CHRISTMAS MINI
SESSION GUIDE

Congrats on snapping up a Christmas Mini session!

This handy dandy session guide will tell you everything you need to know about how to best prepare for your session, ensuring that both you and your little one/s have a great time.

My studio is located at my property at 626 Springs Road, Prebbleton. But the entrance is on Trents Road. There is a big hedge and a wooden sign on our corner, so you know when to turn, plus a small swing sign on the Trent Road entrance.

There is plenty of parking on the property, so just drive on up! Find a park and wait till the start of your session time if you are early. Once it’s time, pop out of the car and walk up the left-hand side of the building to the side entrance, then come on in! If we’re running behind and are still finishing up with the session before you, just take a seat on the couch and feel free to start having a look through the wardrobe until we’re done.

Please do not come into the studio early as it can distract other children during their session time. And please don’t bring more than 2 adults into the studio at a time as otherwise it can get a bit crowded while sessions are overlapping.

You are more than welcome to take photos of your kiddies in the dressing area, and also behind-the-scenes shots during the photoshoot, as long as you are mindful not to get in our way while we are shooting. And if your wee one seems a bit distracted/overwhelmed - it’s best to put the phones away so there’s just one camera they have to focus on.

Feel free to tag us on Instagram so we can share it!

We’ll spend the first 5 minutes of your session getting the kids dressed and ready, then we’ll head on over the the set and start the photoshoot. We do all the posing and getting them to smile, so you can just stand back and watch the magic! Feel free to take ‘behind-the-scenes’ photos and videos, but just make sure to not jump in our way or distract the kiddies.

As your session time includes getting dressed and the photoshoot itself, so please do not come into the studio early. You will be able to get your kids dressed back into their clothes afterwards, while the next person is getting dressed and ready for their session.

Please also try not to be late, as I cannot give you extra time to make up for the time you missed.

We have wardrobe options for boys and girls between 3 months to 9 years old. If your child is older than this, please bring them dressed. But don’t stress about what shoes you bring them in, as we will photograph them with bare feet.

Let me know if there are any funny words, faces or favourite songs that they like, as it’s ideal if me or my assistant Maddy can get their attention if possible. But if they don’t warm up to us, be prepared to get right behind my head/camera so that they’re looking in the right direction with light on their face.

If your child is confident to enter the set on their own, ideally, keep out of the shooting area as I often run side to side and backward quickly and bump into you accidentally if you are too close to me,

If your child needs you close by for support, we will direct you to where you can stand/sit nearby without being in the shots. Or if they are pretty confident on their own, then it’s ideal if you can just stand right back as we jump around a lot getting different poses and angles.

Have your kids watch the video on our Facebook page! Let them see the ‘toy Shop’ before they come in!

For toddlers aged between 1-2 years old (or particularly shy/stubborn 2-3 year olds) we strongly recommend bringing them already dressed in their own outfit for best results.

If you are in doubt, always bring them dressed nicely just in case. We can try dress them if you think they are up for it, but sometimes it’s not worth it if they end up spending their entire session time being upset about getting changed, and then we are not able to get any photos.

Remember to still bring your child is reasonably photo-ready before you leave the house as we don’t have time to style hair, wipe faces, remove nail polish and bandages - we can photoshop out bruises and sores, but not bandages.

For older girls, putting a light curl through their hair can be really beautiful, and makes them feel extra special for their wee photoshoot.

You will receive your fully edited digital images via email.

On receiving your digital images, will also have exclusive access to purchase our handmade Christmas ornaments frames, and fine art prints from our online Shop Honeydewprintery.co.nz

Please have a look at the examples at the bottom of this page to see what type of photos you can expect for different ages.