This year’s family mini sessions were in early November, and it was PERFECT weather! More and more, I find clients reaching out for October sessions. Most think that is “traditional fall” with the colorful leaves and cool weather. While I cannot predict the leaves changing each year, I’ve noticed my November sessions are the most colorful and have better weather from the past few years. This year’s family mini sessions fell on the best weekend we have had in a long time.
I rarely do mini sessions (once or twice a year), mostly because it’s challenging to coordinate so many families if there is rain or inclement weather to be honest! I am considering in 2024 offering a multi family package where you coordinate with the other families and book as a group (contact me if you want to try it out!). There are so many families that either do not want a full session due to time or are looking for a more economical way to update their family pictures. Fall is the most popular time, as you can imagine, as most families are thinking about their Christmas cards and the kids growing older each year of school.
One of the most common questions is if I will be able to get your kids to smile. While I can never guarantee anything, I do my best to make the session super fun. We start with some quick introductions, and I usually focus on your kids (not that you’re not important, parents, but let’s be honest, I need them on my side!). Sometimes, we make fun of dad and joke that he may be the one that doesn’t smile for the picture. Sometimes, we rate each other a 1-10 after each pose to see who did the best smile. I encourage parents to be sure your kids are fed and to even have a reward promised for good behavior. Whether you agree with bribery or not… this is a good time to bring it out when you’ve invested in photos that you want to keep for years to come.
The second most common question is if I’ll be able to get dad to smile. Haha, just kidding. Maybe. A lot of times, mom is the one who has booked and interacted with me in advance of the session. She is often the one who has chosen the outfits and has expectations of her dream photos from looking at pinterest or my website. I encourage you to show dad a few of your inspo pics or share one of these blog posts. When he sees those cute smiles of the kiddos and how good he looks standing next to his beautiful wife, he’ll be SO glad you booked the family mini session :).
