Seven years. That’s how long it had been since Alicia and Nick’s family had been in front of a camera together, and when we finally fixed that, their Minneapolis winter family photos happened on a neighborhood ice rink.
If that number makes you wince a little, you’re in good company. They’re both working parents with three boys, and all three play hockey. Between two jobs, three practice schedules, and everything else a week throws at you, a family session kept sliding down the list. Not because they didn’t want one. Because there was never an obvious Saturday to give it.
Then we found one in February. And instead of meeting at a studio or in some field none of them had ever stood in, we met at their rink.
Hi, I’m Megan
I’m a newborn and family photographer serving Minneapolis, Edina, St. Paul, and the surrounding Twin Cities, and I’ve been doing this for over sixteen years. I’m also a mom of three, which means I have opinions about what “sit still and smile” does to a kid at 4pm on a weekend. My sessions are loud. They’re a little chaotic. Nobody holds a pose for very long (and I’d be worried if they did).
What I’m after is the version of your family that shows up when everyone forgets I’m there.
If you’ve been putting a session off for a while, let’s talk about it. No pressure and no hard sell, just a conversation about what your family already likes doing.
Why Seven Years Goes By So Fast
Here’s what I’ve noticed about the families who wait longest. They’re not disorganized. They’re the opposite. They’re running a tight ship with a lot of moving parts, and photos are the one thing that can always be pushed to next month without anything falling apart.
So next month happens. Then next season. Then the five-year-old is twelve.
Alicia named it herself when she wrote to me afterward:
“You captured the spirit of each of my boys and to be able to have this time in their lives documented for us to remember is such a gift.”
That phrase, this time in their lives, is the whole thing. Eight, eleven, and twelve is a specific combination that lasts about eleven months. Then it’s replaced by a new one.
I’m not saying that to make anyone feel behind. I’m saying it because most people I talk to don’t need convincing that photos matter. They need the session to be easy enough to actually happen.
Meeting Them at Lake of the Isles For Their Minneapolis Winter Family Photos
A lot of my sessions happen in homes. Kitchen counters, unmade beds, the corner of the living room where everybody piles up. But home isn’t the only place a family lives, and for this one the answer was obvious. The boys skate at the Lake of the Isles rink regularly, so that’s where we went. Same ice they’re on every week. Same walk from home. Same warming house behind the boards.
That choice did most of the work for me. Nobody had to be told how to act, because there was nothing to figure out. They laced up and did what they came to do. My job was mostly to stay out of the way (and keep my hands warm enough to work the dial).
This is what I want more of in Minneapolis winter family photos. Not a location because it photographs well, but a location that means something to the people standing in it. If your kids have a rink, a sledding hill, a trail you walk every Sunday, tell me. That’s usually the better session (and if you’re stuck, I wrote a whole post on choosing the right location for your family photos).
Why a Familiar Spot Works Better With Big Kids
Little kids will run around anywhere. Older kids are harder, and they’re harder in a specific way. They’re old enough to know they’re being photographed and old enough to have feelings about it.
Give an eleven-year-old a task he’s good at and the self-consciousness drops away. He’s not thinking about his face. He’s thinking about the puck.
Some of my favorite frames from this session are the ones where nobody is looking at me at all. The three of them cracking up at each other on the boards. One boy flipping a puck off his stick blade to see if he could catch it. The youngest bent almost sideways chasing his brothers down the ice, mouth open, absolutely gone.
The Middle Child and The Camera
Alicia’s middle son doesn’t love having his picture taken. A lot of families have one. Sometimes it’s shyness, sometimes it’s a phase, sometimes the kid decided at age six that this isn’t his thing.
On the ice, he was fine. Better than fine. He relaxed, because he was doing something he’s good at and genuinely likes, and a camera pointed at you matters a lot less when you’re mid-stride.
Alicia put it better than I can:
“The pictures of my normally camera-avoidant middle child are a special treasure that I know you appreciate as a mom.”
She’s right that I appreciate it. Those frames are the ones I’d fight for.
