Ellie // Minneapolis Senior Photographer // Class of 2017

Minneapolis Senior Photographer

This babe.

That smile.

When I asked Ellie what she's most proud of herself for, she replied, "For being able to be myself and not care about what people think." I admire Ellie for this. Her big personality shows through via that gorgeous smile and positive energy and she's completely and totally her. You do you, girl. (insert praising hands emoji)

When I was in high school, I probably cared too much what people thought of me. Although always wholeheartedly my weird, nerdy, quirky self, I would sometimes catch myself saying or doing things based off the group of people I was in. To this day, I'm still a people pleaser, but I've realized I don't have to sacrifice a bit of myself in order to make people happy. The good ones are going to appreciate the weird things you do that make you, you. In fact, most people say my witty charm and relentless sarcasm is what makes me so special. Or, at least my mom does. 

Congrats, babes from the Class of 2017. You were one kiiiiiiller group.

Class of 20187: I want you! Let's chat about our love for memes, la croix, and the black heart emoji. Oh, and maybe take your senior photos, too. 

Colleen + James // Minneapolis Lifestyle Photographer

Colleen and James are like the rockstar creative couple of MPLS. She's quickly climbing to the top of MPLS' photo queen scene and he's a genius UX designer at a local agency. #DreamTeam

I've been lucky enough to assist Colleen at a few of her shoots and weddings. What I love about her is her calm and warm demeanor. She's genuine, easily likable, and talented, which is probably why she's killin' it at the photo game.

So when she told me she wanted me to take photos of her and her James at their new house, I was all in. Plus, they just adopted a new puppy, and who doesn't love puppies? As a duo, Colleen and James are electric. They're two people, so in love with each other and the world and people around them. They're the type of people all us photographers just dream of photographing because they're not only smokin' hot (and funny!), but also so willing to let us into their lives in order to create a compelling visual love story. Thanks, you two. 

Check out her work here.

I am still booking for 2016! I'd love to meet with you, drink some wine, and talk about your love stories. Contact me here.

Mackenzi // Class of 2016

yup, I blogged her again.

she's just that exceptional.

I literally owe my whole senior season to this girl. In May, we did this mock senior shoot and I told her to tell her friends about me. I didn't expect much to come out of it, maybe get 3 or 4 girls from her, because many of my photographer friends have done senior reps before and did not get the results they wanted. Well, Mackenzi delivered. She delivered good. I can attribute 90% of my seniors to this girl. I dunno if it's her stunning good looks, if she's super popular at her school, or her warm, genuine personality. Whatever it was, she rocks.

I decided to blog her real senior photos because I feel like they're even better than the first time around. It might be one of my favorite senior shoots to date. I think what made this shoot so successful is the fact that she and I really click. Like, really click.  We talked like normal friends would. We did weird things like normal friends would. We goofed around like normal friends would.

She truly gets what I'm trying to do: stray away from the normal senior photo. I'm not trying to make you into a super model. I'm not trying to make you look perfect. I'm not trying to make you into something you're not. I'm trying to showcase you in the most genuine, raw, and real way. I want to shed light on what makes you, you. This is the kind of stuff that gets created when photographer + client are so in sync with each other. This is the kind of stuff that I strive to produce and send out into the world. This is the good stuff.

Thanks Kenz for being so kick ass and for reviving my love for photography. <3

Jenna + Michael // In-home Cuddle Session

There's literally nothing more satisfying than coming home to the one you love most. I never wanted to be "that" girl who spent every dying moment with her boyfriend and while I still make time for myself and my friends, sometimes all I want to do is snuggle on the couch with Mykel. When squished on our tiny Ikea couch watching Netflix, my right facing impending doom (aka on the brink of loosing feeling cause I'm almost always big spoon), and facing the uncomfortable situation of needing to pee, I still feel most at home- when I'm with him. I guess I never knew what this was like until I started spending even more time with him and eventually moved in. To have someone who can support you so you can conquer the world, to have someone who you can be lazy with, to have someone who becomes so selfless because they love you so, and yes, to have someone to have burping contests with is a pretty damn great thing. Once you find that person, you'll want to spend all your time with them, trust me. 

To also have a space that is uniquely the both of yours, where you spend you time pouring your passions and love into is also a pretty damn great thing. I've been wanting to do an in-home portrait session with a couple for ages. There's only so much intimacy that can be portrayed outside on a backlit field or urban parking garage. What better way to show authenticity than shoot in the place where any one person is most vulnerable? If I've learned anything recently, it's that vulnerability equals authenticity. As uncomfortable as that might seem, especially when it comes to photography, becoming vulnerable in front of the camera is what allows all those feelings to come out. 

So, I was thinking how the heck I make two lovers vulnerable... have them take off their clothes, duh. There's something so sensual + intimate about two lovers + two bodies. I'm not talking about naked bodies in the over-sexualized way that our culture has made them out to be and I'm not talking about sex. I'm talking about two people who love each other more than they could ever image. I'm talking about when two bodies come together and that feeling of electricity and sweet passion... that warmth that is so comforting you'll never want to leave. 

Jenna and Michael are just that.

He came home from a 9 hour shift that morning. He was tired. He was overworked. 

She had come home from a full wedding weekend, including a wedding in Iowa. She was tired. She was overworked. 

However, when these two came together, there was nothing but sweet giggles, tender kisses, and quiet relaxation. They were finally together after a long weekend. You could sense the love + care + respect these two have for each other. They were home. 

Thank you two for getting down to your skivvies and showing me just how much you love each other. Also, thanks for having a really freakin' awesome loft + for having killer style.

Going forward, I'm challenging myself to showcase my couples in the most genuine + intimate way and I think I'm off to a decent start.