I’m sure you’ve seen photographers advertising their special mini sessions at various times throughout the year, something like Christmas Minis with Santa, Mother’s Day Minis with Mom or Summer Beach Minis. The draw to mini sessions is that they are usually less expensive than typical photo package sessions, albeit they include less photos overall due to the time limitations typically involved with mini sessions.
Well- I have a hot take that may not sit right with all photographers. Mini sessions should be available all year round as an affordable option to families that want professional portraits, but can’t afford to spend near $1000 to do so.
I offer a mini session option to all families to book at any point in the year, which is up to 30 minutes and 15 professionally edited images. I still offer specials throughout the year for “micro” sessions, for those families that may require an option even less expensive than the mini, but I like to keep the mini session as one of my package choices because I believe having your family captured professionally should be available to as many people as possible.
Granted, in order to make a profit on my business, I may have to schedule more sessions to make up for the lowered cost of mini sessions, which is why most photographers do not offer minis as a regular package. I am doing this job because it is a passion, so more sessions is not a problem for me. It is more experience photographing, more time editing and more time building connections with families- all things I love doing.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d rather book my mega session package so that I have more time with the family and can deliver more images in the digital gallery. A perk to that package is that there is an outfit change included, which is a popular option for maternity sessions. I named it “Mega” for a reason- it is superior and it is a great session choice, but for a family whose only option is to schedule the mini session, I believe that should be available. Book whatever session works best for your situation, just actually book the session to preserve your family’s memories forever in a professional way.
