Lets talk about getting your family pictures taken?

As you all know.  I love photography.

I love pictures.  I love scrapbooking them.  I love editing them(sometimes), and I love hanging them in my home.

This year our family was lucky enough to have family pictures twice.  I know.  I know.

Most of you think that sounds like a nightmare.  It can be if you let it.  (and sometimes I let it)

There have been family picture days when I let the anxiety get to me.

This year I tried hard to let the anxiety fall on the shoulders of the photographer.

If my kids are stubborn, she can deal with it. :) (easier said than done sometimes)

I have some awesome friends who are awesome photographers.  I was able to trade with both of them which made this feasible.  I traded photography with one, and hair with another. SWEET!!

Our first photo shoot was done in a great beach like setting, which is totally what I wanted.  It was still warm out, and we could take all the time in the world.  We got lots of really fun photos. This photo session took about an hour and a half.  This was before day-light saving time happened, so we had good light for a while longer.  We had time to get pictures of the kids, and time to do; dad with the girls, and so on. I got lots of great photos.

You can see photos from this shoot here.(and I will probably be sharing more soon)  These photos were taken by Emily Chadwick.  You can find more beautiful photography from her here.

Why? did I have another photo shoot you ask?  I was lucky to have another photographer friend who wanted to trade.  I took her up on it, and decided to do more of a cold weather winter shoot that would look fun on our Christmas card.

Our second shoot, was taken in November.  This is a completely different scenario than the first.  By this time, daylight savings time had happened, and I knew we would run out of light quicker. Not to mention, it is oh so cold.

What is the answer to get pictures when the light and timing have completely changed?  What is the answer when you have the light for a short time? What is the solution to helping your kids survive the cold?

A mini-session.

Mini-sessions are cheaper.  YAY!!

Mini-sessions are shorter.  YAY!!

Most photographers offer mini-sessions. YAY!!

Here are some of the results from my families recent mini session:

Please note, we took these pictures in 10 minutes.

Most mini-sessions are usually not quite this short, but we were trying to beat a big snow storm that was coming in.  We had 10 minutes before it hit us.

My family thought this was awesome.  Family pictures in 10 minutes.  They all said, “we should do pictures like this every time.”

This is when I realized that a mini-session might be the answer for some of you too.

Did you know that most of your good pictures all come out of the first 20 pictures taken anyway?

Another benefit to a mini-session is you have less photos to sort through.

Sometimes you get so many good ones, that it’s hard to choose.

Remember that your good shots usually always happen at the beginning, so having less shots really is ok.

See how many I got in just 10 minutes?

A mini-session is perfect for families who fight with their family members to get pictures at all.

What are the downfalls of doing a mini-session? When would I want to do a regular session?

You need a full session for newborns, big extended families, and senior portraits for sure.

You may not have time to get individual shots of your kids, and sometimes that is not included in the price of a mini-session.

I did not have any of my kids taken individually this day.  I didn’t need to because I got so many good ones during my last shoot.

If you are thinking a mini-session is for you, but you want individuals of your kids; schedule a mini-session for that purpose for a later date.

You could do another mini-session that is all about your kids later in the spring?

The two mini-sessions together could still end up being cheaper than one big session.

I’ve talked you into a mini-session?

I know what your wanting to ask next…

Who took these pictures? I want to schedule my own session.

Nicole Leavitt.  You can find Nicole here, and here.

You can also follow her on instagram by searching nicoleleavittphotography.

Ok.  I will answer one last question.

You want to know if it is worth it to schedule a full session?

YES.

It is.  If you want to take the time to capture lots of candids, and more individual little moments.

Like this:

(Photo Cred: Emily Chadwick)

Then a full session is worth it. 

My suggestion; do a regular session every other year.

Make sure you schedule this longer session earlier on in the year, when you need more light.

Now, if you were sad because you didn’t get your pics taken for Christmas, or this year at all.

Make sure you ask about a mini-session.  It is totally worth it, and is really an awesome solution to the time crunch and ornery family members. ;)

I’m off to hang all these pretty pictures in my house.  I have two sessions worth of pictures to hang. 

I’m one lucky girl.