A few weeks ago I held 18 mini sessions to benefit a local young mother who is battling cancer. Read about it HERE. When you are shooting 18 families in one day and only meeting with them for 10-15 minutes each the day just flies by! I was sound asleep by 9pm that night totally exhausted!

I like mini sessions because it enables families to get updated photos of their kids for a fraction of the cost of a normal mini or especially a full session. They are great for adding an extra session in each year but of course I think booking a longer session is the best so I can truly have time to capture your family.

Super quick mini sessions like these don’t give me enough time to really KNOW the kids and they aren’t designed to be personal. 18 families being shot in front of the same background is anything but personal. We got some SUPER cute shots but we weren’t exactly capturing moments you know?

Gray has strep and I didn’t sleep last night so I hope this is making sense! I love minis for what they are. An inexpensive way to get cute shots of your kids. I hate that they are lacking in the whole “moments of your life captured” which is my favorite part of photography in general.

So when my second to last client walked in the day of Cathy’s sessions with his backpack and said he wanted to show me the toys he brought I was caught off guard. As he grabbed a stool and started to unpack his backpack his mom, a dear client turned instant friend, said something to the effect of… “he brought all of his favorite toys today… he’s obsessed with Ninja Turtles… he has a cut on his eye and please don’t photoshop it… it’s so HIM right now… I don’t care if he smiles… I want you to capture him playing and just being HIM…”

I was literally speechless! After a very long day of trying to get kids to smile I got to sit back for 15 minutes and just listen to this little guy tell me ALL about his Ninja Turtles! He showed me how they work, he showed me his favorite moves they make, he told me their names, he taught me who were the bad guys and what they can do, etc. It was so so awesome.

In one quick 15 minute session this sweet family changed the way I think about mini sessions. They CAN be more personal. They CAN capture your child as they are RIGHT NOW. They CAN evoke amazing memories 30 years down the line. They CAN be more than just a nice updated portrait. And I love that. I love that my clients teach me and give back to me so much more than I can give to them.

Erinn, her mom and her son drove over two hours to come in for this 15 minute session. They came to support a woman they’d never met before and made a mini vacation out of it. They came in relaxed and ready to play. They taught me so much in such a short amount of time and it just makes Erinn that much more special to me. I promised 3 images from these sessions but she’s getting a lot more. How could I chose just three when they all tell the story of a little boys love affair with his turtles? I need to do something like this with Gray and his Bey Blades!

Thanks so much for opening my eyes Erinn! I adore you!