Mini Session vs. Full Session | Which should I choose?

Full Family Sessions

A full family session is designed for those that enjoy both posed and candid family photography. These sessions are usually 45 to 60 minutes in length, can be scheduled any time of year, and can be held in the studio or in the great outdoors. Most often, we recommend these sessions (rather than a mini session) for larger families with 4 or more children, so that we have plenty of opportunity to catch lots of sibling interaction, as well as individual photos of each child in the family.

Basically, you will receive an private online gallery of professionally edited digital images. Your package includes 30-35 digital images, as well as a print credit to be used in my online print store.

Benefits to a full family session are that you as the client are able to choose the location, date, and time for your session. We have 45 minutes to an hour together, and that gives us whatever time we may need to work through any nervousness that anyone in the family might be feeling. Honestly, we like to have fun during our family sessions, and we think most of our customers actually have fun too!

When booking a full family photo session with T. Lyn Photography, we can help you choose from a variety of beautiful locations and provide some sample images from those to help you plan a memorable evening. We generally schedule family sessions at the end of the day, within a two-hour window before sunset. This time of day is universally referred to as the "golden hour" as it provides the most beautiful, flattering light. If you have littles that this time frame simply does not work for because of bedtimes, we can bend the rules a little, just for you! (winky-smile!)

Our goal is to provide a relaxed and fun environment, where we have ample time for individual shots of each child, couples photography of the parents, boy/girl combinations of siblings, with and without parents, and of course, the complete family all together.

A full session is also great for family yearbook photos. We offer and personally design photo albums and photo books to showcase all the beauty from your family session together, as well as traditional prints and canvases. These albums especially are a great little coffee table item that will bring smiles to hearts for many years to come.

These are the goals of our full sessions. Now let's talk about minis.

Mini Sessions: What They Are, and What They Aren't

A mini session is a very specific 15-minute power session for children, seniors and families. We sometimes offer these for business headshots also. Sometimes Mini Sessions are outdoors, and sometimes they are in the studio. Sometimes they are very specifically themed. (Check out our Pink Truck Minis below!)

This is the short-list of what is Mini Session IS:

• Minis are available on certain pre-determined days
• Minis are always offered with Limited Availability during certain time-frames
• Minis are always at specific locations predetermined by the photographer
• Minis are faster sessions (15 minutes instead of 45-60 minutes!) and therefore not suitable for large groups
• Minis are typically close to half the cost of a full session (That's a savings!)
• Minis will deliver 8 to 10 digital images and generally do not include a print credit

Minis are a great way to get updated family pics in a shorter session. While the cost is less, so are the number of digital images you receive. Some folks think to themselves...well, I don't know what I would do with 30 images from a full session anyway, so we should just do a mini. Besides, that will save us money! And who doesn't like to save money?? And all that is true! But please keep in mind if you have a particularly shy child or spouse, or a baby has a diaper disaster and must be cleaned up immediately, the structured format of a mini session day doesn't give us much leeway. I will unfortunately have a schedule to keep, and am not responsible to make up for lost time due to tardiness or unexpected events. (Though I wish I always could!!) A new client arrives every 20 minutes, and we wrap up each session at the 15 minute mark. Sometimes we get alllll the smiles in the amount of time, and sometimes we do not. It's just a bit of the risk of being locked into a shorter time limit. I am not trying to discourage anyone from taking advantage of Mini Session days...I just want customers to have all the details heading in!

So, with all that being said, if you just need a few group pics for holiday cards, or a few pics for a high school Senior Open House invitation, or maybe you want a few themed pics of your littles just for fun, it's really a great option! Minis help keep your family memories up to date, and it saves you some money too!

If you are still unsure which session is best in your situation, CONTACT US, and we will help you work through it.

If you'd like to see what upcoming Minis are available and are ready for booking, head over to BOOK A SESSION, and reserve your time!

Whichever you decide to do, I am happy to see you taking steps to preserve your family's story through fine photography while making special memories. You'll never be sorry you made the time to do it.