Albuquerque Santa Mini Sessions 2018

Ell Photography Santa Mini Sessions 2018


This year we have Santa coming to visit Albuquerque, New Mexico! Santa is stopping by Ell Photography on Saturday, December 1st, 2018 to see who made the naughty and nice lists!  This event is great for ages 3 months and up!  We have several activities to warm children up to get good smiles and have a good time with Santa.

** Please note that event tickets are non-refundable, but are transferable**

WHAT TO EXPECT:
Santa is excited to meet all our ABQ kids! I happen to know Santa personally. He will be flying in from the East Coast just to visit our kids. He has an authentic white beard and is great with children! Sessions will be held at our studio, where most of your kids are already comfortable. Mini-Sessions are 10 minutes long (25% longer than the Mall Santa and twice as long as some of the other studios). You will get all the pictures from your mini-session digitally delivered within a week of the session! In the session, Santa will ask your little one what they want for Christmas, maybe read a story, or do other age-appropriate activities with Santa to warm them up, then we will take photos of your munchkin with Santa. If parents can also jump in a family photo with Santa, we can get the whole family too. If you think your child might not want to sit on Santa's lap, our loveseat has room for either Mommy or Daddy to sit down next to Santa for the photos.

Our last several mini-session events have run on-time and moving the package structure to a digital package without a viewing worked really well to keep things flowing! We are going to include ALL the good digital images in this package and if you pick an Add-On Product above, you can choose from your digital delivery images for product fulfilment. Please pick your product images within two days of receiving the images to make sure that your prints and gifts will arrive before Christmas! For prints, gift boxes are available above in the Add-On drop-down menu.

If you have multiple children or really want to make sure that your children are smiling together, or you want individual photos as well as sibling photos, you might consider adding extra time by booking a sibling session. (We highly recommned it!) Please contact the studio to make sure back-to-back times are available and so we can update the inventory for the checkout buttons. We have reserved a few unlisted spots for families that need some extra time.

Due to time constraints, the mini-Sessions are all going to be with Santa in the same spot. If you want holiday portraits without Santa, we are going to offer a separate day on the same set without Santa (please call to inquire 505-933-5585). OR if you want BOTH Santa photos AND Family holiday photos without Santa, we are offering 4 double sessions on the beginning and end of Santa's lunchtime and break where you can get both types of photos (Please Use the "Double Family Sessions for Photos with AND without Santa" purchase button for available times.)

** For base packages starting at $45 - call to book (505) 933-5585.

Albuquerque Santa Mini-Session Tickets

SOLD OUT

Albuquerque Sibling Santa Mini-Session Tickets with Extra Time

SOLD OUT

Albuquerque Santa Mini-Session Tickets with Family Holiday Portraits

(Sessions have time with AND without Santa)

SOLD OUT

Santa Add-Ons (High Res Images, Ornaments, Prints, etc.)

CLOTHING IDEAS:
Festive dress is encouraged. Fancy dresses can be super cute, but if you think the material will be itchy or tight or uncomfortable, you might consider other alternatives to keep your children happy and full of smiles. Ugly sweaters, holiday pajamas, or elf costumes can also be super cute!! Right now I am obsessed with Buffalo Check Plaid, so that could be super cute too!!

TROUBLE WITH CHECKOUT:
If you have trouble checking out, or it won't allow you to purchase a ticket for a certain time, that time might be sold out. (The Paypal button doesn't update the dropdown for sold out times, but won't let you checkout. I will be updating the button once a week).

If you continue to have trouble, please send me an email to kira@elltography.com or a text to 505-933-5585 and I can investigate to make sure there's not a bug.

POLICIES:
Since this is an event, you are purchasing a ticket for a certain time and your fee retains your time on the calendar. Photos will be taken smiling or screaming. Santa screamers can also be cute, but hopefully the familiar studio environment will put your child at ease. Please arrive early so you do not miss your timeslot. Event tickets for mini-sessions are non-refundable, but may be rescheduled to a different available timeslot up to 48 hours prior to the time. Event Tickets are also transferable to another family as long as you have the proper type of session for the number of kids in the new family. If you cannot make your time slot and would like to transfer the session, please give me the new family's names and contact info so we can update "Santa's List". If you miss your timeslot, we will allow you to stay on standby in case someone else misses their slot, however it is not guaranteed. Since the mini-sessions are short, please arrive at least 10 minutes before your timeslot to sign in and prepare. If you think your child might need more time to warm up, you may come earlier and play in the lobby, but you may not watch in on other prior sessions.

