Family Mini-Sessions in Hong Kong & Elsewhere
Repulse Bay Family Photography Session
This year I am going all-in on the Mini Sessions. These are shorter, more focused photoshoots, back to back, at a single, great location. They take much less time, and cost much less than a standard one-hour session. Families still get a great image for the holiday card, as well as portraits and combos. But we don’t cover a huge amount of real estate and do 30 variations of 30 themes.
For years, I, like many other photographers, kind of looked down on mini-sessions. (A serious barber isn’t going to do $9 cuts. Something like that.)
But my thinking has rapidly & radically shifted as I ponder what I like and what I do and don’t like about my business.
I still love making photos. I get the same buzz at seeing a great photo on my screen as I did when going to the lab to pick up my negatives. I honestly love giving families shots they will treasure forever. I still love getting emails from parents telling me they love the photos, or we loved your photos but have moved, “when are you coming to Portland so we can do some more?”
Sheung Wan Family Photo Session
What needs to change is amount of non-photographic busy-work that goes into taking photos.
I can break this down into two categories:
Editing & Travel
Playing on the Beach, Deepwater Bay Family Photo Session
My mainstay is the one-hour Hong Kong family photo session. (Singapore, Bangkok and Toronto etc) I know many family photographers limit themselves to a couple of locations that they know very well, and don’t have to travel far to get to. I prided myself on having a map of over 100 great locations in Hong Kong alone. Many of these require a major schlepp on various modes of public transit, then a hike in to some hard-to-get-to spot. (It’s not uncommon to have 10+ kgs of equipment on my back as well.) This needs to be curtailed somewhat.
And I don’t mind editing photos, but I often overshoot in longer. 800 shots is common, sometimes many more if the kids are ‘on’ or there is a large gang. The final delivered product is a tiny % of what we actually took. This makes the deliverables more in line with the amount of photos taken. This year I will have a very reasonable rate for these Mini Sessions.
Capturing Personalities is the Most Important Thing in Family Photography Session (Hong Kong Family Portraits)
Kids can tire or get bored easily, so I’ve learned to get to work right away. I usually have a ton of shots after 15 minutes. (75% of the best shots are often from the first 25% of the session when everyone is fresh.)
I have taken around two and a half million family photos. I am super efficient.
So what if there was a way to get rid of these crazy commutes and put all the energy into the actual photography. And what if I could give families the great photos they needed, in about 40% of the time and cost of a regular session?
Seems like a no-brainer to me.
Singapore Family Photo Session
On the time issue, there are 8000+ hours in a year. My mom was busy rural doctor’s wife with six kids, and no help. She drove us to our various activities and maintained an amazing house and garden. She was as stressed for time as any HK Mom, but she organized a photo shoot every year. Looking back, I realize they were all mini-shoots. The photographer was there for 15 minutes, and we ended up with one great print, which we still have.
Ultimately these annual photo sessions are all about “That One Great Shot” that goes in the card and on the wall
Some Taylor Family Photos Below
Our mom was an incredibly busy parent of six kids in an island town with a busy physician husband. (No helper, think about that HK!)
Still she insisted on a family shot every year. Some years were better than others, but we still have the photos and those albums were her most prized possessions.
When I look back I realize these were all mini sessions as the photographer was there for 20-30 minutes.
Hong Kong Family Photography: Because A Family Photo is the Most Important Photo
