A Holiday Mini Session at Snickers Gap Tree Farm is one of our favorite ways to get family photos done before the holidays without making it another huge thing on your November calendar! As a Virginia family photographer, we love this spot because we really don’t have to do much to make it feel like Christmas, the rows of evergreens already have that part covered.
Plus, there are a LOT of trees to work with. Instead of one little Christmas setup where every photo has the same background, we can use different rows of trees, find little pockets where the light is coming through really nicely, and give the kids some room to move around between photos. It feels festive without looking like we dropped your family into the middle of a Christmas display.
We do bring in a few Christmas props to make everything feel a little more festive, but we keep it simple. We still want your family to be what you notice first when you look at the photos, with the trees and holiday details doing their thing in the background. Basically, Snickers Gap gives us a really great starting point. We just come in and add the finishing touches!
Why We Chose Snickers Gap Tree Farm for Holiday Minis
We’re pretty particular about mini-session locations because 20 minutes flies by! We don’t want to spend seven of those minutes walking from one photo spot to another or trying to find a background that works. At Snickers Gap Tree Farm, the background is basically everywhere.
There are rows of Douglas fir and Colorado Blue Spruce throughout the farm. And because the trees vary in size, we can find spots that give us that full, layered Christmas-tree background without everyone looking like they were placed directly against a wall of branches.
That depth makes a huge difference in photos! We can photograph between the rows, along the edge of the trees, or change our angle depending on where the light looks best. It gives us variety without needing to move your family halfway across the farm.
Yes, we add a little Christmas ourselves too! For Snickers Gap, we prepare Christmas props to make everything look more festive. We keep it intentional because we still want the photos to be about your family. Not a giant pile of decorations you can barely see your children behind. The trees do most of the work, and the props just bring in that extra bit of Christmas!
Love the idea of photos in the sunflowers? Take a look at our Sunflower Mini Sessions to see what they look like and find out when the next sessions are happening!
What a Holiday Mini Session Here Actually Looks Like
Our Holiday Mini Sessions are 20 minutes, and we know there are parents reading that thinking, “You expect my kids to cooperate for photos and get everything done in 20 minutes?” Yep! In some cases, 20 minutes is actually working in our favor.
We’re parents too. We understand kids, and we are under no illusion that your four-year-old has been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to pose nicely in front of Christmas trees. We keep things moving!
We’ll start with the photos we know you’ll want, and then we’ll keep things moving from there. We’ll give you plenty of direction, get the kids moving when they need to move, and switch things up so we can get a good mix without making your 20 minutes feel like a race against the clock! You don’t need to come in with a list of photos you want or worry about what everyone should be doing next. We’ve got a plan! You just get everyone there, and we’ll take it from there.
We’ve photographed enough real families to know that no two sessions go the same way. Sometimes a kid runs in ready to go. Sometimes someone needs a minute before they’re interested in us taking photos of them. Or maybe your toddler decides the Christmas trees are significantly more interesting than any of us. We adjust!
You don’t need to spend your entire Holiday Mini Session telling your kids to smile or apologizing to us because someone wandered away. We will give them things to do, keep everyone moving, and get their attention when we need it. Plus, we’ll get the nice everyone-looking-at-the-camera photo too. We know the grandparents are waiting for that one.
We have a full Holiday Mini Session Guide that goes much deeper into the 20-minute process, how to prepare your kids, what to bring, and what to expect!
Interested in other mini sessions? We offer them throughout the year, from spring and summer sessions to fall and holiday minis! Reach out here to see what’s coming up next and find the one that works best for your family!
Why the Light Matters at a Christmas Tree Farm
This is one of those things you probably don’t need to think about, but we absolutely do! Evergreen trees are darker and denser than an open field, so where we put you matters. A lot!
We’re paying attention to which direction the light is coming from, where it’s filtering between the trees, and whether we need to move a few feet to keep faces nicely lit. We aren’t choosing a spot just because there’s a particularly cute Christmas tree behind it.
This is also why we choose our mini-session time slots intentionally. The light changes throughout the day, and we’re planning around it. All you need to do is show up for the time you booked. We’ll worry about which row of Christmas trees is looking good.
What Should You Wear for Your Holiday Mini Session?
The short version: you do not have to dress everyone like a matching set of Christmas pajamas. The deep green trees at Snickers Gap Tree Farm work really well with cream, brown, burgundy, navy, denim, and warm neutrals. A little plaid or pattern can be really cute too! We just don’t necessarily need four competing plaids happening at the same time.
