Northampton Park Family Pictures: Rochester NY Photographers

Family pictures just feel different when there’s no pressure to get the perfect posed shot. Great family pictures without the stress of perfection is our goal at every candid mini session.

So we set up what we call “playground parties. This one at Northampton Park was so much fun. We had the park nearly to ourselves the whole time, and the kids climbed and ran and played. I chased them around, being silly and letting their playful personalities shine.

Want to know more about the candid mini sessions?

Candid Mini Family Sessions in Fairport NY

The weather was chilly for our first playground Candid Mini Session of 2022, but it didn’t stop the kids from having a blast. And it didn’t stop us from capturing some family pictures while the kids played.

We love the Egypt Park playground, both for it’s proximity to Lollypop Farms, and it’s cute barn theme. There’s also a great paved path for scooters, and the playground area is padded which helps avoid muddy playground pictures in March.

We’ll have family mini sessions at playgrounds ALL year long, so if you missed out on this one - check the schedule below for the next one!

Candid Family Portrait Sessions: Rochester Pinball Collective

This Candid Mini Session was unlike any you’ve ever seen before. Why? Because pinball games were involved!

One of the ways our mini sessions are different, is that we try to make them about more than the pictures. There’s often an experience involved, or an activity that your families would enjoy.

The idea for this one came from our family’s love of playing board games together. It didn’t take us long to brainstorm a way to capture this theme for other families too.

A huge thank you goes out to the Rochester Pinball Collective for opening their doors to our group of fun loving families.

Have an idea for an upcoming Candid Mini Session event? We’re always on the lookout, so tell us what your family loves to do!

Candid Family Mini Sessions in Rochester NY: Hipocampo Children's Books

When it comes to family mini sessions in winter, we get creative. We don’t use a studio and a painted backdrop.

We use your real life.

For example, we recently partnered with a great business like Hipocampo Children’s Books. We woredk together to create a family picture experience. In this case, Henry and Pamela at Hipocampo provided a story time for families to come and enjoy.

How does photography fit into this?

While story time was happening we captured candid family pictures. When story time wrapped up, we took a few posed family pictures as well. We used the colorful book background as the perfect setting for family pictures of book loving families.

Other examples?

• Bright lights and pinball game backgrounds for game loving families.

• Playground family pictures at your favorite playground.

• Halloween costumes and pumpkin picking for fall family pictures.

So what background fits your family? Maybe we have the perfect family mini session for you already on the calendar!

Candid Family Mini Sessions: Winter Family Pictures in Pittsford

The 2022 Candid Mini Session Events are off to a great start, albeit a very cold one.

We held our first set of winter family pictures on Birdsong Trail at Mendon Ponds. The morning sun reflected off the snow, giving a beautiful glow for these brave families at their mini sessions.

These mini sessions make it possible to have both posed and candid playtime at any time of the year, even in January! Interested in learning more? Check out the link below!

Why Candid Family Portrait Sessions Are For You

Fairport NY Family Pictures

When you hear the term “mini sessions”, you probably think of designated 15 time slots and perfectly placed props - am I right? If that’s what you’re after, that’s great! More power to you! But that’s not exactly how our mini sessions work.

Our Candid Mini Session Events are unlike regular family mini sessions. While we do set aside time for each family to have a few posed family portraits, the focus of these events is on capturing real families at play.
So how do you know if it's right for your family? Here’s a few thoughts:

1) You have kids that never stop moving.

Seriously, NEVER. You chase your toddler all over creation, so you know they won’t sit still for a posed picture. That’s fine with us! The idea with our candid mini sessions, is that we’re capturing them while they play with you - moving or not.

2) Family pictures stress you out.

”My kids don’t smile for the camera, they are hard to photograph.”

We’ve been taking great pictures of hard to photograph kids since before we had our own babies. We’ve got tricks, we play games, we have an activity for them to enjoy. We are there, but not in your faces for 15 minutes straight, begging for smiles. We give them time to play and get to know us. The results are real smiles and relaxed parents.

3) You want to be in the moment AND the pictures.

You feel like you're never part of the fun because someone has to take the pictures. Well, put your phone down because we’re here to capture this little slice of life that includes you, for you.

4) You like family pictures that are more than posed photos.

Believe it or not, it is possible to have the best of both worlds when it comes to family pictures. You may have a milestone to celebrate, but you also know that little moments happen all year long. There’s life to live, and you want to live it - but also, you want to freeze it in time too.

