Christmas mini photos

Like most people I have photographer friends who offer mini photo shoots. These are exciting, you get to take your kid to a staged photo shoot and get a few pictures for the season. I was pretty excited about these her idea was to have the kids sitting on a bench while Santa sneaks around the corner to surprise them and then have a genuine reaction to Santa! So stinking adorable right! After booking this session I remember the previous year that we tried to do a mall Santa picture with a couple cousins and this didn’t go so well. Atticus was terrified of Santa and wanted no part of sitting in his lap: 

But I can’t lie… this was hilarious and I still share this photo every year. Plus it’s a reminder that every year is a new year and although he was scared of Santa here these next photos were perfection! You just never know until you try it. 

Let me set the scene for y’all.. we could not see the set up from the line of people waiting to get their mini sessions done. This was so the Santa surprise wasn’t ruined before it was the next kids turn. When we were up I had to give Atticus a little pep talk about smiling and looking at the camera, which I did and still do before most photo ops. He was confused and unsure about what we were doing but he knew I was excited so he was willing to go along with it. 
Sitting on the bench she captured the sweetest confused look I’ve ever seen: 

He truly had no clue what was going on here! And I started getting nervous… my thoughts were all over the place.. (oh goodness he’s going to cry, please don’t let him be scared, awe he so cute, I’m glad he got to wear that outfit before he out grew it) you know all the mom thoughts that race in one’s head while they are watching their kids do something they’ve never done. 

He wasn’t scared though! He welcomed Santa to the bench like a long lost friend and what happened next was just magical: 

They talked! 

They laughed! 

And they Ho Ho Hoed! For the entire mini session! 

So mama’s just DO IT! Book the mini sessions and watch the magic. Even if they cry or shy away! It’s worth it, because autism is unpredictable and beautiful in so many ways! 

From a mother’s perspective – Rachel