Regular Portrait Session VS Mini Photo Session

Nebraska Family Portrait Photographer

If you’re in the midst of planning a photography session. Whether it’s for your newborn baby, high school senior that’s graduating or just a general family session. You’ve probably heard the term ‘mini session’ mentioned quite a bit. There are a few differences when it comes to a mini photography session vs a custom or regular session. Here’s what you need to know before you decide which shoot is best for you.

This is of course one of the main differences between the two sessions. A regular photography session will last an hour or two while a photographer will usually book several mini sessions in one day since they only last about 20 – 25 minutes at most.

Number of Poses

Secondly, a custom photography session will allow for as many poses as possible within the time booked. While a mini session offers less time so your photographer will use their skills to capture as many candid moments at possible in a shorter period of time.

While your photographer will still try and shoot as many photos as possible during your mini session. You will naturally end up with fewer photos than you would if you had booked a custom session. A custom session generates between 40 – 60 images while a mini session will give you about 10 – 20 total images. There will also usually be minimal retouching of the photos taken at a mini session.

Cost Comparison

You might be on a budget and just need some quick family photos updated and that is a situation where the mini’s are a fantastic way to get a handful of images without making a larger investment. Keep in mind, most of our mini’s are ran only a few times a year and usually include five digital images in the price. The price of mini’s range from about $150 – $200. The price of our regular sessions start around $300 and go up from there depending on the amount you’d like to invest.

So which photography session is best for you?

You may be surprised to find that many of our clients actually choose both!  Often our clients will opt for the custom session for the entire family at a location of their choice. This gives them more time to play around with poses, backdrops, props and wardrobe changes. While they opt for mini sessions to get a few great photos of the kiddos as a compliment in between the custom sessions when they’re being offered.

Regardless of which you choose, we look forward to working with you!