We usually tell families to coordinate rather than match. Pick a few colors that look good together and work them into everyone’s outfits. And remember: we’re outside!
Snickers Gap even recommends dressing for the weather because conditions at the farm can be different from what you’re experiencing closer to the city. Cute is great. Cute and warm enough that your child isn’t miserable after three minutes is even better. Think sweaters, knits, coats that work with the outfit, boots, and layers when it’s cold.
Shoes matter here too! This is a real Christmas tree farm, not a studio floor. You’ll be walking on grass and uneven ground, so wear something you and your kids can comfortably move around in. We send a wardrobe guide before your session with more help on colors and putting everyone’s outfits together, so you don’t have to figure all of that out from one paragraph of this blog.
Parking + Arriving at Snickers Gap Tree Farm
Here’s our biggest piece of advice: don’t plan to pull into the parking lot at the exact minute your Holiday Mini Session starts!
Snickers Gap is located in Round Hill, Virginia, about 16 miles west of Leesburg. The farm has a large gravel-based parking area, which makes parking easier even when the weather isn’t cooperating. Give yourself a little buffer before your session, so you’re not watching the clock the entire drive there. We’d much rather you arrive a few minutes early, get everyone settled, and walk over to us feeling ready than come flying into the parking lot already stressed because your session started three minutes ago. We recommend arriving early enough that you can do all of that without rushing!
Mini sessions are scheduled back-to-back, so your session time isn’t really the time to start looking for a parking spot. We want you walking over ready to go when your 20 minutes begin. We’ll send you the details you need beforehand so you’re not arriving at a Christmas tree farm wondering where to go and what to do! We’ll tell you where to go and where to meet us. You just give yourself enough time to get there.
One important note for our fellow dog parents: Snickers Gap Tree Farm currently doesn’t allow pets. So your dog will need to stay home for this one!
What Happens If My Kids Aren’t Cooperating?
This question deserves its own section because we know you’re thinking it. They’re kids! We do not expect them to show up, stand exactly where we put them, smile beautifully for 20 minutes, and then politely thank us for our time. Again, we’re parents too!
If your toddler needs a second, we’ll give them a second. If your kid wants to move, we can use that in the photos! Or if they’re being silly, we can work with silly.
Sometimes parents get so worried about getting the photo that they spend the whole session saying, “Look at the camera! Smile! Stop doing that! Come back!” You can hand that job over to us.
Of course, there are times when a little parent help is useful; you know your kids better than anyone, but you don’t need to manage every second of the session. We want you in the photos too, not watching everyone else like you’re supervising a field trip. A lot of our favorite photos happen once everybody stops worrying so much about getting the photo.
Who We’d Recommend a Snickers Gap Holiday Mini Session For
A Holiday Mini Session here is especially good for families who want updated photos for holiday cards, family members, frames around the house, or just because the kids look completely different than they did last year.
It’s also a great fit when you love the classic Christmas-tree look but don’t want your photos to feel like they were taken on an elaborate indoor holiday set. Snickers Gap gives us the festive part naturally. We bring a few Christmas props, but the rows of real trees are still the main backdrop. Plus, 20 minutes works really well for families who want something quick and easy, especially if your kids tend to do better with shorter activities.
A full family session may make more sense if you want a much larger variety of images, lots of different family combinations, more time to explore, or you know your child generally needs quite a while to warm up. Neither option is better. They’re just different!
If you’re mostly thinking, “I want some really good photos of my family this Christmas, and I would like this process to be as easy as possible,” you’re probably exactly who we created these minis for.
Want a little more time and variety than a mini session? Take a look through our family photography portfolio to see what a full family session with us can look like!
Ready to Book Your Holiday Mini Session?
Holiday photos don’t need to become another giant project on your November to-do list. As your Virginia family photographer, we’re going to help you with the planning before you ever arrive at Snickers Gap Tree Farm. We will make sure you know where you’re going, what to expect, and have the wardrobe information you need. Once you’re there, we’ll take over with the photos and direction!
You don’t need kids who love having their picture taken. You don’t need to practice poses. And you definitely don’t need to spend the drive to the farm giving everyone a speech about how important it is that they behave for 20 minutes. Just get everyone dressed, give yourself enough time to arrive, and come hang out with us among the Christmas trees. We’ll take it from there!
Ready to book your Holiday Mini Session? Reach out here to reserve your spot with us, and we’ll help you get this year’s family photos officially checked off the holiday list.
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