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Archive: ‘Minnesota Photographer’



hanging babies, chicken nuggets & a woman’s butt | buffalo, mn family photography

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Well, since my coffee hasn’t kicked in and I can’t seem to make one cohesive thought…let’s do a round of random thoughts, shall we?

I don’t remember cake walks being so difficult to win…1/2 hour of walking in a clock-wise circle in the elementary school gym with nothing to show for it.  I touched a woman’s bare bottom today.  I got a bit hostile with the Schwan’s man yesterday, I was convinced that he decided to come every week, instead of every other…I made him prove it…he was right…clearly my life is whizzing by so quickly I feel as though I order chicken nuggets on a weekly basis, instead of bi-weekly.  Allright, elephant in the room…the naked butt…I photographed a boudoir shoot today (sorry, no sneak peeks for that jazz), and I had to help buckle the gal into some sort of contraption…it took me a while to help (obviously, I can barely put on my own bra).  Korey got his credit card stolen out of his pants pocket on Monday.  Thankfully, no one touched his butt, they took it from his gym locker…lesson learned:  bring a lock.  On that note, living without credit cards for 4 days has been more challenging than I thought….I miss my Discover card real bad.    Lately in the world of drama (aka:  women in the photography business), the girls have been in an uproar over photographers who ‘hang babies’, apparently, some women are ‘qualified’, while others, clearly, are not.  I would like to know if there is a place to become certified to ‘hang a baby’?  Do any colleges offer courses on such a thing?  I doubt it.  So unless you have a degree in newborn safety techniques, I suggest you keep your self-righteous facebook rants to yourself.  I, in return, promise to stop reading the drama (TIME SUCK) that has been going down, as it is doing nothing to help grow my own business…Anyhoo…Has anyone else tried those ‘body by vi’ nutrition shake things?  Those taste like heaven in a glass…certainly, they can’t be good for me?  yum.

This family is about as cute as they come!  Loved these little girls, they were so sweet and giggly!  Definitely didn’t have to work for any smiles on this day….I can’t remember what was so funny…was there something on my face?  I was able to do this session in my front yard in the morning…sometimes the light is too harsh to shoot there, but this day was overcast and worked perfectly!

You know what intimidates me? Buffalo, MN family photographer

Thursday, January 19th, 2012

Curtains.  Consequently, my entire house (with the exception of the bedrooms, and those are strictly for room darkening), is completely lacking in curtains.  Mini blinds, yes.  It’s not like I have bedsheets and towels over the windows (and if you do use a towel as a curtain, I will assume you are living in a frat house with 49 other teenage boys?).  I’ve gone into JC Penney’s curtain section, have you ever tried to get anyone to help you during a white sale?  It’s madness.  And everything is ugly.  Thank goodness for Pinterest, I’m sure I’ll be able to find something stylish there…although it will probably be DIY…which is another thing that intimidates me.  (mom, diy means do. it. yourself.  Actually, you might know that one, nevermind)

These two little cuties did so good…waaay better than their dog~LOL!  You’ll see.

Hey, you on the left…could you scoot in just a teeeensy bit closer?  No?  Could you just move your head in from behind that branch?  No?  Fine.

We’ll just crop you out.

Oh NOW you want to be in the picture…you’re left eye looks amazing…check out those beautiful catch-lights ;)

Random thoughts for the day | Delano, MN Family Photography

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

Lot’s of random thoughts running through my head today…  People who go to the gym on a regular basis harbor a LOT of hostility for the newbies with new years resolutions.  ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ made me cry last night.  I hate having to pluck my face.  I purchased airline tickets to Vegas using a scam of a company…I sure hope we get there okay.  I’m seriously debating a new diet involving a lot of shakes.  I’ve made Lucy cry three times this week…it’s only Tuesday.  Facebook timeline, does anyone know how to navigate that puppy? The other night I dreamed about Katniss, Peeta and squirrels.  Brady said the word ‘octogon’ today, I’ve never been prouder.

