I’m photographing.

Full sessions take place on a date and at a location that we will work together to determine! More detailed information on my family session planning process can be found here.

As always, please leave any questions in the comments below — I am here to help however I can!