Christmas mini sessions 2022



Less than a week to go before the Christmas mini sessions as part of our school's P&C fundraiser kick off. How did we get here so fast? Please read through this article for some further information about your session. I'm here if you have any questions. Can't wait to see all your smiling faces soon and to capture some beautiful memories with your family!

About your session

• Date: Saturday, November 12th
• Time: Please check your confirmation email
• Location: DPPS school grounds (specific location TBD)

Outfits

The best advice I can give you regarding what to wear, is to wear something that you feel comfortable in. It shines through in the photos if you feel happy and confident in your outfit.

If you want to coordinate everyone's looks, try going for a similar colour palette or similar styles. Think natural/earthy and pastel tones like beige, cream, light browns, blues and greens (moss/forest green).

You might not want everyone to match perfectly, but you also don't want colours to clash. And try not to wear clothing that's too dark (black, dark grey, etc.), or that has stripes, large logos or prints.

I wouldn't necessarily worry about the outfits being Christmassy (unless you want that look, of course!), as the setting will already have a nice Christmas feel to it.

Just a final heads up: the setup includes a beautiful lounge with a dark red, velvety fabric (donated by Rustic Lovebirds). I would therefore also recommend not to wear red, or any colours that clash with red. Also, depending on the weather forecast until mid-November, the school grounds may be slightly muddy. I'd therefore recommend closed shoes, or to bring an extra pair with you to pop on before you hop on the lounge.

For any further advice on this, please feel free to reach out and/or read my 7 tips on what to wear to a photo session.

What to bring

Your session will take up to 20 minutes, so you don't need to bring much apart from yourselves. You probably already know what's helpful to bring, but this list might help you prepare for your session:

• A drink (in case your kids get thirsty)
• Some snacks (ones that don't get clothes or hands messy)
• An extra change of clothes (just in case)

If you have any Christmas decorations that are special to your family, or if your child has any favourite Christmas books or toys, please feel free to bring them along. We can then see how we can incorporate them into the photos.

Please also let me know if there's anything you or your child(ren) need to make your session easier. I will do my best to accommodate any special needs and/or requirements you have.

To keep in mind

These are some general things to keep in mind for your Christmas mini session:

• Please try to arrive a little earlier than your booked in time (5-10 mins). This gives you time to get ready, find a parking spot and walk to the location without feeling rushed.
• If you arrive late, we might not be able to shoot for the full session time, as there is a booking directly after yours.

Helpful tips

Last but not least, here are some tips to prepare for your Christmas session.

• Enjoy the moment! I know you want this to be perfect and you might have an expectation on how the photos should turn out. Or, you might be slightly camera shy and have no idea how to look or act in front of the lens (like me). Please don't stress out and try to enjoy the moment as much as you can. See it as an opportunity to have some special family time together instead of it being a photoshoot. And, if you're relaxed, your kids will most likely feel at ease too which will make the session a lot more fun. Win-win!
• Prepare your kids for the session. It can help to talk to your kids about the session beforehand. Let them help choose a nice outfit to wear. Tell them why they're having their photo taken. And hopefully they will feel more comfortable knowing the location. This will help them picture what it will be like and how much fun it will be.
• Don't expect your kids to sit still. I definitely won't! I'm all about candid photos so I won't be telling you, or your children to pose or do anything that doesn't feel natural. Because this generally never works. It's better to engage with your kids, tell them something funny and/or sing a song together. Pretend I'm not there and I promise I'll capture a beautiful photo of you just being you! The best photos are taken when you don't know they're being taken.

THANK YOU AGAIN!

I look forward to seeing you soon and to capture some memories for your family. If you have any further questions or need anything from me, please feel free to reach out at any time!