Mini Sessions may not be the best way to create family portraits. So why do so many families search for mini sessions in the fall? How did 15-minute family portrait sessions become a vibe?

As humans, we invent new things to solve common problems. 

The entire baby industry is built around making a parent’s life easier. “These smelly diapers stink up the whole house!” Let me introduce you to the diaper genie! “I’m too tired to mix up a bottle in the middle of the night.” How about a Baby Brezza! “My baby will only sleep if they are held!” What if we make weighted sleep sack and a baby bed that rocks on its own and call it the Snoo?!

But it doesn’t stop with babies. As parents, we will try just about anything to minimize the pain-points in our everyday lives. 

So photographers created mini sessions.

Families have taken portraits since the invention of the camera, and along the way, photographers realized this one, universal thing: families don’t enjoy the experience! Mom cares more than dad, kids are hard to control, everyone is always late, no one knows how to pose, and people are hard to please. 

So to solve this problem, someone came up with the idea of the mini session! Just 15 minutes with some playful, silly prompts and you’ll have a family portrait! And bonus, since it’s only 15 minutes, it will cost less! Ta-da!! You’re welcome. 

However, there is always more than 1 way to solve a problem. 

I’m married and we have 4 kids. We’ve done mini sessions. And I can say from experience, my husband still didn’t love the experience and honestly, the tiny window of time sent my stress through the roof. Do you know how easy it is to show up on time as a family and have everyone happy and cooperative at the same time in a 15-minute window? It’s not. It takes a whole lot of stuffed emotional turmoil and bribery to pull off. My guess is, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It doesn’t matter how good the photographer is. Someone is faking their family joy!

I was working with a family yesterday when the Dad said he announced at work he was leaving early because he had family photos, and all of his colleagues responded with some version of, “oh man, I’m so sorry!” 

Now, don’t get me wrong, 15 minutes of misery is much better than an hour of misery. But what if the experience wasn’t miserable? What if the experience was easy? 

Relaxing. 

Refreshing, even. 

What if you didn’t have to do anything that made you feel silly, and you didn’t have to promise wild things to your kids (and maybe also your husband) to convince them to behave and enjoy themselves?

So, while there are plenty of Austin photographers who offer you a mini session, my solution is to offer you, instead, a documentary family session. 

I want to invite you into more time with your family doing only what feels natural. I want to learn about your kids and discover what truly makes joy shine across their faces. I want to absorb your stress, mama, by helping you relax into yourself, and allow presence to stir up beauty. I don’t want you watching the clock and prompting interactions. 

I just want you to be. You deserve to just be. Soak it in. Feast on this life you’ve worked so hard to create. Take time and relish in it. This is yours. You did this. 

Let’s not rush capturing what you love.

Family photos shouldn’t be a problem. They should be an invitation.

And as far as cost goes, the truth is, a full session isn’t that much more of an investment than a mini session.  But after all that you’ve invested into your family over the years, I think it deserves to be celebrated in photographs that are exceedingly more meaningful than that trendy family portrait you are imagining. You deserve something more.

Let’s do this.

And just to give you one more reason to consider shaking things up this year, check out what Katherine had to say about their Day in the Life Session with me!