Autumn Babies

This October, I've photographed a lot of newborns... and they were all boys!  Here are some of my favorites from the past few weeks. 

This family procured vintage dolls from "Where the Wild Things Are" to do a newborn session.

For the month of October, the hospital gave these sweet little pumpkin hats to each of the newborns,

2018 Halloween and Fall Mini-Sessions

Here are a few of my favorite images from our 6th Annual Halloween Mini-Session Event!!  I have to say... the Fall leaves were a hit! Who doesn't like to make a mess!?!

Halloween Mini Sessions 10-27-2018

6th Annual Halloween Mini-Sessions October 27, 2018

Here you are dressed up for the night,

You knock and knock hoping to fright,

Instead, I answer the door dressed up too,

And I give you a scare when I yell BOO!

My favorite things come in Fall, sweater weather, pumpkin spiced lattes, and the time around the fire when it's just cold enough for my kitty to curl up and cuddle. With Fall, also comes Halloween and the 6th Annual Ell Photography Costume Mini-Sessions!!!! I can't wait to see the kiddies in their costumes!!! Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year, but we are hosting our annual Halloween Open House on Saturday, October 27th.  Munchkins will have a chance to practice trick-or-treating in the daylight somewhere familiar, then you come in for some mini-session photos.

CHANGES... THIS YEAR'S SET IS FALL-THEMED:
This year, the set is Fall-themed, and not exclusively "Halloween" themed. It's still great for little ones in costumes, but also as your children get older, they can also just come for a Fall mini-session in the same set. The set will be in warm colors with a few pumpkins, but nothing scary with spiders or skeletons this year. If we have leaves around the property, we may include those too!!

ONLINE SIGNUPS:
To make things easy this year, we have online signups! Each session will include 5 minutes to transition families and 10 minutes on set. For your convenience, so that you don't have to wait around after to view and pick out photos, all families that choose to include digital images will also get to choose which image to use to fulfil their magnets, prints, and acrylic blocks.

EVENT TICKET SALES CLOSED

SIBLINGS: 

We are excited for our 6th Halloween mini-session What we have learned from experience is that when there is more than one munchkin in a costume, there is a lot going on, and it is best if you add some extra time. Since mini-sessions are only 15 minutes total (10 minutes on set), if you have more than one child and any of the children are under 6, please add an extra 15 min of time to your booking so we can capture each child at their best or good ones of them together! *** more explanation below.

PACKAGE DETAILS:

There are several options of types of packages from prints, to collector's magnets, to collector's 4x4" Acrylic Blocks that you can decorate for Halloween with year after year, even after the children are grown. Then, of course, there are digital packages too! Any image that is included with your package will be posted in low-res to our Ell Photography Facebook album (unless you specifically request to withhold yours), so even if you just get the magnet or acrylic block package, you'll still have one low-res digital to share with friends and family! If you order a digital package, you will receive the images promptly via Dropbox and can choose from those which to fulfil your magnet, prints, or acrylic block!

** Please note that event tickets are not refundable, but may be transferred to another family if you cannot make it. **

HALLOWEEN MINI-SESSION BOOKING & SIBLING BOOKING - Starting at $49
ADDITIONAL TIPS


SHY CHILDREN: If you know your child might take a little bit to warm up to a new situation or location, you have two options. You may come early and play in the lobby (but you may not watch in or distract prior sessions). Many families also choose to add extra time, even for just one child to make sure they are warmed up, happy, and get good smiles!

