I had someone ask me the other day "what even is a mini-session anyway?"
In the words of the great Elyse Myers, great question, I'd love to tell you.
First of all, what a mini-session is will really depend on the photographer. For some photographers (not this one) a mini session is just a shorter, less expensive version of their usual sessions that can be booked anytime at a location of the client's choosing. While this version of mini-sessions works for some photographers it does not work for this photographer. I'll tell you why just doing shortened versions of a full session wouldn't work for me. The preparation leading up to the session is all the same. I still have to exchange emails, prepare a contract and an invoice, collect the (reduced) fee, pack and load my camera gear, drive to the location, unload and unpack my gear, shoot the (reduced fee, short session), repack and reload my gear, drive home, upload the photos to my computer, spend hours editing the photos, load the photos to the gallery, and send the gallery. With the exception of the shortened time shooting the session, everything else is exactly the same amount of work for less pay. No thank you!
Now let's talk about what "mini-sessions" look like for this photographer
- usually 15 minutes and never more than 20 minutes long.
- Several sessions (clients) are scheduled back to back on a specific date in a specific location chosen by the photographer.
- The session fee usually covers the cost of the session and 5 digital image files of your choice with the option to purchase more.
How are mini-sessions different from a typical full session?
- The length of the session. A typical full session is always 45 - 60 minutes long a mini session is always between 15 - 20 minutes long.
- The cost of mini-sessions is usually a bit less than that of a full session
- The number of images. In a full session, my clients can download all of their digital images from their session which is typically between 25 - 50 images. Because of the reduced time and cost of a mini-session the number of images that have been generated will also be reduced. A gallery will typically have about 20 images and the client will have access to download 5 digital image files with the option to purchase more.
- The pace of the session. Mini sessions are short and sweet, I, the photographer will be working quickly to get plenty of images to work from in post-processing. A full session is slower-paced and allows time for more timid subjects to warm up and get comfortable with the photographer and camera.
- While full sessions are usually just general portrait-type sessions (with the exception of my daydreamer sessions) mini sessions will often be based around a theme and sometimes geared toward specific age groups.