Holiday Minis take place entirely indoors in my warm and cozy Plymouth, Minnesota studio — no chilly fingers or unpredictable November weather required.

This year’s holiday set will be in the studio through December 12. Holiday Minis are the only 30-minute sessions I offer all year, so this shorter session option is available for a limited time.

Not at all. Although these sessions work beautifully as Christmas mini sessions, I intentionally designed this year’s set to feel festive without belonging to any one holiday.

Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, another winter holiday, or simply want an updated family portrait before the year ends, you’re welcome here. What you choose to wear can make the session feel as festive — or as timeless — as you’d like.

Holiday Minis are designed for immediate families — parents and their children — who want a small collection of beautiful, updated photographs during the holiday season.

Because these are shorter sessions, they’re best for one immediate family rather than extended-family groupings.

Absolutely. We’ll prioritize a whole-family portrait, siblings together, and an individual portrait of each child. If time allows, we’ll also make room for some of the playful, candid moments I love to capture.

Because Holiday Minis are only 30 minutes, we’ll focus on your whole family, the children together, and each child individually rather than additional parent-and-child combinations.

If you’re a single-parent family, of course, you and your children will be photographed together! If you’re hoping for lots of different family combinations — Mom + kids, Dad + kids, each parent with each child, and so on — a full Family Session will give us the time and flexibility for that.

The studio wardrobe isn’t included with Holiday Minis, so plan to come dressed and ready for your session.

The good news is that this year’s set is intentionally neutral, which leaves lots of room to make it your own. Dress up, keep things cozy and casual, add a little holiday color, or stay completely neutral — it all works beautifully.

Always. You don’t need to arrive knowing what to do.

I’ll guide you throughout the session with simple direction and playful prompts, keeping things moving while leaving plenty of room for natural connection. Nothing needs to feel stiff or overly posed.

Absolutely. The shorter session doesn’t mean we’ll ask your children to do more in less time — it means we’ll intentionally ask less of them.

Rather than trying to fit the variety of a full session into 30 minutes, we’ll focus on just a few photographs: your whole family together, siblings, and each child individually. Fewer transitions and fewer “performance” moments allow us to keep things playful, low-pressure, and manageable for little ones.

A full session gives us more time to work at your child’s pace and create a much broader variety of images. A Holiday Mini works because we keep our expectations beautifully simple.

Your fully edited gallery will be delivered within 14 days of your session.

Holiday Minis take place at the A Little Joy Photography studio in Plymouth, Minnesota:

17425 59th Pl N
Plymouth, MN 55446

Absolutely. Any A Little Joy Photography session — including a Holiday Mini — can be given as a gift.

Choose the session and let me know when you’d like your recipient to hear about it, and I’ll take care of the rest.