Ice Cream Mini Session – NJ Photographer

I love any excuse to have fun with photography and with a toddler at home there are always opportunities to create memorable moments. Especially when ice cream is involved!

Last year I bought a Martha Stewart Hot Cocoa stand for holiday mini sessions and it’s been collecting dust in my garage. I knew I wasn’t going to use it again so I decided to turn it into an ice cream stand for an ice cream mini session with Olivia and her bestie/cousin Valentina.

Before/After

My niece painted the stripes and the wording on the sign for me. She’s so super talented!

The top of the stand was collapsible, so I left it down since the kids are short and you wouldn’t see it anyway. I grabbed a bunch of stuff around my house that would work for props and my niece had a few fun things too. Here are some of the details.

The cake stands are from Home Goods and Target.

The fun spoons and ice cream scooper are from the Disney Store.

The pink chairs are from Pottery Barn Kids and the little table is something I’ve had in my basement for years. I don’t even remember where I got it. Lol!

This is something so simple to set up for your own kids too. Even if you’re not doing a mini session. And honestly, you don’t need all the cute props and accessories. Your kids will be thrilled that you set up a fun afternoon of for them. If you do want to photograph it, my advice would be to set everything up first and then invite them outside or in the kitchen. Make sure your camera settings are ready to go before you call them in so you’re not fumbling around while they are digging in.

My other peice of advice is to keep it short and sweet. You don’t need a million photos of the same thing. Move around, get a bunch of different angles, and then put the camera down and join in the fun! When you’re doing this with your own kids, the goal is to make memories. You want to remember this sweet time with your little ones and not the stress of getting the shot.

Do you ever set up mini sessions with your kids?