This family met me on a warm evening back in August.  It was sunny, then raining, then sunny again.  But the light stayed pretty the whole time, and this little field was just perfect, I can’t wait to go back there this summer!  We’ve been trying to shoot this session for 2 years now, so I’m glad we finally got the chance to do it!

These step-brothers were so stinkin cute together :)

My favs of 2011~Minneapolis, MN baby, family and senior photographer

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

This year has been pretty darn excellent.   I am slowly but surely working on refining my business into what I want it to be…when I first started a few years ago my goals were wishy-washy at best.  I knew that I had to make a certain amount of money a month so that I didn’t have to work at the Target Deli e.v.e.r. again.  Now that I feel confident that I never have to slice roast beef again, I can move on to different goals!

Some plans for 2012:

*Specialize more.  My focus will be solely on newborns/kids/families/high school seniors.

*No more weddings.  I LOVE photographing weddings, I just don’t LOVE everything that goes along with it…the planning, the stress, the huge amount of editing, the loss of valuable weekends with family!  Not to mention, there are SO many amazing wedding photographers in Minnesota already, why not leave all the bridezilla drama to them? (I’ve never actually dealt w/ a bridezilla…but surely my luck would have run out sooner or later).

*No more extended family sessions.  Basically, my reasoning for this are the same reasons I don’t do weddings any more (see excuses listed above!).

*Decide if hiring a very PT employee is beneficial, or if it will be a big headache (this is what Korey thinks…but he lovingly fights me on every big decision I make!).

*Become more known in my community…especially for high school seniors portraits.

*Begin entering image competitions…Also begin working on becoming certified or accredited…but first figure out which word it is; certified or accredited.  Is accredited even a word?

*Fit into the jeans I wore in 10th grade.  Okay, lady…now you go too far.

Here are some of my very favorite pictures from the past year.  I really tried to keep it to 10, since I love a good top 10 list.  But the numbers kept growing, and I had to stop looking at every-one’s files.  So here are the top 20 (in my humble opinion).

Have a wonderful New Years Eve~I’ll see ya on the flip side :)

hypnosis from one so young? | monticello, mn family photographer

Monday, December 19th, 2011

My son Riley has a new skill set…hypnotist.

(please note, this is my digital rendition…his original copy was thrown in the trash ((thanks daddy)) and covered in coffee grounds).

Yesterday, he drew me a picture (identical to the one above), and slowly waved it in front of my face saying, “you want me to play wiiiiiiiiii” (spoken in a low, hypnotic tone).  Who is teaching my 6 year old these tricks?  And since it worked, and he did indeed get to play the wii, I can only assume that he has a real talent.  Does his gift extend into other genres?  Like weight loss?  Because if he can hypnotize me into thinking I don’t need to eat Christmas cookies 24-7, that would be most appreciated.

I met this family back in August, and while discussing locations, found out that grandma and grandpa (who look too young to be grandma and grandpa), live less than 2 miles away, on a nice little lake.  I am so jealous of their property…I warned them that if they saw some random kids swimming on their beach, that it was just me and my family, and not to worry!  I still haven’t gone through with my trespassing plan…next June, fo-sho.

Stay tuned to the blog tomorrow…I promised some folks I would be putting my Christmas Card on here…it’s not for the faint of heart.

cole | dassel-cokato, mn senior pictures

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

I am *this* close to being caught up with gallerys/orders/shopping for Christmas.   I finally got my holiday cards out yesterday, so that’s a relief…every year I write a ‘bah humbug’ letter in lieu of a nice Christmas letter….after writing that, I can’t even think about being entertaining over here on the blog!  Check back next week for the full letter that I send out to my family and friends!  And I promise to share the card with all of you in a few days….it is a true masterpiece…if I do say so myself :)

Guess what I’m sharing today…pictures of a senior BOY!  The majority of my senior clients are chicks….so it was nice to change it up a bit.  I met Cole on his farm (yes, a real, honest to goodness working farm!) near Dassel-Cokato.  I learned a lot during our session…important things, like;

*never wear flip flops, unless you like manure between your toes

*cows do not take commands as well as dogs

*don’t go climbing around up in a hay loft unless you are in decent shape…just getting up there is a lot of work

*pigs are your pets…until they’re your dinner…thankfully, I was around during pet season.  Although I do love a good piece of bacon…

Cole, you did an awesome job!  If this whole ‘tractor driving’ thing doesn’t work out…you might consider modeling?

