Spring Mini Sessions are announced in late January or early February for the Spring Minis (which take place in late March for Austin, and April-May for Greenville).

Fall Mini Sessions are announced in August (which take place in September - November).

Glad you asked! The biggest difference (besides the price) is that Mini Sessions are offered only twice each year on specific dates in the Spring and Fall at locations pre-selected by me… while regular Family Sessions are available year round at a date and location chosen by you. (with help from me, of course!)

Mini Sessions are scheduled back-to-back with other families. By creating a schedule this way, it optimizes time and allows me to offer an affordable session for those of you who like to do sessions regularly!

Mini Session $449
20 minutes
         20 images delivered in high resolution w/personal printing rights
up to six people included (with option to add three more people at $40/person)
         location is selected by Melissa
      limited dates and times available
online gallery for 30 days

Curious about Regular Family Sessions? Those details can be found here!

The BEST way to know when they are on sale is to Sign up for the Email Club! When you become an Email Club Member, you get first dibs on mini session appointments before everyone else.

The month of mini launch, you’ll see the launch date listed at the top of this page as well as posts on my Instagram and Facebook, so be sure you follow those! ( @mglynnphoto ) Once the minis are launched, you’ll be able to click a link at the top of the page, on my blog, or on social media to book directly.

There is a 14-21 day turnaround on your images. So, you’ll have an email in your inbox with a link to your online gallery within three weeks after your session. (typically it’s closer to the two week mark though) You’ll go through and select the images you want delivered and then I’ll send them over in a download link via email. Super easy!

If you’re in The Carolinas…. we will reschedule. I don't shoot in the rain as my gear isn't really into getting wet, but don't worry... we'll find a new date that works for you and your family! You can choose from any of the future mini session dates that are still open. I don’t do alternate set rain dates because they don’t always work for families.

For my Austin clients… we will have a back up indoor studio location. So, you’re appointment will carry on as planned. If you prefer to push to another open mini session date in hopes for better weather, you can do so (if available) for a $75 fee.

IMPORTANT: Please please please do NOT email me about the weather if it's two or more days from your appointment. We all know the forecast will change a dozen more times before your appointment arrives. I will always reach out to you to put a plan in place. I typically make the call 12-24 hours in advance at the very latest. If you need to make the call sooner than that due to your personal scheduling limitations, please let me know... otherwise, I will be in touch as soon as possible.

Once dates are announced, you’ll see a hyperlink at the top of this page that will take you to the current season’s booking options. You’ll book your date directly through the website. It’s super easy!

Payments accepted: Cash, Virtual Payments, and Credit Cards

When you pre purchase your full collection at the time of booking your appointment, that means you have opted to buy the entire collection of images up front at a discounted rate. I’d say about 50% of my clients do this as they have worked with me for years and know to expect greatness.

This is the absolute best deal and this price will not be offered again once you sign your contract and pay your deposit. The standard package includes 20 images delivered in print resolution, but if you pre-purchase everything - that means you get all the photos to download and keep forever!

Should you decide not to pre-purchase your full collection of images, you will still have the opportunity to purchase them after your session when your online gallery launches at discounted rate which expires after 48 hours… (just not the pre-purchase rate). After that 48 hours runs out, the images will be available to purchase at the full rate. All pricing details are given when you book - so you’ll have all the info available to make that decision. I don’t put the prices here because they may change every year.

At your mini session appointment, I can take up to 300 photos of your family. I know that sounds like a lot, but I move fast and try to capture as many candids as possible in between all the “posed” shots. This doesn’t mean I give you all 300 images though. In the editing process, I go through and eliminate all the bad shots, duplicates or any other images that may not be good enough to make the final cut. Typically, that means you end up with anywhere between 60 - 100 images in your online gallery (give or take). There are a few factors that play into how many images you end up with…

1. How many people are in your session. More people automatically means more images. 

2. How much fun you guys have together. I always take a lot of posed shots and try to get candids in-between… so, the more comfy and playful you guys are, the more candids I can capture. 

3. The location… some locations automatically lend themselves to more photos as they have a lot more to offer than others. 

After I edit your images and upload them to your online gallery, I’ll send over an email to let you know they are available to view as well as your next steps. If you did NOT pre-purchase your full collection, you’ll select the 20 images you want delivered that were included in your mini session package (as seen above). If you DID pre-purchase your full collection, then you don’t have to make any hard decisions or eliminate any potentially amazing photos of your babies because I’ll just send you the whole gallery… whether there are 50 photos or 100+! It’s definitely the BEST bargain as this price is only available at the time of booking! After your gallery launches, the full collection of images is available at it’s usual rate.

Yes!! But only to a certain extent… since these sessions are abbreviated and more affordable, the only edits I include are to perfect the color, lighting and cropping.

All additional edits are allowed by request. Editing fees start at the rate of $25/image. All edit requests must be made via email within seven business days of your gallery launch date. After the seven days, all images are deemed final and will be delivered to you via email. Edit requests can include things like blemish removal, background/distraction removal, skin smoothing, hair smoothing, etc. All edit requests submitted after the images are delivered will require an un-archival fee of $100.

Appointments may be rescheduled by Client without penalty up to 31 days before your scheduled session. If you need to reschedule your appointment for any reason 15-30 days before your appointment, there is a $50 rescheduling fee. All appointments rescheduled 7-14 days before your appointment will be charged a $100 rescheduling fee. Appointments rescheduled six days or less will be charged $175 to reserve a new appointment. A new appointment may only be scheduled on selected future "Mini Session" dates. If no appointments are available for the current season, the "Mini Session" may be applied to the next available dates open.  You may only postpone up to six months out from your original Mini Session date.

If Client cancels the appointment entirely, then Photographer will terminate your contract and keep all payments made up to that date.

Since these sessions are booked back to back, you must be early to your appointment so you are ready to begin shooting right at your appointment start time.

*****In the event you are more than five minutes late for your mini session, your appointment automatically gets canceled for that day. You will then have to pay a $175 rescheduling fee to get a new appointment on the calendar. No exceptions. I HAVE to be strict about this because if you’re late and I capture your family for the full 20 minutes, that causes all of the remaining families after you to have to wait and be off on time.

So, plan for traffic. Plan for your daughter to throw a tantrum as you're brushing her hair. Plan for a major diaper blowout right when you're getting out of the car. It's better to be 15 minutes early and waiting for your appointment to start instead of scrambling and frantic and chaotic and late. I promise. I know that’s a hard core rule, but I promise it’s been proven to work and ensures another family won’t make your session start late.

I have a great article on this topic. This article also answers a lot of questions regarding Family Sessions in general. It’s super helpful, so I HIGHLY recommend you take a look. You can see that here: PREPARING FOR YOUR FAMILY SESSION

So, yes and no… Did we get an epic shot of you that you want to use as your LinkedIn profile pic? Awesome!! Go for it! No problem at all.

Now… did we take a headshot of you and you want to use it for your website, your business cards, ads for your business, etc? This is where the answer is no… but still yes.

Family Sessions come with an image license that allows you to use your photos for personal use only. So, print it for your home, gift it to a family member, share it on your personal social media account…

But to use your photo to promote your business, post on your company’s social media account, create an ad where you’re buying ad space… this is where you need to purchase a commercial license to use the photos. You can learn more about this here!