Mini Christmas sessions: one portrait to close the year

Every year around this time, the same message starts arriving: "will there be Christmas sessions?" It is a fair question. Christmas is probably the one time of year when the whole family is in the same place, dressed up, and actually feels like being photographed. So I wanted to explain properly how a mini Christmas session works.

A mini session is exactly what it sounds like: a short one. Instead of the three to four hours of a newborn session, or the hour and a half of a full family session, we spend far less time in the studio, with a single set already built and a clear goal — to walk away with a small set of really good photographs rather than extensive coverage.

The set is built in the studio in Ferreiras and stays up through the season. It is the part I most enjoy preparing: the tree, the warm lights, the textures, the tones — always in the restrained, natural register I use in the rest of my work, with no shiny plastic and no busy backdrops. The idea is that in ten years the photograph still looks beautiful, rather than looking like dated decoration.

It suits several different situations. Babies who can sit up, and who are mesmerised by the lights. Siblings, just the two of them, which is one of the photographs parents value most and have least often. Families who want a portrait of everyone together. And newborns, with the caveat that in their case the session always follows the baby's rhythm rather than the clock — the short format is for everyone else.

The honest part: places are naturally limited. The set is only up for a short stretch, afternoons with good light are few in December, and I try not to overfill the days, because a packed diary is the opposite of what I want families to feel when they arrive. In practice that means bookings go quickly, and almost always to people who were paying attention when they opened.

If you want to be sure of a place, the simplest thing is to follow me on Instagram and Facebook, where I always announce each season's dates first, or send me a message saying you're interested. I keep those messages and let people know before I post publicly. There is no formal waiting list and nothing complicated — just tell me, and I'll remember.

On what to wear, my advice is the same as for any other session: neutral, warm tones, coordinated across the family without being identical. Knitwear, wool, fabrics with texture. I would avoid bright red and large patterns, which pull all the attention onto the clothes and away from faces. And if there are Christmas pyjamas the family wears every year, bring them — that is the kind of detail that makes the photograph yours rather than anyone's.

Many people use these images for cards, for grandparents' presents, or for a frame that stays up at home. If that is the plan, leave yourself some time: between the session, choosing the images and printing them, December disappears much faster than it looks. Families who book early in the season tend to have everything ready without the rush.

In the end, a mini Christmas session isn't about the set or the lights. It is a very good excuse to stop for five minutes in the busiest month of the year and keep an image of exactly who your family was this Christmas. Next year it will already be different — it always is.