public garden minis
APRIL 13 & MAY 10, 2025
The perfect spot, the perfect season
and 20 minutes of effortless fun.
Once your little ones are up and running, life is all about movement, energy, and play, and your photos should reflect that fun. That’s what my minishoots in the Boston Public Garden are all about — quick, joy-filled sessions where we chase light, explore the beauty of the gardens, and capture the real moments that make your family yours.
These 20-minute sessions are designed for families with children over one, booked back-to-back on two days each spring and fall. I’m Jess McDaniel, and for over 20 years, I’ve photographed families across Boston in the places that bring out their best. The Public Garden is one of my favorites — golden leaves in the fall, bright blooms in the spring, and endless space for little ones to run, laugh, and be themselves.
Scroll down to see more examples, find pricing, and book your session.
Video About My Public Garden Minishoots
WATCH PUBLIC GARDEN MINISHOOT SAMPLE VIDEOS
These slideshows were made for my @bostonbabyphotos Instagram—so, let’s just say the music choices are… creative. Feel free to watch with the sound off (I won’t be offended!).
6 year old big brother and 3 year old little sister
Nearly 2 years old with her parents (mama at 31 weeks along)
7 year old and 4 year old sisters with a plug for Tiny Hanger ;)
20 months old with some behind the scenes footage
14 years, 12 years and 10 years old with a moment behind the scenes
14 months old with a bit of behind the scenes footage
4 year old and 2 year old brothers
13 years, 11 years and 9 years old with some behind the scenes footage
PRICING
What does it cost?
Public Garden Minishoot + All the JPGs
$775
For my Public Garden Minishoots all children in your family should be over a year old.
Minishoots are $775 (compared to $1,110 for in-home photoshoots), and include the 20 minute session with Jess in the Boston Public Garden on dates posted here.
Expert Posing Guidance & Guaranteed Fun
Your gallery will consist of 25-40 edited, frame-worthy images available for download 1-2 weeks after your session.
As with all my sessions, every final photo from the minishoot will be delivered in both b&w and color.
You and your extended family can also order prints and products after the session online using a private gallery link. Print prices range from $26-$48.
SCHEDULING
How does timing work?
Scheduling Details for the Public Garden Minishoots
The spring dates for my Public Garden Minishoot days are usually announced in February or early March on my @bostonbabyphotos Instagram and in a newsletter to my subscribers (signup here).
Normally I schedule two spring sessions - one on a weekend day in April and one on a weekday day in May.
The fall dates for the Public Garden Minishoot days are usually announced in late July or early August on my @bostonbabyphotos Instagram and in a newsletter to my subscribers (signup here).
Normally I schedule two fall sessions - one on a weekend day in late September and one on a weekend day in mid-October.
When families request a Public Garden Minishoot before I've announced the date, I add their email addresses to my "contact first" list, making them eligible to book first, before I've announced the date to the public. When I've already filled a Public Garden Minishoot day but get more requests, I keep a waiting list that gives everyone an equal chance to book a time if one becomes available. If a spot opens, I email everyone on the waiting list, and the first family to reply gets the spot.
WHY IS THIS MINISHOOT FORMAT YOUR FAVORITE?
What's so perfect about 20 minutes?
I truly adore a 20 minute minishoot.
My client database recently showed me that I've had over 3,500 photoshoots since I started my business in 2003 — wow! All those babies just keep growing and needing more pictures, so I started offering Boston Public Garden Minishoot days in the fall and spring each year because…
It means I can devote most of my year's work to babies but also keep up with the demand for older children's photos. And — I LOVE seeing the babies grow up! And — I discovered that when kids are older than 1 or 2, we can easily get tons of great pictures in a 20-minute photoshoot in a beautiful location outdoors.
It's the best of everything. An opportunity to play and have fun AND get great pictures.
WAIT, THIS IS NEW ENGLAND
What if it rains?
Oh, it very well might.
We'll be in touch in the days prior to the scheduled session.
I hold lots of other dates as rain dates in case Mother Nature makes our day in the Public Garden challenging, don't worry.
We'll be in communication as the date of the session approaches and we'll figure out a game plan, don't fret. It's pretty common that I need to shift the date of a minishoot, and I am committed to making sure I get everyone who's booked photographed on a day that works for their family this season.
I have every confidence that we'll get your family photographed this season, and if we don't, I'll refund your deposit of course. Or you can have me hold on to it and you can use it for a session another time.