There's activities and opportunities every month, so if you want the schedule - get the details here! Or if you want to talk and ask questions, check out that little purple button below.

Winter Family Mini Session Events: Rochester NY Photographers

In December, parents everywhere live behind their camera. They’re photographing every family party, every cute holiday cookie, every visit with Santa - literally everything.

How often do you think that parent gets in one of the holiday family pictures? Or rather, how often do you think that parent gets to truly ENJOY the moment? Think about it - are you that parent?

Here’s how we fix this problem: Our Candid Mini Session Events.

Boom. Done. Look at these moments that would have gone un-captured if mom or dad had been taking the pictures. This style of family photography is what every parent doesn’t realize they want.

Sure, we take your posed family portrait too, but these candid pictures are why these mini session events exist. These moments are the gold.

Check out pictures from our last candid mini session event of 2021 below - ice skating at Roc Holiday Village!

Holiday Candid Mini Session Event: Fairport NY Family Pictures

Our holiday mini sessions are ready to share! Oh what fun we had!

Our candid mini session events are not just about posed family pictures with a pretty background. We do our best to make them a family style fun event too.

This time around, we had a fire pit, hot chocolate, ornament making, lots of trees to decorate and a tire swing to play on.

And because we know you folks want a pretty setting too, we had a few trees pre decorated for our families to have a posed holiday family picture in front of.

These candid mini session events have evolved so much over the past two years, and we’re grateful for every family who has joined us.

As we wrap of 2021, we’re hard at work planning 2022 events - so if you have an idea, or want to partner on something, feel free to get in touch with us!

Family Portrait Mini Session Events

Candid Fall Family Portraits at Chase Farms

Our last October mini session event went on rain or shine. Because it was all about the Halloween costumes!

It’s a moment in childhood that parents can never do justice on their iphones in the dark on Halloween night. The kids are too hyped up to stand still. It’s dark out. The pictures are always a blurry mess. All of this is why this event is one of our most popular fall mini session events.

Our families are so creative when it comes to their Halloween costumes, and we love taking these unique family pictures.

Some families opted for a traditional candid family mini session (ie. sans costumes), and that’s ok too. Your family pictures, your call!

Want to learn more about our candid mini session events? The 2022 schedule should be dropping soon, so go check it out!

Mini Sessions at Long Acre Farms: Fairport NY Family Pictures

Next up on our “fall family pictures” fun tour is our mini session event at Long Acre Farms!

We had a handful of families come and play, while we photographed them playing together as a family. One of the highlights at the farm were the tractors. Many family pictures were taken while the kids played all over them.

We took a few minutes with each family to grab that posed family picture for their holiday cards. However, for the most part these candid mini sessions are all about the play, which is why our Fall mini session events are so popular.

Join us next time by picking a mini session event from the schedule to sign up! The 2022 calendar is coming soon!

Candid Mini Sessions in Fairport NY

Apple Farm Family Pictures

My son reminded me this morning that technically, according to the calendar, it’s still Fall until December 21st. So this blog post about fall family sessions is absolutely, 100% NOT late.

It might be a bit more blustery than these apple picking candid mini sessions in September were though. Apple picking is basically THE fall family activity in Rochester NY, right? We plan an apple picking candid mini session event every year, and it’s always one of the first to sell out.

This year we met a few new families and chased a few new kids around the apple orchard at Schutts Apple Farm and also at The Apple Farm in Victor NY. The family pictures we capture at these events are always some of my favorites, every single year.

If you’re interested in learning more about our Candid Mini Session events, we’d love to chat with you!

Candid Family Picture Mini Sessions

Kings Bend Park: Pittsford NY Photographers

When we set up these family mini sessions in Pittsford NY, we had no idea how just how great the turnout would be, thanks to Joanna from TotsinRoc.

10 wonderful families came to play while we photographed a mini session for each family. We captured candid family pictures of them playing on the playground, as well as updated a posed family picture for their walls.

On top of all the fun we collected canned goods and non perishables to donate to the Perinton Food Shelf. At the end of the event, we were able to donate 3+ bags of food!

We couldn’t have done it without TotsInRoc. We were so thankful to work with her on setting up these candid mini sessions - and on her birthday no less!

If you want to get in on the action, we host these mini sessions all year long, so go check out our event schedule and sign up for your favorite today!