Happy Monday Friends! If you’ve been sticking with me lately, you know we are right in the thick of a 5 series blogging journey on the topic of Full Sessions and Mini Sessions: what’s the difference and which one is right for your family!
Last blog post, I talked about the Full session in detail! This type of session is usually the best of the best in terms of experience and quality of service that the photographer has to offer! This is where their put their heart and soul!
But as mother’s and business owners, we understand that sometimes we need a stepping stone and that is where the mini session comes in!
Mini sessions can do so many things for photographers:
- Bring in new clients and families that turn into lifetime clients
- Provide an opportunity to create a fun, styled session to a group of clients over a certain date and time at a certain location
- Provide family’s with an opportunity to book a certain photographer that they love at a price point within a specific budget
- Provide an opportunity for family’s that are only looking for a few images for a specific purpose rather than a gallery of images
- Allow a photographer to try something new or a creative outlet that a full session might not offer
- Maximize time during a busy holiday season by offering more dates available to more clients
These are just some of the advantages to offering mini sessions!
So what exactly is a mini session and how does it differ from the full session? This is the question I get asked so often by clients and each photographer might have a different answer. This is how I like to answer and one that works for my business!
WHAT EXACTLY IS A MINI SESSION:
- Mini Sessions are photography sessions that have a specific time set on them and are generally half the amount of the price of the full session! For example 30 minutes, 20 minutes or 15 minutes~!
- The shorter amount of time spent photographing a family will also mean there will be less images in the gallery. Most photographers will also put a limit on the amount of images received (7 images-10 images).
- There will also already be a location chosen by the photographer and usually multiple families will all be shooting on the same day.
ADVANTAGES OF A MINI SESSION:
- Time Efficiency: One of the biggest advantages of the mini session that I hear from my clients is the time efficiency! It’s a very quick show up, play one or two games at most and you are done! If you are family with a busy schedule the mini session is for you! It’s a wham, bam, off to dinner kind of session ma’m! It’s perfect if you just want one or two images for a Holiday card or you know exactly what you want in terms of gallery wall or need 1 or 2 pictures framed! If you have something specific in mind, the mini session is for you!
- Cost Effective: A lot of my long term clients have actually started with mini sessions. I am the first to admit that photography is an investment! I think it’s a wonderful investment and I can give you many reasons why, but that’s for another blog post. Family photography can be expensive and if you have never had family portraits done before spending that kind of money can be nerve wracking! The mini session is a fantastic way to “get your feet wet”! A lot of my most beloved clients who have been with me for years started as mini session clients. They have told me that they were nervous about how their kids would behave or if I would be able to capture them the way they wanted! Truthfully even when I have my own family sessions, I worry about these things! The mini session gives you the opportunity to invest a little bit, take half the time and see how it goes! It gives you a chance to test the waters! Will my kids have fun? Will we have fun? Will we love the images? You can have all these questions answered and then go from there (and 9/10 my mini session clients turn in to lifetime full session clients!)
- Themes: Another benefit of the mini session is the themes that are often associated with them! The biggest time you will see mini sessions pop up is around Fall and Holiday season and these bring some of the most fun and creative themes to go with them! I’ve done campfire mini sessions, milk and cookie holiday pajama minis (with a bed my husband built for me for the kids to jump on!). I’ve done Santa minis, Christmas tree mini sessions where I’ve gone into my client’s homes and photographed their kiddos in front of their beautifully lit Christmas trees. I’ve seen Christmas tree farm mini sessions and snow mini sessions! I’ve done back to school minis with school desks and apples and books! I’ve done hot cocoa and marshmallows minis. I’ve done Valentines minis with a fully loaded candy shop! I’ve done underwater mini sessions and mermaid minis. I run glitter minis and personality minis. There are so many ideas out there the sky is the limit and truly it’s up to the photographer’s creativity! Personally I think this is the absolute best part about mini sessions! The ability to host these super creative and fun themes and be inspired by your clients and others around you!
There are so many positive aspects of the mini session but the best way to describe it is the perfect quick snapshot of your life in this moment! That’s exactly what it is: It’s no nonsense, it’s quick and fast, and it’s a brief snapshot of your life! It’s perfect for the busy family or the family that knows exactly what they want and don’t need more than that! It’s a shoot and burn get one or two images and you are good to go!
It’s a great way to introduce your family to the family session and get everyone comfortable with the camera or the photographer that you want to work with!
It’s a great way to just step out of your comfort zone and get in the picture with your kiddos!
So what are YOU waiting for?!
Next blog we will really dive in and talk about how you can determine which session is the right one for your family! So stay tuned… more goodies to come!
