What Is a Mini Session and Why Is It a Good Choice for You?
What is a mini session?
August is going to kick off a FLOOD of photographers posting about Fall and Holiday mini sessions. But you might be wondering, what is a mini session? What does that even mean?
Typically, photographers offer mini sessions that are shorter than their standard session as well as less expensive than their standard session. They’re also scheduled back to back on certain days in certain locations, so that the photographer is stacking multiple sessions together. Our standard family portrait sessions are one hour long but we’ve done 15 or 20-minute mini sessions on a few ocassions.
What are the benefits of a mini session?
Depending on your family and what you’re looking for, there can be a number of benefits to schedule a mini portrait session. If you have small children (or perhaps an uncooperative spouse who hates having their photo taken?) who might not yet have the attention span for a one-hour session, a 15-minute mini session might be an excellent option for you.
Mini sessions are also typically lower in price than a standard full hour session, so it might be more a budget-friendly choice for you.
A mini portrait session is also a great choice if you’re looking for seasonal photos for a particular use. For example, a holiday mini session is a great way to get a few themed family photos or photos of the kids to add to the Christmas card for the year!
What are the drawbacks of a mini session?
Due to the shortened time frame for a mini session, photographers have to limit the number of people who can participate in the session to maybe 6-8 people. So if you have a larger family or you wanted to involve grandparents or aunts, uncles and cousins, a mini session might not be the right fit. In a shortened time frame, it’s much more difficult to get a variety of poses and combinations, so if you want a lot of options to choose from, then a standard length session is probably a better fit.
Since photographers book all of their mini sessions back to back, they are setting the location. So you would be forced to use the location that they have chosen and won’t have the ability to customize the photo shoot to your particular vision. If you are booking a session to create new pieces to hang on the walls of your home, then I would recommend a standard session so you can work with your photographer to choose the correct time of day and location to create images that will look beautiful hanging in your home.
Upcoming Mini Sessions
Last year we hosted our first-ever Mommy & Me mini sessions but this year we are hosting our first-ever Holiday Mini Sessions! If you need photos for your Christmas card or for sharing on social media, this is the perfect opportunity! We have one day booked at an indoor studio and another day booked at an outdoor barn venue - and we’ll even have a highland cow available to be in some of your photos! Leashed dogs are welcome at any of the sessions, so get cute matching outfits for you and your furbaby and pick the day that works best for you! More information is available on our site and registration opens to the public on August 6th!
