Have you ever wondered…what is a mini session? A lot of photographers offer them as a way for families to get a few photos each year at a lower cost than their full size sessions.
I thought I’d write up a little blog post about what a mini session is (and isn’t) so that everything’s clear. 🙂
A mini session…
is:
- 10-20 minutes long
- Date and at a location chosen by the photographer (they’ll be booking multiple sessions back to back at the same location)
- Great opportunity for a few updated photos at a lower price
- Lots of fun! We move quick so kids don’t get bored as easily and Dad won’t miss too much of the game. 😉
- Usually you receive only a few images with your session but can purchase additional ones. The nice thing about this is that you are often paying less up front. So there’s less risk and a great option for trying out a new photographer. It’s also nice if you just need a few photos for updated family photos or holiday cards.
is not:
- Over 20 minutes
- Date and at a location chosen by the you, the client
- A session where you receive more than 10 images
Some photographers will book 30 minute “mini sessions” all over town on different evenings and as you can imagine, this is a very poor use of their time. Why not let your photographer choose an awesome location, and you just pick your time slot and show up? Wouldn’t that be so easy? 🙂
If you are a family with small children, I’d recommend a mini session over a full session because I know kids get restless and tired of posing for photos for an hour. In my sessions (especially with children) I love to capture “in between” moments and less posed shots. But even with this plan they can get bored quickly.
A good mini session should leave you loving the photographer and wanting to work with them more, which is also why a shorter time is best.
If you’re not sure that 15 minutes is enough time to get a variety of shots, check out the photos below. I took my daughter’s photos this summer and we ended up with a very limited amount of time for photos.
Here’s a little collage I put together of my favorite shots from that session. I checked the time stamp on the images and I found that I took these in 8 minutes. I feel like there’s a good variety here and I am pleased with the results! Imagine what I could do with more people to pose and 7 more minutes! 🙂
Are you interested in booking a mini session with me? Well, my friend you’re in luck! Right now I have fall mini sessions open for booking! There’s a limited amount of spots available, so if you’re interested then click on this link and get all the details. 🙂
Until next time,
Andrea