Every year, December has a funny way of arriving much faster than expected. One minute it’s Halloween, and the next you’re wondering whether there’s still time to schedule a photoshoot, have your portraits retouched, order your gifts, and somehow get everything wrapped before Christmas. Technically, maybe.
But if you’re planning a Lone Star Pin-up session with Christmas in mind, we highly recommend not waiting until December to find out. Here’s what you need to know about booking your session this year!
October is the Perfect Time for Christmas
Our Christmas Monthly Special runs throughout October, which makes it an especially fabulous time to get into the holiday spirit a little early. Yes, we realize you’re probably still thinking about pumpkins, costumes, and Halloween candy. Around here, that’s completely normal. We can have a coffin in one room and Christmas decorations in another.
The advantage of photographing Christmas in October is time. You’ll have plenty of room for your session, retouching, ordering, printing, and shipping without having to worry about the holiday rush. You’ll also have your finished portraits ready when December arrives instead of trying to squeeze one more thing into an already busy month.
And if you’re hoping to give your portraits as a Christmas gift, getting them done early means you can actually enjoy the process instead of watching the calendar.
You Don’t Have to Book the October Special
Our Christmas Monthly Special is available throughout October, but it isn’t your only opportunity to create holiday portraits. Private sessions are available throughout the season and can always include Christmas looks!
A private session also gives us plenty of room to play. You might want classic Christmas glamour, something sparkly and over-the-top, a cozy sweater look, vintage holiday pin-up, or something a little less traditional.
And your photographs don’t have to look Christmasy at all. If you’re planning to give portraits to your partner, spouse, family, or someone else special for Christmas, we can create whatever you love. Old Hollywood glamour, classic pin-up, boudoir, something dramatic, or a completely unique theme can still make a fabulous Christmas gift without a candy cane or Christmas tree anywhere in sight.
Before November 15 is our Sweet Spot
If Christmas is your goal, we strongly recommend booking your session before November 15.
That isn’t a hard cutoff date. We aren’t going to turn the calendar to November 16 and declare Christmas canceled. It simply gives everyone enough breathing room to create your portraits, complete your retouching, order any printed products, and allow time for production and shipping.
The later we get into November, the tighter that timeline becomes. Appointment availability also starts to matter, particularly if you have limited days or times when you’re able to come into the studio.
If you already know you want portraits for Christmas, there’s very little advantage to waiting.
And Then There’s December…
Once December arrives, you’re taking a risk. We may still have an appointment available, we may still be able to get your portraits and products finished in time, but there are a lot more maybes involved. And Christmas is not particularly interested in moving its date to accommodate us.
Last-minute appointments may be limited or unavailable, rush fees may be necessary to complete your order on time, and shipping becomes increasingly unpredictable as we get closer to the holiday. Printed products need time to be produced before they can even begin their journey to you, and winter shipping delays are outside anyone’s control.
So while you are always welcome to ask, we can’t promise that a December session will result in finished products under the tree by Christmas morning.
Our advice? Don’t make December your Plan A.
Give Something They Won’t Be Expecting
There’s another reason we love portrait gifts: nobody already has one sitting in a closet. Photographs are personal in a way most Christmas presents simply aren’t. And we love helping create a romantic gift for your partner, beautiful portraits for your family, or a fabulous collection that’s partly a gift and partly (mostly?) for yourself. And unlike whatever gadget everyone is buying this year, they’re not going to be obsolete by next Christmas.
So if portraits are somewhere on your holiday wish list, now is the time to start planning. October is fabulous, before November 15 is ideal, and December is where things start getting dicey. Unless, of course, you’re already planning for Valentine’s Day…but we’ll save that for a future blog.
Christmas will be here whether we’re ready for it or not. Your portraits might as well be!
