You’ve got a lot of choices for your Minneapolis Photography Sessions

We’re headed out of summer. Kiddos are headed back to school, you’re headed back to having a bit more time on your hands… but with the end of summer, comes something else we all know too well. Colder, shorter days.

And as a photographer, that means one very important detail about sessions changes! The temperature. And oh boy, does it change. Now, you have a LOT of options for Minneapolis photography sessions – it doesn’t matter what kind of session you’re talking about. Our community is full of incredible creatives, doing their badass creative work. But no matter who you work with, you’re going to have choices to make before your session, and one of them is pretty dependent on something entirely outside of our control. The WEATHER.

One of the biggest decisions, is… where??

When you’re booking a photo session here in Minneapolis, even after you’ve chosen a photographer like me to make magic happen, you still have the “where” to decide. Will your session be outdoors? In your photographer’s studio? In your home? Or if it’s a branding session, there are even more options, like your office.

You’ve already probably picked up on the hiccup in this list, during a Minneapolis winter. “Outdoors” becomes a lot less practical, depending on your session type, if it’s so cold you can’t ya know… breathe the air, and stuff.

It might be easy to think, “Oh no, I really wanted an outdoor session, but I guess I’ll have to wait until next year”. But there might be benefits to sessions in-studio that you’ve not thought about yet, and who knows, maybe indoor is actually BETTER for you and your family, than you’d originally thought!

When you’re choosing the “where” – here’s what to think about!

The weather is absolutely one thing to think about when you’re choosing your Minneapolis photo session location, but there are more. And believe it or not, there are a lot of marks in the “pro” column for in-studio sessions, that you might not have thought about!

1 – Environment Tolerance

It might not feel like “environment tolerance” is the first thing to think about when you’re choosing where to hold your Minneapolis photography session. But it is, and there’s a very, VERY good reason why!! We want your session to be low stress, for everyone involved. Me, you, your kids, your grandma, your brother, your assistant – everyone. We want it to be super streamlined, comfortable, and enjoyable. And if you’re not someone who deals with cold well, or your kids don’t deal with cold well… that’s a one-way-ticket to stress.

I’m a genie in a bottle when it comes to helping kiddos get involved and excited about their photo session – but it gets ten times harder when there are environmental factors working against us. I’m not in any way saying I can’t (or won’t) get amazing photos of your kiddos even if everyone is a bit stressed. But the choice of “where” should keep environment tolerance in mind.

What does that add to the “pro” column for photoshoots in the studio? Easy. Comfort. Sessions that take place in the studio during winter in particular, mean no one needs to wear puffy coats. (Although sometimes, that’s actually a vibe, like the photo you see below!!) No one has to breathe the freezing air. And everyone stays lower stress, which means your session? The results will be better overall. So there’s that check in the “pro” column!!

2 – Style of Photos

Location is a hugely important aspect of the style of photos you’ll end up with after your session. Just scroll on my Instagram and you’ll get an example – there’s a difference between the photos we capture in the studio, versus the ones we get outdoors. Not in a “one is better than the other” kind of way, just in a “different” way.

And in particular… photos we take in the studio have more control over all of the variables. Lighting? Controlled. Set? Definitely going to 100% be what you expect. With outdoor sessions, there’s a lot more variability, in any season! So there will naturally be differences in the photos that come out of those sessions. Between one day and the next we might end up with totally different lighting scenarios outside, and… that means slightly different styles of images as a result. So if you’re choosing the location for your Minneapolis photo session, and you want to be SURE of the variables involved, that’s another check in the “pro” column for in-studio sessions!

3 – Session Time

Aaahhhhh the question of “time”. Now, when it comes to “time” here, I don’t just mean the time of your session. I also mean things like how the environment changes over the time your session takes place. Sessions with Jessica Strobel Photography don’t take ages, I’ll be the first to admit that! The approach I take is to keep things low stress, like I’ve mentioned, and also engaging, which sometimes means working pretty fast, to capture the best of your kiddos attitudes. Long sessions can be tiring, for everyone involved.

In outdoor sessions, there are pros and cons to the way that things like the light and temperature outdoors might change over the course of your session. A pro? Sometimes it means you get gorgeous golden hour light that just makes everything magical. A con? If we’re capturing your sessions in the evening… it might get colder. And that brings us back to that “environmental tolerance” thing. And the clothes you’ve brought. And the style you wanted for your images.

But if your session is happening in the studio, since we’re controlling all of those variables, and have access to artificial light… we don’t have to worry about how the sun moves. We don’t have to worry about whether it’s overcast. And we don’t have to worry about it getting cold! Depending on your situation… that might be a BIG win for you and your family, or you and your team!

Not to mention, it also opens up different times for your session, because if you need an evening session in the winter… it might straight up be too dark outdoors to capture images that meet the vision you had for your session. But with a studio session? No such limitation! Say it with me now: another check in the “pro” column for Minneapolis in-studio photo sessions!

4 – Use of Color

When you think about color in a photography session, and you combine that with thinking about location… you might be thinking about the green and vibrant florals you see in a lot of my outdoor photography work with families. And don’t get me wrong, I LOVE those sessions, I LOVE working outdoors, and I LOVE using nature in photos. I love it. I love flowers so much I’ve literally covered my arms in them, which is pretty hard not to notice when you meet me.

But… outdoor sessions aren’t the only ones that can involve vibrant, natural, amazing color! We can work nature into the studio, in all kinds of creative ways. And not only that, but we’re also not limited to the colors of, for example, wildflowers in one of the variety of Minneapolis parks I work in for sessions. In the session, we can make ANYthing happen. The only limitation is your own imagination. And that, my friends, is another HUGE check in the “pro” column for in-studio sessions!

So… are you in, or are you out? Of the studio, that is!

Whether you’re looking to have an in-studio session here at Jessica Strobel Photography, you want me to come to YOUR location, or you’re hoping for an outdoor session… I would love to get you on the calendar. Or, if you’re still on the fence about photoshoot location, we can talk through more of the pros and cons, and help you decide what’s going to be best for your family, or your business!

But either way… we’re going to create something MAGICAL together!