Everything You Need To Know About Back to School Mini Sessions
If you’re reading this you might be thinking about booking one of my back to school mini sessions.
I’m sure you want to make an informed decision about whether a back to school mini session is the right fit for your family, and you might have some questions about how it all works.
In this article I’ll explain exactly how back to school mini sessions work, and what you can expect when you book one.
What Is A Back To School Mini Session?
A back to school mini session is a short, outdoor photo shoot for school age children in their school uniform; they’re an alternative to buying the portraits your children have taken at school.
The sessions take place on selected dates at the end of August and beginning of September.
On a back to school mini session day I’ll photograph a number of children at pre-booked times. A session for one child lasts 10 minutes. Each sibling added to the session adds extra session time.
Where Do The Back To School Mini Sessions Take Place?
The mini sessions take place in a lovely outdoor space close to Hampton Court Palace. I’ll send you the meeting point details around a week before your session.
The meeting point is a short walk from Hampton Court station which has regular trains from London Waterloo, Clapham Junction, Wimbledon and Surbiton. There are also plenty of places to park nearby.
What’s Included In The Back To School Mini Session Package?
The back to school mini session package includes:
- A ten minute photo shoot for one child in their school uniform
- A selection of images to view and order from
- Your two favourite photographs as high resolution digital files that you can print yourself or share with your loved ones.
Extra siblings can be added for a small fee. Adding a sibling extends your session time by 5 minutes and adds one extra digital image to your package.
As I’m photographing a number of children in the same place on the same date, the back to school mini session package offers big savings over my usual prices.
You can find the up to date price and package details on my back to school mini session information page.
Is A Back To School Mini Session Right For My Family?
I hear from so many clients how disappointed they are with their children’s school portraits. School photographers usually get a couple of minutes with your child at the most. They’re typically photographing hundreds of children in one day and just won’t have the time to spend time capturing the perfect shot.
Back to school mini sessions are longer, which allows me to spend more time getting to know your child and coaxing out their personality – so that the photographs reflect the child you know and love.
As you’re with your child at the session you can also make sure that ties are straight, hair is neat and there aren’t any lunch stains down your child’s jumper!
And if you have children at different schools, a back to school mini session means we can photograph your children all together.
If all of this sounds good to you, and you like the idea of staring the school year with school photographs that you love and are proud to share, then back to school mini sessions are a great fit.
Still have questions? Click here to send me a message.
What Kind Of Photographs Do You Take At A Back To School Mini Session?
During the session I’ll aim to capture a variety of different photographs of your child(ren.) All of the photographs will be in the style of the photographs in this blog post.
I’ll give your child lots of direction about where to sit or stand and what to do, but the end result will be natural and relaxed. I don’t use any props in my photographs.
If there’s something in particular that you would like me to capture please get in touch to discuss this before you book so that I can let you know whether it will be possible.
What Happens On The Day Of The Session?
On the day of your session we’ll meet at the back to school mini session ‘meeting point.’ I’ll usually email you details of where this meeting point is around a week beforehand.
I’ll have chosen this meeting point so that it’s close to where we take the photographs, meaning that we can maximise the time we have for capturing your child.
Over the next 10 minutes I’ll guide your child through different photographs so that we capture a good variety of different images.
Although my style of photography is natural, the photographs I take are not ‘unposed’, and each photograph is a careful balance of location, relaxed posing and lighting so I’ll give your child lots of guidance about where to sit, stand or look and what to do.
Once we’ve finished the photographs you can relax! Lots of families choose to make a day of it and stay in the local area to have coffee, lunch or a walk.
How Do I See The Photographs Afterwards?
One to two weeks after your session I’ll send you a link to a private online gallery where you can see the fully edited photographs from your session. The photographs will be edited in colour and black and white.
The gallery will be live for 7 days whilst you choose the photographs you’d like to include in your package. At this stage you can choose to order extra digital images or prints, but there’s no obligation to do so.
During this time I’ll be as hands on or hands-off as you would like me to be. If you would like some help choosing your photographs I would be happy to assist you. Alternatively you may prefer to finalise your decision yourself.
Once you’ve chosen your images I’ll send you the details you need to download your digital images within 48 hours. If you order prints, they’ll be delivered to your home address 3-4 weeks later.
That All Sounds Great. How Do I Book?
To book your back to school mini session please click on the link below.
