My Year of Minis
At the end of 2018 I looked at my books and realized how much my clients LOVE mini sessions. I absolutely encourage them, too! I would rather see your family 2-3 times per year than only once a year or every other year as is typical with a full session. So I set out in 2019 with a plan: mini sessions every month. I only skipped one month (and it was in preparation for busy season) so I’m giving myself some grace on that. Here I’m going to share some behind-the-scenes thoughts, the goals that came from this year, and—DUH—the pictures!
January + March
My first set of minis (and a few more in March) were boudoir! Looking back, it feels like some type of foreshadowing. Since I’m currently working to pursue my boudoir goals it’s kind of fun to look back at where I was a year ago. (Due to the nature of the sessions, I have permission to share photos from only a few of the sessions.)
Venue: The Piano Studio | Florals: Paper Twigs February
This one was one of my favorites. My insanely talented friend, Jessica from Gather Flower Studio created A LIVE FLOWER WALL!! Yes, you heard that right. I’ll be honest, this mini was time-intensive and the cost of quality flowers was pretty high. I wish more people had booked. But, people loved the photos and since the galleries were released, multiple people have reached out to have a flower wall session in the future AND Jess created another beautiful flower wall at the studio grand opening party!
Venue: The Piano Studio | Florals: Gather Flower StudioApril
This is the first set of outdoor minis we did in 2019! Nimisila Reservoir is one of my favorite outdoor locations, and it’s perfect pretty much any time of the year! My favorite part of these ones: four of the six families who booked are returning clients and two visited me for the first time! My goal is to make EVERY client a returning client!
Venue: Nimisila ReservoirMay
Gather Flower Studio and I were back at it! This time for an outdoor floral setup. This one was a blast because everyone was finally thawed out from the cold weather. Jess spent both days with me, making sure the flowers survived the warmer weather. I’m so grateful to have her creative mind, which works so well with my own!
Venue: Spiker Park | Florals: Gather Flower StudioJune
June was all about little clients! We spent time at Portage Lakes State Park, which includes beautiful trees, a beach, and even a playground! Portage Lakes has a little bit of something for everyone, and if you follow my work I’m sure you’ve seen a few other sessions taken there. Bonus: look how cute this little watermelon setup is. If you have a birthday that you’d like to get a few photos for, bringing a few props to a mini session is a great way to do that!
Venue: Portage Lakes State ParkJuly
July was HOT. As in, 96-dang-degrees hot! But these families stuck it out and I think we have some great photos to show for it. Between sesssions I sat in my car, chugging water with an ice pack on my neck, blasting the AC. The other cool part (get it? sorry about me.) about this one is this was right after Stark Parks bought Tam O’Shanter Golf Course, making it public property! This has quickly become one of my favorite locations. I’m sure we’ll have more minis there this year!
Venue: Tam O’Shanter Park
September
Okay, so I mentioned that I skipped August. There were a few reasons. 1) September usually kicks off the season of fall and holiday minis, which typically ends up being my busiest time of the year. 2) I WAS BUSY OPENING A STUDIO! Don’t worry, you’ll get a separate blog post about the studio. So back to September. I did minis in two locations: Nimisila Reservoir in Akron and Varian Orchards in East Canton. I had a great mix of returning clients and new clients for these.
Venue: Nimisila ReservoirVenue: Varian Orchards
October
I was so excited for back-to-back minis at Varian Orchards. What I didn’t count on: rain! Luckily, the owners were able to help me plan for it and we decided to book the cabin, just in case! I love how different the property looks, just by moving from one side to the other. This one is a doosey (and extra big collage) because I spent time with 9 families on this day!
Venue: Varian OrchardsNovember + December
November was a rough one! I ended up with a kidney infection for most of the month and had to do something for the first time: reschedule an entire day of minis. I’m so thankful to my awesome clients who gave me grace and helped me reschedule. We ended up with a beautiful make-up day, though! I’m putting November and December together because I offered in-studio minis throughout both months. I had such a great time with these and I’m already thinking of how to top this for Christmas 2020!
Venue: LovelyInk Creative Studio (woohoo!)Venue: Green Tree FarmWHEW!
2019 was a whirlwind. If my bookkeeping is correct (it is!), I completed 66 mini sessions this year. I would love to grow that number for 2020 and hit 100! Who’s with me?
Thanks for taking this trip down memory lane with me! I hope you enjoyed seeing yourself or your friends in these photos. If you’re planning on booking a mini session some time in 2020, take advantage of $20 off by booking before February 1. All minis this year will be $145 and include 10 photos with the option to purchase the full gallery.