HOW TO GET THE BEST PHOTOS IN A MINI SESSION: Every parenting style is different, but here is what I have learned works best to get children to participate!
* Have your child try on or play in their costume the day before so you make sure it fits and they feel comfortable in it and are not scared of it since it is new (and sometimes more confining than regular clothes).
* Make sure the costume is not uncomfortable. Clip any tags that might be scratchy. If there is a tulle tutu or other scratchy parts, have them wear leggings underneath, or an undershirt or onesey between the skin and the itchy part.
* In general, the children will be sitting or standing, so barefeet is the best unless the shoes are part of the costume. If the child is not yet walking, please do not have them wear shoes as all we will see is the soles.
* Make sure to get your child to nap appropriately for their start time and try not to give them candy, sugar, or anything new before the session that would throw their regular energy cycle off.
* Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Make sure they are not too hot or cold, make sure they have a good meal before coming and bring water or a light colored juice (like apple juice) in case they are thirsty.

* IMPORTANT: (I do not want to tell you how to parent your children, but this is my experience with hundreds of families) RESIST ALL URGES TO BRIBE YOUR CHILDREN!! If children are too young to understand bribes, they want the reward in question NOW, and do not understand the concept of "later." If they are old enough to understand bribes, they generally will do the most minimum thing possible to get the reward. Neither reaction will give good photos.
* Instead, try to make the mini-session sound fun and all the things they can do to act like their costume character and how their grandparents and aunts and uncles can't wait to see photos of them in their costume! Treat the session as a play-date and show them how much fun they will have!
* Last but not least, if your child is a bit obstinate, or unhappy, DO NOT let them see your frustration, keep trying to make the activities fun up until the time is up. When a parent snaps, there are more emotional obstacles to overcome (fear, shame, hurt feelings & tears, anger, frustration) to get to that happy place where we get good pictures.

** SIBLING EXTRA TIME POLICY:
We don't like the "smiling or screaming" policy that many studios have for their mini-sessions where they stick to the time allotted no matter the mental state of your children. We want great pictures of them having fun! Every year, there is a family that doesn't think they will need the time, but the children are overly excited for Halloween, and we have to go overtime to get good photos of them together or have enough time for individual photos. However, we also hate to get behind schedule because that impacts every other family later in the day, so we have made the extra time affordable. You can either add a second package if you want one product of each child to do individuals, or we can do them together and you can just add the extra time. Thank you for your consideration!

Spring Baby Animal Mini Sessions 2018

UPDATE: As of 4/18, there are only 5 mini-sessions left.

Many have asked about our dates for this year and it is finally set!  We are hosting the 2018 Spring Baby Photobooth at the same barn in Corrales this year on April 28th!  We will have ducks, newborn chicks, kid goats, a puppy and hopefully a piglet! 

SIGN UP BELOW - April 28th!!

This photography session is great for all ages. Last year we had children ranging from 3 months to 14 years. If you have more than 1 child, please book two back-to-back session times. In the past we have tried to do two siblings together in one session time and it just gets us behind schedule, so the extra timeslot really is necessary. If you have 3-4 children, you can either book one session for each child, or, you can book two back-to-back sessions, but we will photograph them all together for the full time.   In each session, you will be able to take photos with different baby animals - you choose which you want to do first!!  Baby kid goats will only be there from 10am-2pm.

PHOTOBOOTH DETAILS:

• Ticket includes a 10 min mini-sessions with LIVE baby animals.
• Ticket includes an 8x10" Canvas Board.
• There is no viewing, so that you don't have to wait around afterwards.
• If you purchase digital images, you may pick your image for your canvas board from those images within one week, otherwise we will pick the cutest one for you.
• If you have more than one child, you MUST book two slots, preferably back to back. If you are having a hard time finding two spots back to back due to "out of stock" timeslots, please contact me and I can see what's available and also see if any can be shifted to accommodate siblings.
• Tickets are non-refundable. This is a fast-paced mini-session, please arrive early, dressed, and ready to go.  If you miss your timeslot, we may not have time to make it up. 

EVENT TICKET SALES:

** To choose your own image for the 8x10 Canvas Board, you must purchase a digital package to receive proofs. Otherwise, someone from the studio gets to sort through the #CutenessOverload to pick out the most #TotesAdorbs image of your child - it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it :)  #ILoveMyJob **

CLOSED

Morning Session - Best for Babies
SOLD OUT

Mid-Morning Sessions with Goats
SOLD OUT

Early Afternoon Sessions with Goats
SOLD OUT

Late Afternoon Sessions with Teacup Pigs
CLOSED

Spring has Sprung!!!