A LA CARTE
Options
Coffeetable Albums
$295
My heirloom albums are the perfect way to preserve your images and look back on your baby's photos for years to come. You can select any photos you'd like from your session and I will design layouts for you in a custom coffeetable album. The photos are printed on thick, cardstock pages.
Additional copies of my albums are $175.
Mounted Prints
$26 - $48
I print on Kodak Professional Endura Premier Paper, which is the most popular paper used by professional photographers. The paper boasts "accurate color, realistic saturation, excellent neutral flesh reproduction, and great intensity and offers brighter blues, cyans, purples, and reds". It has a standard archival value of 100 years in home display; 200 years in dark storage. The pricing for these archival mounted prints is 4x6 = $26, 5x7 = $32, 8x10 = $48... etc.
Annual Plan Package
$1775
UPGRADE & DO TWO SESSIONS THIS YEAR
(the amount you paid for your public garden minishoot would be applied to this total)
Feel like your kids are growing way too fast? Want a nice, regular way to keep up with documenting them as they grow? One popular option is to upgrade after your public garden minishoot to add a lifestyle session 6-9 months later and then I'll design you a coffeetable album after the two sessions.
I'd love to help, Do YOU have
More Questions?
Want to see a full public garden minishoot gallery?
If you'd like to see a full public garden minishoot gallery, I'd love to show you one. You can ask for one using my contact page here. In your note, just let me know a bit about your family (maybe let me know the ages of your kids?) so I can send you a gallery that's closest to what you're looking for.
Would you like to have a quick phone call?
I'm more than happy to jump on a quick phone call so that I can get to know you better, and I can answer all of your questions. Click the button below to visit my scheduling page, where you'll find the link to book a stress-free 15-minute phone consultation.
Ready to book your public garden minishoot?
If you know when you'd like to do your session and it's in the next few months, click the button below to check my available minishoot schedule.
If you'd like to do your session in a future season, contact me and let me know your timing. I'll schedule an email to go out to you when I open booking for that minishoot.
About Jess McDaniel
I am so lucky to have spent the last two decades taking pictures of babies, families, and expectant mothers in their homes all around the Boston area. I love what I do every day, and I feel so fortunate to have chronicled fun, crazy, quiet, energetic, and sweet moments for hundreds of fantastic families over the years.
I travel anywhere within an hour of Boston for photoshoots. Outside of photography, I truly love The Container Store, salty food and my husband and daughters. And not necessarily in that order.
FAQs
How do I book a time for a photoshoot on your calendar?
Visit this page here. My photoshoot calendar opens about two months in advance, which means in December my January and February calendars are open, in January my February and March calendars are open, and so forth throughout the year. If you already know a particular time of year when you'd like to take photos, just email me and ask to be put on my "contact first" list for any given month. Then I'll be in touch with you directly when that month of the year is open for booking.
NEWBORNS: I do save a few additional appointments each month for newborns, so if you've just had your baby in the past few weeks or months and the shoot times listed on this page don't work for you, let me know and I'll let you know if there are any other appointments available that aren't listed here.
WAITING LIST: As you can imagine with small children and stuffy noses, etc., I get a ton of cancelations (pretty much at least one every week or two). If you would like to try for an earlier appointment than what you see listed, you can ask to be added to my waiting list. Just send me an email: [email protected]. When I have an opening, I email the entire waiting list at once, and the first reply gets the spot. I schedule sessions usually on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and many Saturdays and Sundays at 9am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm.
Can I buy a gift card for someone else?
Absolutely! Visit my shopify store here to purchase a gift card for anything you'd like. If you don't see what you're looking for, contact me directly and I'm happy to make you a custom gift card.
I saw somewhere you do online courses teaching parents to take photos with their phones? Where do I find out about that?
Oh yes, that's for 1-2 year olds, it's called my Iconic Set by Boston Baby Photos™ program - you can learn more here.
When do you do your Public Garden Minishoots?
In order to address demand for photos once babies are walking around and exploring their world, I'm in the Public Garden twice each spring and fall doing minishoots for families with children who are all over a year old. I announce those dates a few months prior, and loads more info with pricing and samples can be found on the Public Garden Minishoots page of my site here.
I have a question that's not answered here, can we do a phone call?
Of course, my phone call calendar is here. If you don't see a time that works for you, pop me a quick email ([email protected]) and I'm sure we can find a time for a call soon.