Okay, I’m scared for when my kids are old enough to drive….but at least I don’t have to worry about them driving a super huge & expensive John Deere!

kayna | rogers, mn senior pictures

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

I don’t remember if I mentioned it here on the blog, but my 9 yr old daughter is on the school newspaper.  How cute is that?  It came out yesterday, and she proudly showed me 2 different articles that were published with her name in the credits.  The newspaper tackles age appropriate fodder, such as, “do you prefer taco’s or popcorn chicken for lunch in the cafeteria?”  And one of my favorites, “teachers…they’re just like us!”  Which reminds me of ‘Celebrities, they’re just like us!’  Which makes me think that the student who wrote that article has a mother who is a huge ‘US Weekly’ fan.

One of Lucy’s articles was titled, “3 fun new recess games”.  Let me just share one with you:  Game # 2~Bonk the Ball into each other. You need: one ball for each person.  Step 1-throw the ball at the same time.  Step 2-see if the ball bonked in to each other.  Step 3-do it again and again. *note-play this game carefully!

Is it just me, or has my daughter just taught the school a very lame version of dodge ball?  I’m glad she cautioned everyone…and I hope that whoever trademarked dodge ball won’t come after her and claim that ‘bonk the ball into each other‘ is a copyright infringement.

Skipping ahead to another beautiful senior from earlier this summer.  I love how these turned out~Kayna, you are a rockstar…and so is her mom….she even knew how to ’smize’!  Smizing is a made up word by supermodel Tara Banks (america’s next top model)…it means to smile with your eyes.  I just googled it to be sure I had the spelling correct…and apparently there is more than one definition to that word.  Don’t bother looking…it’s quite nasty.  You’ve been warned.  Seriously, don’t go hitting the google search bar.  Some things are better left alone.  Ahhh, okay, let’s just go to the pictures~shall we!

This next shot is my favorite~the light is gorgeous, don’t you think?!

Looking at these pictures make me long for warmer temps…someday I’m moving this business to Arizona….this next shot could have been taken in the desert, don’t you think?

Vegas and Vampires | Sartell, MN senior pictures

Thursday, November 17th, 2011

I can’t think of too many companies that would consider Vegas to be a wise choice for their yearly business conference.  Unless you’re a photographer…then it’s all good.  I am so excited that I get to leave frigid Minnesota this February for a few days to attend a workshop and a giant tradeshow.  My focus for this trip is to gain a little more knowledge in senior photography…I love working with that age group…I also like to pretend that I still am that age.  So it’s a good match.  I’m hoping to roll out a new senior program next spring~so stay tuned for that action!

As I mentioned on the blog earlier, this weekend is TWILIGHT FEST with my 2 sister-in-laws down in Rochester.  It will involve a movie marathon and chinese takeout on Friday night…and Saturday we’ll head to the theater to see the latest release…breaking down part 1.  Then onward to the bar for drinks and stimulating conversations about Edward, Bella and the rest of the gang.  I loved the books, and thought the movies were okay.  I will admit that I’m more excited to eat the M&M’s and Nibs that I bought for the movie than for the actual show.  Don’t tell my SIL Krista, she is so obsessed she might need an intervention.  I swear, if I get there tomorrow and she has fangs, I am leaving.  Seriously, if she even thinks of twinkling in the sunshine, I am outta there.

Back to seniors…here is a beautiful senior girl that I photographed this summer…she is probably one of the nicest girls I’ve ever met (not even a hint or twinge of diva-ness in her…which, let’s face it…many 17 yr old girls have, especially when their mothers are nearby-a strange phenomenon) her and her sisters were so sweet and helpful….hopefully I’ll get to see them for THEIR senior pictures in a few years :)