The task that is holiday mini session planning begins long before the holiday season. While we’re still enjoying baseball and beach weather, I’m thinking of holiday mini sessions. I used to be that person who wasn’t fond of retailers starting to fill their shelves with glitter and gold goodies in September but to be honest, pre-holiday shopping is very much necessary in the photography industry. Decorations, themes, and colors are all considerations in planning for these special sessions.
If you would believe it, I get inquiries all year round about my holiday sessions. I’m still amazed that my clients, even now, bring up my rustic truck sessions from years’ past. It is a challenge to come up with something that will be appealing to everyone so this year, I posted a poll on my page simply to get feedback about whether outdoor or indoor sessions were most wanted. The overwhelming response was that outdoors was preferred and so began my tribulations with dates, weather concerns, lighting, location, and how many sessions I would book. Last year, we got rained out on the second day of shooting and then on the night before the reschedule date, it snowed AND the park where I was shooting placed a LARGE sand pile RIGHT in the spot where I had been setting up! Ugh! I was determined not to fight Mother Nature AND the Hunterdon County Park system this year!
So, this year, I decided to go the route of a tree farm. I wanted to stay in my rustic theme (after all, this IS Hunterdon County, NJ!) and find a photographer friendly farm where I could be comfortable. After touring several tree farms, I visited a special little place called The Farm where I met Karen and her family. She was lovely and welcoming right from the start and I knew my clients would love this spot! She graciously allowed me to visit multiple times to check out the lighting, find the perfect little nooks to shoot and do a mockup. Thankfully also during this process, I had a wonderful friend helping me all along the way. Things kinda get a little crazy with holiday mini session planning and Rosy had helped me last year so she knew what she was in for this year! LOL. I really couldn’t have done it without the warm welcome from Karen and the overwhelming amount of trust and confidence I put in Rosy to help me make my vision come to fruition. Thank you so much ladies!!
I chose to shoot in early October this year as warmer weather is always more conducive to having smiling children! 🙂 Our days couldn’t have been more perfect and things went so smoothly, I had to pinch myself. I truly enjoyed myself, photographing both new and returning clients and keeping things a bit more intimate with less sessions this year. The star tent was the main prop this year and the kids had so much fun hiding in it, running around it, throwing ornaments in and out of it…that’s exactly what you want for playful photos. And I couldn’t have been happier with the star garland and the decorated trees. Rosy and I were very particular about the decorations we chose so that there was a perfect balance between rustic and sparkle. The backdrop of the farm and the red barn were also the perfect compliment to my rustic theme. It all tied in together so nicely and allowed the kids to explore a little bit (and interact with the VERY friendly farm cat that wanted his picture taken too! LOL). I couldn’t have been happier with how it all came together.
Here is a collection of some of my favorites. Of course, there were SO many more that I loved because all of these children were just so sweet. You can only imagine my excitement when the Christmas cards started rolling in. EVERY client sent me one and each one brought a smile to my face. Receiving holiday cards in the mail is definitely one of my favorite parts of the season! I hope everyone had a very merry holiday!
Jill Kissel - What gorgeous pictures!
Kristan - Thank you, Stefanie, for another amazing session! I have had the pleasure of working with you on 3 separate occasions now, and each time is more special than the last. You have been an absolute pleasure to work with each and every time. You were beyond helpful when we were in the planning process of C’s first birthday session and you even helped me shop for his outfit! Your attention to detail is exquisite and the thing I love most about sharing these special moments with you is that you view it as a special moment as well. You put your heart and soul into every minute you spend with our (your clients’) children, and it shows. You are warm, silly, welcoming, inviting, and kind. We have loved being a part of your journey and I am honored to have had multiple opportunities to work with such a talented and amazing photographer. Thank you for welcoming us into your photography family. Best Wishes!
Julie - Your pictures are always beautiful! My family and friends loved our 2015 Christmas card! My niece voted us as cutest Christmas card ever. It was just perfect! Looking forward to future sessions! Thank you
Crystal - Stefanie, you always manage to capture the true personality of my girls!! This past holiday session is our favorite to date! You are amazing at what you do!!
Lucille - Stefanie- I can’t even begin to tell you how lovely, touching and special your photographs are. You have taken so many, and each and every one is personalized with your unique touch with poses, accessories, backdrops, and you manage to get the perfect pictures. You are a joy to work with, and having you take Emma’s newborn , birthday, holidays, and Valentine pictures ; you have given us absolutely priceless images that we will always cherish. ❤️❤️❤️
Karen - You know that moment when your toddler doesn’t want to sit still for photos? Well that was Miss Camille for this year’s mini session! Stefanie I cannot thank you enough for your patience and taking the time to let Cami explore to feel comfortable. She may have wanted to run around but we got a few cute shots! And I even made another appearance in the pics! (Haha) Here’s hoping next Christmas she’ll smile on camera! Thank you for your beautiful work that I see envery day in our home. We just love all our photos with you. And we love you too! Special thank you to The Farm–everyone was so welcoming and we even got to check out the chicken coup! Such lovely people!
Cherie - Stefanie- every time I receive that email with our new gallery, I feel like it’s Christmas morning for mommy! Not only do you always have adorable setups and take gorgeous pictures, but somehow you always manage to perfectly capture my little ones’ personalities. I’m not sure if I ever told you this, but when my husband (not the type of guy that usually appreciates these types of things) saw one of the pictures you took of my son during this photo shoot, said “I can’t stop staring at this picture!” At this point many members of my family know you by name and get excited whenever they see you post on my wall.
I am so happy I found you to capture all of our first memories & hopefully many more to come.
Bernadette Galati - What a great day at The Farm ! Jayden & Jude had a blast ! My very favorite holiday is Christmas & even though it was October, you captured the very essence of Chritmas in my heart…I have beautiful pictures to treasure always & look forward to working with you again !
Bernadette Galati - What a great day at The Farm ! Jayden & Jude had a blast ! My very favorite holiday is Christmas & even though it was October, you captured the very essence of Christmas in my heart…I have beautiful pictures to treasure always & look forward to working with you again !
Dana - Stefanie- Every picture you gave us of from the Holiday Mini Session was nicer than the next! Deciding which one to go with for our card was almost impossible, we had so many wonderful pictures to choose from. We received so many compliments on our card, and I cannot thank you enough for such beautiful memories of Owen’s first Christmas.
Jill - Stefanie, your holiday minis make for the most beautiful Christmas cards! We always get so many sincere compliments on your photos. I look forward to them every year and can’t wait to hear what the 2016 theme will be!!
Nichole - We loved our experience working with you Stefanie! Ryan was so comfortable off the bat and you had a great way with him. Our christmas card was just perfect and you captured our little guy perfectly!
I must say too that the location was incredible! We loved looking around and the owners were so nice! We actually bought some farm fresh chicken from them after chatting a bit with them! We cant wait to work with you again!
Laura - Stephanie, We LOVE our Holiday pictures you took of our 3 children. It was the first time we ever had professional pictures taken exclusively for the holidays. Your backdrops were creative and exactly what I was hoping for – whimsical and rustic. My children had such a fun time. So many people told us our card was their favorite of the season! I am looking forward to working with you again!
Lauren - We love our holiday mini photos! In fact, I love the idea of mini sessions. It’s a great way to “snap” that age/moment and it’s easy to spread a few out throughout the year. We’re so happy we found you and can’t wait ’til our next mini session!