2018 Family Holiday Mini Sessions

I just love the way this year's set came out. I am aiming to differentiate my mini sessions from my regular family sessions in that there will be a specific theme that is too elaborate to offer in regular sessions. I had a vision for this year and did not hold back as I put the session together! Simple decor, a settee and twinkling background lights was exactly what I had in mind. The problem was that I had to start planning this set in August in order to be ready for October sessions. I like to get these done early so that everyone has their images before Thanksgiving with plenty of time to order holiday cards and send them out. Lucky for me you can buy Christmas Decor any time of the year on Amazon! The last piece of the puzzle for me was finding just the right location and boy oh boy, did I ever! It was total serendipity as I happened to drive by it and noticed it hidden off the side of the road. A friend of mine coincidentally was familiar with the location and told me her family calls it 'the magical forest'...and was it ever! I have a feeling this set will be a repeat at some point!

It was an investment to get the proper lighting for this set to make it work the way I wanted, but I know that I will get lots of use out of my new equipment for future sessions! The magic came from using a battery operated high power strobe light that allowed me to light my subjects but keep the background dark enough for the Christmas lights to shine. And I can't forget to thank my husband who accompanied me to the sessions and helped get everything set up just right!

Here are some images from this magical set. I really have to put some thought into how I am going to top this one next year!!!