Thinking of a Xmas mini photo session for your family? That’s a brilliant idea - these sessions are awesome for a snapshot of the kids and family at this moment in time, and their Christmas theming means they are awesome as post-Christmas thank you cards, Xmas greeting cards or even printed and framed for the grandparents.

These sessions are quick and priced accordingly; I offer them in my studio every year; using a different seasonally themed set each time; and also outdoors, usually featuring the awesome Christmas lights and decorations in Covent Garden, London. (I can’t say I’ve found a London location to beat Covent Garden, they decorations are always spectacular).

I launch the booking link to these sessions to members of my mailing list 48 hours in advance of any general release. As these sessions are so popular they usually sell out within a few hours of their launch, so it is definitely worth joining the mailing list. If you missed priority access in 2023, join the mailing list now for early access next year. If you’re looking to book for this year then bookings go live on Monday 7th October at 11am for mailing list members, and on general release at 11 am on Wednesday 9th October.

Lots of images of previous years’ studio sets and Covent Garden Xmas shoots, below, for you to get a feel the types of photos you can get. Plus all the top questions I get asked - answered in one place. If you find there’s anything else you’d like to know, just drop me a message on email or WhatsApp.

WHO CAN COME TO A MINI SESSION?

Mini sessions are designed for one family of up to two adults, and up to three children. 

We usually capture images of your child(ren) with and without the adults too (age dependent). For children who cannot sit on their own, they may need to be in an adult's arms for photos. Depending on their age and physical development it may be possible to capture some solo images doing tummy time or propped up when in the studio. In 2024 there will be two sets available - the Xmas Barn set is suitable for all ages of children and babies from 6 months (or in your arms if younger). The Xmas Kitchen set is suitable for children of 5 or older.

For outdoors sessions, be mindful that very young babies will need to be wrapped up warm enough for the season and so I suggest the outdoors sessions are best for 4 months and older, but it is up to you :-)

HOW LONG IS EACH SESSION?

Mini sessions last 20 mins. This is plenty of time to get various images in the studio, or around a few different spots at Covent Garden, so you have variety in your end gallery.

Because mini sessions are short and other families are booked beforehand and afterwards, it is vitally important that you arrive just on time for your session. 

HOW MANY IMAGES CAN I EXPECT TO RECEIVE?

In the 20 min session I am shooting for around 8-10 different images across a variety of combinations of the family.

If you have been to me on previous occasions, you'll know that I don't skimp on the images, and if you have more than 8-10 great photos taken in your session I will edit and show you more of these. 

How many images you choose to purchase is then totally up to you. Your booking fee includes one digital image of your choice, via download link.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? WHAT IS THE EARLY BIRD BOOKING SPECIAL?

Pricing is set each year. If you join the mailing list you will received advance notice of each year’s pricing, before any left over sessions go on general release.

WHERE ARE THE SESSIONS HELD?

The studio sessions take place at my family portraiture studio, located between Canary Wharf and Stratford.

The studio is well located for public transport, being 1 min walk from Star Lane DLR, and around 10 mins walk from Canning Town and West Ham. There is street parking outside the studio (payable via app) and on adjoining roads, as well as a (free) private parking spot available about 3 mins walk away (subject to availability).

The outdoors sessions take place in Covent Garden. The exact meeting point is shared a few days before your session. In terms of the specific locations to be used, please note that the Covent Garden covered market area is owned by a private corporation and we are not permitted to shoot inside the market or on market land, but there are plenty of beautiful spots all around which we will focus on.

WHAT IF WE ARE LATE?

Please arrive for your session, just on time. As sessions are booked throughout the day, I will not be able to extend sessions due to late arrival.  

I always recommend choosing your session for a time when your child(ren) will be well-rested and full, so they are at their happiest and you don't then need to spend time feeding them etc during the session time.

FOR THE COVENT GARDEN SESSIONS, WHAT IF THE WEATHER IS BAD?

Surprisingly, cloudy weather is the best weather for photography. If there is a little drizzle, this won't impact our session, and if we are lucky we may even get snow! But clearly if it is pouring with rain we will need to reschedule.

In all circumstances, if I need to cancel your session as a consequence of bad weather or illness, I will contact you to re-arrange your session for a mutually convenient date / to offer you your session fee towards a standard session / or refund you 100% of the session booking fee. The choice of course is yours. 

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN OUTDOORS THE IMAGES?

When shooting in Covent Garden, I pick locations that are both pretty, and not too busy (as much as possible), but rest assured that I am used to shooting in busy areas. The style I shoot in, makes backgrounds blurry and so people passing by in the background become blurred out and are not the focus of any photo. In addition, where possible, as part of the editing process I overlay multiple frames of an image in Photoshop to "remove" moving people in the background. See the example in this blog.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO RECEIVE MY IMAGES?

After your session, I review all the images captured and pick around 8-10 of the best and most varied images, to edit. This process takes me about 10 working days to complete and I then send you details of how to view your watermarked images in an online gallery. At this point, you have one week in which to pick your inclusive image for download, and any other images you would like to purchase.

WHAT CAN I DO WITH MY IMAGES AFTERWARDS? ARE THEY GOOD ENOUGH TO PRINT?

You will receive high resolution, edited jpegs of your purchased images, without any watermark. These files are plenty big enough to use for normal purposes and even to print large wall art from. You are free to use your images on your social media accounts, to send friends and family, for printing Christmas greeting cards and thank you cards etc. If you wish to use your images for commercial purposes, please get in touch to discuss. Full Copyright details are in the Ts and Cs (available at the time of booking).