Why We Don’t Do Mini Sessions- Or Do We?? | San Antonio Family Photographer

 

2019 Exclusive Holiday Mini Sessions

-Want to know how to get in??

Let me start off by saying when you get photographed by us, you automatically become part of our family. From the moment someone inquires, we are asking questions about their story, their family, and their vision. This is for us to get to know them on a deeper level than just “photographer” and “client.” Our main goal is to build a relationship with our clients.

Want to know my biggest pet peeve (besides people not using their turn signal)? It’s the lack of customer service these days. The customer experience is important to us and we strive to provide the best customer experience. We always try to meet our clients in person prior to their session or at least have a phone conversation with them. We need to understand your personalities, we want to know what makes you sad and what makes you happy! When we understand you, we know how to photograph you. You’d be surprised at how many people get freaked out when I pick up the phone to call them after I have received an inquiry. I’m a storyteller and I know that this is what draws many people to our work- everyone has a story and I make it my goal to show that story. My favorite part of a portrait reveal is 1. seeing tears (happy tears- seriously there’s no better feeling than knowing you have captured something so meaningful) and 2. hearing clients say they can hear their child’s giggles when they see their portraits. That lets me know that I have served our client well.  

Ok… back to the mini session thing. My blog post are long- I know but keep reading to the end and you’ll know why!

What is a mini session?

-A mini session is a smaller version of our full-service portrait packages. Some photographers offer them in time increments ranging from 10-30 minutes. Mini-sessions are fast-paced and you have a limited amount of time to spend with each client usually resulting in 5-15 images.

If you know me then you know that I have Adult ADHD and I can tell you 12 different stories in about 5 minutes. This will make you love me or hate me – but mostly love me. The best thing about having ADHD is my passion- when I set out to accomplish something, I always put in 1000% effort. I talk too much- I can spark up a conversation with just about anybody-even those who don’t want to talk to me -lol! Seriously though, I am just a people person (more about us here). So you could imagine how difficult it must be for me to get to know you in just a short period of time. Even though I can tell you my life story in about 5 minutes, there’s no way that I can build your trust and get to know you and your family in that amount of time. A mini session just doesn’t work for my personality. I absolutely love getting creative. I love incorporating themes, props and our clients’ unique personalities into every one of our sessions. Although we have offered mini sessions in the past, from our experience over the years we recognize that the client experience is the most important thing to us. We have realized that it’s very hard to get a family comfortable enough to enjoy and actually experience our services in just 15-30 minutes –especially if children are involved. 

To us, mini sessions don’t offer that same valuable experience and by offering mini sessions, we feel that we are really doing you a disservice if you have never experienced a full photo session with us. I’m not a huge fan of being treated as just another person waiting in line or the feeling of being rushed. I don’t know about you but when I spend money on a service I like receiving personal care and attention- especially if my child is involved. I mean really, who doesn’t love being valued and treated like a person? Don’t get me wrong- and I am not saying all mini sessions are like this or even trying to offend those photographers who do mini sessions. I know amazing photographers who offer them and are experts at it- it’s just not for us and not what our brand is about. When I see posts of photographers that just finished 30+ mini-sessions over the weekend all I can do is- SLOW CLAP (Ross Geller style)! 

SOOOOO….. We are doing something completely different this year!

We WILL be offering mini sessions this year – BUT HERE’S THE THING: ONLY TO PAST CLIENTS. 

So if you have been photographed by us we are offering an Exclusive VIP Mini Session Event. We will be holding a limited amount of sessions on November 23rd and December 1st at a gorgeous venue, Wild Revival Co. (pictured below) that includes a beautiful styled Christmas tent and a cozy holiday cabin. We are so excited to partner up with Peyton Boles of Wild Revival Co. this year and even more excited to see all of our past clients at the most wonderful time of the year!!!

Having mini sessions for past clients works for us because our clients, as I mentioned before, they instantly become family and we want them to feel it, even more, this year. For clients who have already experienced a full session with us, this is a great time to have fun and get a few updated photos and with a holiday theme! A few weeks ago we brought the idea up to all of our clients who have booked 2 or more sessions with us and are excited to have already booked over 10 time slots for this year. It’s going to be so much FUN and even though I am a little nervous of doing so many photos in a short period of time, we already know what to expect, we know our clients- we have a good repor with them. We know how to make them smile and know how to capture them genuinely. And best of all- we get to hang out with all our friends in 1 day 🙂 

We don’t want you to think of family pictures as if it’s just another task to do, why not make it a memorable experience instead? Booking a full session with us is fun, exciting and the best part (besides getting to hang with us goofballs) is that you get amazing heirloom portraits that you will cherish forever! So if you need updated family portraits, headshots, or even want to book a Fine Art Boudoir session with us, call us today!

AND… Next year, you will be part of our family and we hope you will join us for our Exclusive Past Client  Event. 

If we have photographed you in the past- whether it’s been a wedding or headshots, give us a call! We can’t wait to hear from all of you! We are only offering a very limited amount of sessions, that we hope to book by the end of the week, so don’t wait- secure your date today here!!

Olvera Photography’s Past Client VIP Holiday Mini Session Event – Location