Christmas 2025

Great question and it is a new concept! It's kind of a hybrid of 'Christmas mini' sessions and shopping centre Santa photos, but a private experience.

We've done all the hard work for you - studio lighting, set design, props, air conditioning, registered, insured, safe, comfortable, festive... we provide direction in composition and posing and props! We then use our iPhone 17 Pro to snap digital images for you to take with you instantly. We share through AirDrop if you have an iPhone too, or through Dropbox if you have a Samsung or other device. We will also take the photos for you on your own phone if you prefer this. If there's a different method you prefer, please contact us in advance of making a booking.

Every group, animal or child is different and sittings can be unpredictable. There's no minimum or maximum we guarantee but most customers will get between 20 and 50 photos (unedited) - it's easy to be 'snap happy' with mobile phone photography. We send you everything we take from your sitting - the great pics and the proof of what happens behind-the-scenes (the attempts to get the great pics, and the bloopers)!

If you would like to try for more photos beyond your allocated booking time, please book in for an additional session.

YES!

We can organise for Santa Claus to be available to be in your photos and keep the magic alive. We can capture images both with and without Santa for no additional cost.

Not at all!

We LOVE animals but we also love families and welcome anyone who wants to have an affordable Christmas photo option - pets, kids, singles, couples, families... anyone is welcome at Hound & Bear 💝

We will comfortably accept well-behaved dogs, cats, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, and small goats. All pets must be accompanied by an adult during the sitting.

For any other species or for pets with behavioural concerns, please contact us in advance of booking. We are open to working with your needs if we can, but it's best to give us a heads up in advance!

If there is any concern for the safety of any participant or Hound and Bear team member, due to inappropriate behaviour, we will need to stop the session.

Absolutely!

We love kids and you're welcome to bring the family including pets and kids.

Any children must be accompanied by an adult, who will be responsible for the child's/children's behaviour during the session.

No, sadly our premises and home studio can only accommodate a limited number of people safely. We recommend a maximum of 2 adults with 3-4 children and 1-2 pets (or the equivalent).

If you would like to accommodate more people/pets than this, please make separate bookings for each group / household / family, or make contact with us in advance of making a booking.

Many 'pawrents' choose to be in the photo with their pets, but you don't have to be! We can capture images both with you and without you in the photo, and we will share all images/poses with you.

It's completely up to you!

We recommend something that you're comfortable in - some clients dress up for the occasion, in theme with the set design (our 2025 set has a lot of red, white and gold tones), and others go completely casual! We an optional prop kit of festive accessories (for each people and pets!) for you to use if you'd like.