You’ve done the work, you’ve looked online, looked at countless galleries and now you’ve chosen me as your photographer (and boy, am I excited to work with you!) Now you have to decide- is it better to do a full session or get one of the coveted slots for one of my monthly mini sessions? One of the best parts of being a Utah and Arizona based photographer is that I have such a wide variety of clients- high school seniors, young families, older families, extended families, engaged couples, small businesses needing a few shots of their products etc. Because of this, I make sure to offer both full and mini sessions to best suit the needs of my clients. Read below to see which session you think may work best for you!

Length of Session: Mini Session versus Full Session

A mini session is only 20 minutes in length. That includes the time it takes for me to meet you at the designated meeting spot,walk to the area we will take photos at, and then walk back to the meeting spot for my next client. Each location is different but some walking will take up some of those 20 minutes (of course I always try to choose locations that don’t require much walking for minis).  Since we have such limited time, our shots will be packed in tight. There is little wiggle room when it comes to mini sessions and I will come ready to get in as many shots as I possibly can in a short amount of time. Often times, due to the short time period, your photos will all have the same backdrop. A mini session is great for a quick family picture update, a no-nonsense senior photo shoot, or a quick engagement session. 20 minutes will fly by!

A full session is typically 60 minutes in length. With this amount of time we will have more flexibility and more time to play and explore as well as more time to walk to different areas to get a variety of backdrops. A 60 minute session can seem intimidating to parents of small children but I have also seen how wonderful they can be. The child is given ample time to warm up to me as the photographer and if there is a melt down, there is still a lot of time remaining in the session. I feel like a full session provides me more of an opportunity to capture you as individuals and as a family since we have more time to get to know one another, too. A full session also provides more time for individual shots, detailed shots, you get what I am saying. Your gallery will most likely have a wider variety of shots because of the longer time we are together.

Locations: Mini Session versus Full Session

Mini sessions are scheduled and planned by me at a location of my choosing. There are two exceptions to this: 1) You find a friend and book mini sessions back to back- then you are able to choose your location (as well as get 30 minutes each as opposed to just 20 minutes). 2) The next exception is that often I have clients who are unable to make the scheduled mini sessions work with their schedules. In this case, I am typically open to attaching your mini session to the beginning, or end, of another full session planned. In that case, you would not choose the location but rather we would shoot at the location the client who booked the full session chose.

On the other hand, when you book a full session, I will send you my location guide! There are so many amazing places for photography in Arizona and Utah. The guide is pretty complete with photos of locations and what to expect. If you are wanting a session at your home, on your private property, or at a specific location, this is definitely the way to go!

Images Received: Mini Session versus Full Session

Mini sessions include 15 images of your choosing. I will provide you a gallery full of options and you will be able to automatically download the photos you like best! If there are more than 15 that you like, you are able to pay for those individually or pay for the whole gallery. I’ve had many clients fall in love with all their images and decide to invest and purchase the gallery. While it takes me quite a bit more time to edit those additional photos, I do it as a service to my amazing clients. I want to make sure you get the photos that make your heart happy and how else can you do that then to be able to choose the photos yourself?!

Full sessions include a full gallery with more than 100 images. You do not have to pay for any additional images and you are not given the task to choose only 15 (trust me, it can be time consuming and heartbreaking to do so). You’ll be able to download the whole gallery right onto your phone or computer!

Better for Kids: Mini Session versus Full Session

I’ve gone back and forth about what is better. For a while, I was a true believer that mini sessions were sooo much better for littles but now I feel like I’ve actually changed my mind! 

Minis are short and sweet. Show up, walk a little, play, get those quick photos for milestones, and you’re done. You only have to worry about them not destroying their cute picture clothes for a whole 20 minutes which I know is usually one of mama’s biggest stresses about family pictures…

Full sessions are longer, and you might be afraid your kids won’t last that long. Trust me…they will! I am not about to make any child sit in front of my camera for a whole 60 minutes, haha! A longer session can allow more time for them to play, laugh, and interact with your family. It allows more time so that if there is a meltdown (hopefully there won’t be) we can still have plenty of opportunities to get some cute shots! I’ve also noticed parents are far less stressed during the 60 minutes because they know there are more opportunities for kids to cooperate and such!

So there are my thoughts regarding mini versus full sessions! Obviously, mini sessions can be much more budget friendly which I LOVE. Not everyone can make the investment of a full session and that is one reason I am always happy to offer mini sessions. Regardless of what you choose, I can guarantee you we will have a GREAT time and I will get some beautiful images for you to cherish for the years to come.

Xoxo

Nicole