Why Don't You Offer Family Mini Sessions?

In 2020 I offered mini sessions for the first time in 10 years. With schools closed and children missing out on the traditional school year photos, I had so many requests for "just a few shots for the grandparents" that I offered a weekend in the fall (and now two in the spring.) The initial requests came from long-time clients and I viewed these sessions as an add-on to their already planned (or even already executed) annual sessions. Then I started booking clients who were new-to-me and it felt like a great way to gain new full-session clients.

I'm sure the title suggests what happened next. I started getting requests for Family Mini Sessions. I found myself having to explain why I don't offer mini sessions for families, so it felt like a good time to blog about it.

Every few years, I have a family that tells me that they only need one quick shot for the Holiday card. While there are plenty of photographers who can fulfill that, I am not one of them. I want this to be an experience for your family - and one that you enjoy. I don't want your photo session to simply be another box to check on your lengthy to do list. I want to give you more than just one snapshot of your family looking at the camera and smiling. I want to dig deeper. I want to know what your children are interested in, what makes them laugh, who they think is the funniest or nicest member of their family. I want to preserve moments of love and connection, joy and chaos. I want to tell the story of your family. I want you to be able to look back at your photos and feel like you are looking directly through a window showing you exactly what your life was like on that day. I want your session to be a time capsule of your life. I want you to always, vividly and completely remember this moment. 

My Family Sessions have no time limit. There are conversations and questionnaires before we even meet to ensure that I can capture your family beautifully and accurately. Once we meet, it often takes time for a family to settle in and become comfortable with me and the experience of being photographed. And I'm not only referring to the children! Parents arrive at a family session with their own preconceptions and concerns. They may be worried that I will not able to get a smile from a child who failed to nap or that I won't be able to capture a blur-free image of a child with an energy surplus. I find that once they see how relaxed I am and how much joy the experience can bring, THAT is when I am able to capture those shots that are so delightfully true. The last few shots of a session are ALWAYS some of my favorites.

I'm going to end with my most personal reason not to offer Family Mini Sessions. And that is that I have no self control. With my School Mini's, I told parents to expect 3-5 photos in a 5 minute session. Yet most sessions ran the full 10 minutes allotted and my smallest gallery was 10 photos. And yet still, STILL, I felt like I was missing some pieces to each child's personality with that shortened time frame. While I have really enjoyed the extra time with clients and photographing new ones for the first time, the artist in me has sorely missed the depth of a full session and the family connections.

Now I have been thinking about doing Mother's Day Mini Sessions...