Christmas Cheer: A Look Back at Holiday Mini Sessions in West Virginia
Putting on a PTX (Pentatonix) Christmas record and decorating our tree in white, navy, pink, and of course black, white, and gold ornaments. Making hot cocoa with extra marshmallows and driving around the Charleston area looking at different light displays. Adopting a child/family to shop for and knowing that there will be plenty of gifts to open. Dinners and laughter with family and friends. Needless to say, Christmas is my favorite holiday; I love Christmas Cheer. And this holiday season we were blessed to get to meet up with so many families that we have worked with over the years- and meet a few new families as well.
Some highlights from our Holiday Mini Sessions this year included:
(1) This year, we decided that one of our holiday mini weekends would take place in the industrial district of downtown Charleston, West Virginia. Summer and I had a long standing client come join us; we have been photographing their daughter since her 1st birthday (she's now 4). I got to see her spell and write her own name on her letter to Santa. I remember when she was just crawling around the Capitol grounds for her 1st birthday pictures. It has been such an honor to watch her grow. And to make it even better, she stood beside her brother (the newest addition to the family) and told us what he wanted for Christmas. Too cute!
(2) During one of our Letters to Santa stations one of the kids insisted that his parents get to write letters to Santa, so that Santa would be sure to bring them gifts. It was so heart warming to see a young kid so concerned about what his family was getting for Christmas.
(3) One of the parents told us that their son was earning dollar bills for an upcoming field trip. He was promised a dollar bill if he did well during the family portraits. So there we were, in downtown Charleston, on a corner, and he shouts "Dollar Bills!!!" and gives us his best cheese smile. After about the third time, we were all dying laughing. You may have needed to be there, but just know it was hilarious and priceless. We love getting to share these little moments with our clients- who along the way have become friends.
(4) We decided to hold our other set of Holiday Mini Sessions on Summer's grandparents Christmas tree farm in Amma, West Virginia. Several of the kids had a blast running through the trees, as well as, playing hide and go seek with Summer and I (and our camera). The laughter and squeals of delight were so heartwarming.
(5) While most of our clients had anywhere between a thirty to forty-five minute commute to the tree farm, we had a client drive an hour and fifteen minutes one way (That's 2.5 hours round-trip, 160.2 miles in the car.) to come have Christmas portraits taken at the Christmas tree farm. We have such loyal clients. It truly amazes us that people support our work so much.
(5) So many times parents just get pictures of their kids for Christmas, or whole family portraits. We try to have our couples sneak a way for a few pictures of just the two of them, this year was no different. One of our clients messaged us and thanked us, because they haven't received portraits from a photographer of just the two of them since before they had kids. We were shocked; it made us truly ecstatic that we could give our client something they cherished.
All in all, there were so many moments over the course of our holiday sessions that filled our heart with joy (not all of the moments could be listed in one post!) For us, like many others, Christmas is about spending time with others, spreading love and laughter, and cherishing the small moment that are gifts from above.
We can't wait to see these families and so many more in 2017!
