Holiday Sessions
My favorite Christmas tradition is the Opening Ceremonies, which happen during the long weekend after Thanksgiving. I drag the tree down from the guest room closet, pull out the ornaments, put on holiday-themed music, decorate the tree.
Then in the evening, after the tree is up and lit and decorated, we present the kids with that year’s set of matching pjs, and their annual Christmas ornament. They race to put on the pjs (I wash them before gifting them) and then put their special ornaments on the tree. Their glee at the beginning of the Christmas season is the best part for me. I want to remember it forever.
It would also be nice to occasionally be in the photos of these traditions.
Holiday traditions aren't always as elaborate (nor do they require as much forethought) as ours. But I bet you have at least one thing you look forward to doing in this season, something you want to remember long after the kids have outgrown it and you've moved on to other traditions.
Holiday sessions document your family’s favorite part of the holiday season together. Decorating, baking, snuggling together in matching pjs while you read a holiday-themed picture book. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing together as a family at home, with your own traditions and special magic.
I have 30 minute or 60 minute sessions available in December to help you remember the holidays, but only on a few select dates (it’s my family’s holiday season, too, after all).
Holiday full sessions are perfect for when you want to take your time and get all the details.
Document the important part of cookie decorating; get that multi-generational photo while the grandparents are visiting; mark the occasion when your baby’s first ornament goes on the tree; help yourself remember that the holidays aren’t all a whirlwind of work, vacation, and logistics - that you actually did something fun together, and you were a part of it.
Holiday half sessions are especially perfect for kids (and adults) who don’t need a lot of time warming up to the camera, and/or for short planned activities, where everyone is distracted and not paying attention to the photographer at all.
Like, when they’re eyeballs deep in holiday magic, for example.
Holiday Session Rates and Details
Included in the $1400 Full Holiday Session/photo fee:
Guidance through the process, including a prep guide and getting-to-know-you form to mold your session around your family
60 minutes of photography at your home
Professional photo editing
All of the edited digital images from our session (~60) + $500 print credit
Included in the $700 Half Holiday Session/photo fee:
Guidance through the process, including a prep guide and getting-to-know-you form to mold your session around your family
30 minutes of photography at your home
Professional photo editing
All of the edited digital images from our session (~30) + $150 print credit
What to Expect
-
Before the Photography
The session fee and a signed digital contract will hold your spot on my calendar, and I’ll send you a getting-to-know-you form to help mold the session around your family and what you want to document during the holidays.
-
The Photography Session
I’ll come to you, in Richmond, Chesterfield, Henrico, Powhatan, or Hanover, and we’ll jump right into the holiday fun we have planned. The planning we do Before the Photography will help us know exactly what to expect and how we want to spend our time together.
-
After the Photography
I’ll edit your photos, and within two weeks of your session I’ll email you with a link to your photo gallery, where you’ll be able to download your images, and use a print credit discount for the print store, so you can get your favorite images off your computer and onto your walls or into an album.
-
Most houses with children and/or pets have a lived-in look that won’t fit on a magazine cover. We’re not going for cover photos, we’re going for connection photos.
Not to worry, though. I’ll give you some prep tips on how to ready your house for photography (no dusting required). You don’t need to make it spotless, and I’ll help you figure out which rooms to skip cleaning altogether.
-
That’s the beauty of in-home photo sessions: we don’t have to worry about rain. I have a simple lighting setup that I bring with me in case it’s especially gloomy outside, or if we just need a little bit of extra light. If the roads are passable, I’ll be there.
Here’s a session I did at home on a day with gloomy weather.
-
Every family’s traditions are different, but if you need some inspiration, here are some structured activities we could photograph:
Baking or decorating cookies
Decorating the house
Cooking a holiday meal together as a family
Reading in matching pjs
Documenting Baby’s First Holiday Season
Lighting ceremonial candles
Early gift exchanges with extended family
Think about your family and how you like to spend time together at the holidays, and what you want to remember about this particular phase of life. Whatever you choose will be unique to your family.
