"Hey Adam. What's with the 2 hour sessions?"
Excellent question. The problem I find with a 1 hour session is that it doesn't leave enough time for everyone involved to get into that groove and the groove is key to great photos. 1 hour sessions immediately feel rushed from the beginning especially if it happens to be a session involving little ones. Children go through a wide range of emotions throughout a photo session. Adding on that extra hour gives children the time to melt completely down and then pull themselves back together. It also allows them to get to know me and to feel comfortable around me which is incredibly important especially for young children. I have yet to photograph my three boys without them completely falling apart at the seems because its "too hot" or "I'm too tired."
So many things happen within that first 10 - 20 minutes of a session that a 1 hour shoot would just be an inadequate amount of time. The meet and greet alone can take up 10 minutes if we've never met before. 2 hours gives everyone involved enough time to become comfortable with how I shoot, the location we have chosen and for everyone to go through that wide range of emotions i mentioned before. 2 hours allows us the time for the fixing of hair, tucking and re tucking of shirts, wiping of faces, the mending of breakdowns and the most important thing of all, the time to smile and be happy.