Got a kid who hates photos? Start with my free guide, Real Smiles. It’s a handful of tricks for getting actual laughter out of a kid instead of the squinty fake grin, and none of them involve bribery (though I’d never judge a parent for keeping fruit snacks in a coat pocket).
Then tell me about your kid before we book so I can plan around them. It’s usually the easiest problem in a session to solve.
Neither Parent Put on Skates (and it Didn’t Matter)
Here’s the detail I want every hesitant parent to hear. Alicia and Nick wore boots. They walked out onto the ice in winter boots and stayed on their feet the whole time while the boys tore around them.
In one of my favorite images, the two of them are standing close together in the middle of the rink, looking at each other, and all three boys are blurred in motion on either side. That’s the picture of their life right now, and it happened because they stood still in the middle of it.
So if you’re thinking we can’t do a rink session because I haven’t skated since 1998, you can. Wear boots. Let the kids be the ones with blades on.
What They Wore
I want to point at their outfits, because they got this right without overthinking it.
- The boys wore their own team gear. Three different Minneapolis hockey hoodies, three different beanies, nothing matching. It looks like them because it is them.
- Alicia and Nick landed in the same family of colors without wearing the same thing. Black vests over plaid, one red and one black-and-white. Coordinated, not costumed.
- Real winter clothes throughout. Actual coats, actual hats, actual mittens. One of the boys skated in chunky red knit mittens instead of hockey gloves and it’s one of the best details in the gallery.
That last one is the point. Nobody was cold, so nobody was rushing.
Every family gets my tips and tricks guide after booking, and I’ve also got a full post on what to wear for family photos if you want to think it through ahead of time.
What Alicia said about the gallery
When she saw the finished images, she wrote:
“These images are so special and will be treasured forever.”
She’s planning to print and display them, which I love hearing. A gallery on your phone is nice. A photo of your kid mid-stride hanging where you walk past it every morning is better, and I’d rather these images live on a wall than in a folder nobody opens.
And then this, which might be my favorite line anyone’s sent me:
“We will certainly not wait another 7 years to do a family session again.”
Planning your Own Minneapolis Winter Family Photo Session
A few things I tell everyone:
- Dress for the temperature, not for the photos. A cold kid is done in fifteen minutes.
- Layers beat outfits. Coats come off for a few frames if you want them off, then go back on.
- Pick a place you already go. The rink, the hill, the block.
- Book after a nap or a meal, not before one. This applies at every age, including husbands.
- Let the kids bring their stuff. Skates, sticks, sleds. It gives their hands something to do.
Frequently asked questions
Is winter too cold for Minneapolis winter family photos?
Usually not. I keep winter sessions shorter and I watch the kids, not the clock. If it’s dangerously cold or the wind is bad, we reschedule, and that costs you nothing.
What should we wear for Minneapolis winter family photos?
Warm things you already own, in colors that don’t fight each other. Skip brand new boots (blisters) and anything a kid has already told you they hate.
Can we do family photos if our kids are older?
Yes, and big kids are some of my favorite sessions. Older kids need something to do more than they need direction.
Where can you take Minneapolis winter family photos outdoors?
Neighborhood rinks, park trails, sledding hills, your own front steps. I’d rather use a spot your family already uses than a popular one you’ve never been to.
How long is a family photo session?
About an hour. That’s usually enough time to get real moments before anyone hits a wall.
How does your pricing work?
The family session fee is $250. About ten to fourteen days later you’ll get a proof gallery slideshow, then you choose a collection starting at $750. Most families invest between $1,000 and $1,500 total, and you pick at your own pace. You can learn more here.
Minneapolis Winter Family Photos: Let’s Find Your Version of the Rink
Alicia and Nick’s Minneapolis winter family photos session worked because we stopped trying to build a photo shoot and just went where the boys already were.
Your family has a version of that. Maybe it’s ice, maybe it’s a kitchen table on a Saturday morning, maybe it’s the backyard with the dog. Tell me what it is and we’ll shoot there.
Get in touch here and let’s get something on the calendar before another season slides by. Minneapolis winter family photos book up fast, and winter is shorter than it feels.
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