Kim Hildebrand
It’s that time of year when the kids are going back to school, temps start to cool, and we start thinking about updated family photos. When your kids get older, mini-sessions are a great way to get the whole family in front of the camera for a quick photo update. Because of the nature of mini-sessions, they are short, fast, and somewhat intense as you have limited time with your photographer. It is essential that you are prepared and will make your mini go smoothly! To help with this, I’ve listed 4 mistakes to avoid when preparing for your mini-session below.
1. Do not be late.
Since most minis are under 20 minutes, your family will have very limited time with the photographer. It is essential that you know where to meet, have the directions handy, and are about 10-minutes early. We often forget that it takes a bit of time to find parking, get the kids out of the car, do last minute hair-checks, and walk to the meeting spot. Don’t waste some of your allotted shooting time by not being ready on time!
2. Do not bring outfit changes.
Come fully dressed and ready for the session. Any wardrobe questions should be decided with or without the help of your photographer on long before your mini takes place. Conversly, a full, custom session allows for plenty of time for outfit changes, but not a short and sweet mini-session.
3. Do not take control of the session.
If your photographer is a true professional, their mini-sessions should be conducted like a well-oiled machine. Besides the scheduling, communication and additional planning, your photographer will have a whole game-plan decided on for shooting the session to get the images needed for your smaller gallery. That also means they should know exactly how to break the ice with your kids quickly, where to place you, what to do or say, how to handle a meltdown without taking a break, and how to direct all of you to get the images you know and love from that photographer. So please trust in the process, listen, and have fun! Let your photographer work their magic.
4. Do not expect a full session worth of creative images.
A mini-session is called a mini for a reason. Your photographer should communicate with you multiple times that this is shorter and has a different vibe than a full, custom photo session. The main purpose of a mini is to get updated photos of you and your loved ones in a super short time. These photos are typically used for holiday cards and gifts and wall art, not a large family album. Just as your mini has a smaller price tag and is shorter, your gallery will be about 1/2 the size of a full gallery, but still with high-quality images that give you a time-stamp of how your family is at this moment!
I hope you’ve found this helpful! Please reach out with any questions and if you’d like to be the first to know about my fall mini sign-ups, fill out your email below!