Mini Sessions really are perfect for capturing that fabulous little personality of your child. Sessions are short to ensure that children don't get over tired/stimulated and are usually "painless". That being said, as is the nature of children, I/you cannot guarantee star quality performance from your child on the day. I will do my best and I love engaging with kids on a very silly level, however I will also need a lot of energy from you to get the shots that you are hoping for. 

Whilst I know that it can feel like the pressure is on to get the perfect images it really helps if you relax as much as possible. Children can sense when their parents are getting stressed and simply won't perform. I have a lot of experience with children; I have four of my own as well as working almost exclusively with small children in the studio, so I will pull out every trick in the book to engage with your little one and get the best out of them. If you are having a family session and are in the picture yourself, please try to remember at this time to look at me with a relaxed expression, rather than trying to engage your child. I'll pull the silly faces and act like a clown if necessary as no-one is going to be taking my picture! 

It can be helpful if you're not in the picture to help me to get the attention of young children, they tend to react better to the voice of their parent. Please come as close to me and specifically to the camera as possible so that I can get their eyes looking right at me. 

I will capture your child as he or she is. I don't ask children to smile for me, I want to give them a reason to. Some children are introverted and will need some quiet, gentle coaxing to help them relax, in which case the resulting images will reflect this quietness. It's so important to me to record the true personality of children and not their forced smiley face. 

Your Art

Approximately two weeks after your session you'll be invited back to the studio to view your gallery. At this design meeting we'll be able to discus in detail what products would best suit your home and your needs. You'll be able to browse all the samples that I have on stock and using a special artwork design app you'll see a display of your art work on the walls of your home. You need only take a picture the wall that you intend to hang your portrait on using your phone camera with an A4 piece of paper somewhere on the wall and using this I will be able to show you examples of groupings and sizes that will compliment your decor.

Feel free to bring a friend or family member to accompany you. I'll have refreshments available and together we will design the perfect collection for you.

Usually one the first questions I am asked by families is "what should we wear", and it is a very important question. What your family wears for your session can make or break your final portraits and with some careful planning you can create a look that is both timeless and beautiful and fits to the style of your family and home.

Important to remember if dressing the whole family you should view the entire family choices as though you were creating one outfit. You wouldn't dress yourself in stripes, spot and floral at once so avoid doing this when putting together your wardrobe for the day. 

Try choosing a colour that you like, for example grey and dressing everyone in shades of every except for one person who you dress in a splash of colour, for example yellow. You could also add a yellow accessory to one of the grey outfits.

Textured clothing such as lace looks wonderful on Mama's as do detailed necklines, pretty sleeves.

If all else fails, keep it simple, no big, busy designs or logos and stick to just a few key colours.

Have a think about your hair and makeup. There's no need to go overboard here, but a little special touch here and there can go a long way in creating stunning portraits. Feel free to enquire about my in house make-up artist who specialising in natural, organic looks.

For smaller children and babies I still feel that their fresh, rosy skin is best of all and advice a simple white body or neutral coloured romper. Boys can go topless or with little suspenders.

Pinterest is a great source of inspiration so feel free to take a look at my "what to wear" boards

https://www.pinterest.com/familyasart/what-to-wear-little-folk/

https://www.pinterest.com/familyasart/what-to-wear-family-sessions/

“I have 3 small children and I would like to get individual portraits of all 3 of them, sibling shots, and a family shot.  Is this possible during a mini session?”

While some families can be photographed quickly and get this amount of images, I can not guarantee that you will get all these different types of images during a mini session.  If you have concerns about this and know that this is what you are looking for, then I suggest booking a double session, where you are guaranteed to get those types of shots.

“Can we bring more than one outfit?”

You can bring along as many outfits as you would like, however, we only have 30 minutes.  Due to the time constraint of a mini I suggest no more than 2 outfit per person or dressing in layers so that people can take off the top layers and get different looks.

“We love all our images!  Can we have the digital negatives and print them ourselves”

Absolutely! As with all my sessions a digital negative package is available to purchase. Digital negatives also come as part of all wall or album packages.

Please do remember, when purchasing digital files that the true value in your investment is the actual printing and cherishing of these images. Please consider how you would like these images to be viewed in 10 years time and think about how often you or your children would locate a usb drive to relish the memories of this time. (to read more about digital versus print please take a look at my blog article.)

"My son, daughter, husband normally naps at this time and may be grumpy. What can I do?"

Please use your own discretion when booking the slot to ensure that your family is comfortable. 

Mini sessions are in no way guaranteed. The sessions are 30 minutes and I always make every effort to work with your family and kids, but I can not be responsible for members who are not cooperating/smiling for photos, this includes fussy babies, toddlers who will not pose, teens who are stinky and miserable husbands ;-)

Feel free to bring non messy snack and treats to use as bribes, these are magic weapons and often save the day!

I will pull every trick out of the book however it's a fact that sometimes it just isn't enough. 

"How many images will we get to see?"

Mini sessions yield a maximum of 15 images. You may here my camera clicking many more times than this, but I select only the very best images to process. These images are the ones that I feel best represent your family and will be the most powerful when used as wall art or part of an album.

What do most people do with their images after the session?

For many of my clients mini sessions are offered as a gift or are planned to commemorate a milestone in their child's life, first steps, starting kindergarten, going to school etc, which is why albums are very popular. These hard backed albums are professionally designed, with your input at the design appointment and printed on high quality solid pages which make them perfect for sticky little fingers. Another popular investment is art work for the nursery or family room. Again, we will talk together about the most impactful size and layout of your images at your design appointment to ensure that the art that you take home with you will enhance your home and compliment your style.