Oh, trends. So hard to resist even with piles of evidence screaming out, "You're really going to regret this someday." The "mini" photography session is certainly up to the challenge of becoming a highly regrettable trend, despite its hype for being oh so fun and casual. Certain photo subjects in particular suffer from mini sessions, even though you'd think that fun, casual and not time-consuming would be right up their alley.

Kids. 

Get out your stopwatches people, because you have about 20-30 minutes for your child (or children) to settle down, hold still and appear like they really don't mind that a complete stranger is staring at them and taking pictures. While children are probably going to be difficult in longer sessions, too, it's nice to have plenty of time for them to get a grasp of what's going on. The photographer can then take some good, quality photos in that golden moment between the child settling down and the child losing all ability to pay attention. 

A good family photography session is a balance between quantity and quality. The photographer wants to deliver not only lots of options, but good options. Picking the best photos from a batch of amazing ones is a problem that you want to have. "Mini" photo sessions can't offer much in either category, being too short for lots of photos and too erratic for quality ones. You end up with a small assortment of awkward photos, the majority of which are showcasing your child's exact feelings towards the photographer and just how much "fun" they're having. 

The photo session featured below shows most of the images that came out of the camera and yes there are some silly ones in there it took a good 30-45 minutes of shooting non stop all different set ups and herding the two children to get anything your going to want to keep. If the session was a 20 minute mini session then you'll have just a few good images to work with. A full 45-60 minute session will get you 50 images to choose from for a wall art display, Christmas Card, and annual family album.

If you truly want a professional photography session for your child, do it right! A well-done portrait stands the test of time, while "trendier" things frequently disappear into the waste basket. To set up a (NOT "mini") session, or for any questions you might have, please feel free to contact us!