I can't begin to tell you how happy I was to be asked to photograph Sarah & Luke's wedding this summer! They are such a beautiful couple & they have such a fun loving & easy way with one another...July can't get her quick enough! In the meantime here are some images from their bridal themed engagement session! Enjoy!
Chicago, where the sun shines and where the sweetest couple ever got engaged. When Meghan, PJ and I first began discussing their wedding, it came up that they were engaged at North Avenue Beach. PJ was getting his Masters at DePaul University and Meghan was visiting almost every weekend via a friend's companion pass on Delta. Nice deal, right? So, a large part of their relationship grew in Chicago. Since I have so many fond memories and friends there myself, we hatched a plan to shoot their engagement pictures on location at the first sign of nice weather. Here are the results!
While many couples see the engagement session as a photographic perk that might be first on the chopping block due to budget, this part of the photo process is the most important to me, and I think it should be highly important to you as well.
First, it lets me get to know you. The last thing you should ever want is a photographer who you don't know peppering you with questions on your wedding day. You'll have enough people vying for your thoughts that day, I promise, and I don't want to be one of them. I want you to forget I'm there, and I want to blend into the background and just capture what's happening around us. This happens a whole lot easier if we've done it all before -- like in an engagement session.
Second, holding an engagement session helps me to find your best angles. I want you to look your absolute best on the big day, and I think you do, too.
Third, if we've done a session already, you can give me feedback. For instance, I hate X angle or I loved X pose with my guy. You get the picture. No pun intended. This is also a great time to tell me that you love the black and white photos more than color, and I should process a ton of them that way for the wedding, or vice versa.
Fourth, when I tell you to pose like Y, you know exactly what I mean because, oh hey we've done this before! This means that photos on your wedding day go waaaay faster, and you have more time to spend with the people you love and care about. Which is exactly what you should be doing on your wedding day, not going over details with the photographer.
Oh! And lastly? If we do an engagement session, you will be totally used to me telling you to get all lovey and nuzzle and smooch etc. and then pointing a big lens right into your faces. I'm not gonna lie, that can get a little weird. But if we've done it before and laughed at the ridiculousness of it and you've seen that the photos are awesome, then on your big day it's no big deal. Which is how it should be.
I had the absolute pleasure and honor of photographing Siw and Jan Frode on their wedding day. The two were married last month on TV as part of a Norwegian television series! We got a chance to head to the sea and and downtown of Haugesund, Norway juuuust before there was no light left in the day. Siw wore 2 incredible Leila Hafzi dresses. Simply stunning! Check out this video of Siw picking out her wedding dress with Leila!
Beautiful people below!
Ah yes, back at SXSW -- my favorite working vacation. If you've learned anything about me through this blog, it's that I love, love, love live music. Even a little more than puppies. Ok. Maybe it's a tie. Anyway, I just got back from five days of constant rock'n'roll and walking and waiting in line and 80 degrees and sunshine, and I thought I'd share a few images. These are mostly band images, as I haven't processed my street portraits yet, but those might be next. We'll see...
When my husband proposed to me there wasn't a ring involved. Just a nice dinner, some romantic hand holding, and the big question. He wanted us to shop together for the perfect ring. That suited us and we ended up finding rings for both him and myself together. I wonder, how did you pick your ring? Guys, was it something you toiled over or did you know the look you wanted immediately? Ladies, how would you prefer the proposal go down? With the ring or sans ring? Oh, and the picture above is actually my own! I still love it.
This time of year is tough on us wedding photographers as... well... there aren't many weddings happening! So many of us fill our time with other photo interests, and today I thought I'd show you some of the recent dog photography I've been doing.
Some days are spent running in the snow and playing a little fetch...
But most of my shoots are done back at the studio.
You know what my favorite thing to photograph is? Besides rock'n'roll? PUPPIES.
You know when people get puppies? IN THE SPRING. That's in like three weeks. So if you're getting a puppy, please let me know! They'll only stay that cute for a month or two, and you really should document the adorableness while you can.
Emi is a lucky girl and obviously well liked. I photographed her Bat Mitzvah a few weeks ago and couldn't have been more in awe of her carefree energy. She was having what I assume will be the most exciting day of her life until, perhaps, her wedding day arrives some years down the road. Her parents created this spectacular party with an "Emi Awards" theme, complete with red carpet, marquee lighting, and paparazzi photography. Congratulations to Emi on her Bat Mitzvah!
Red, black, with just a touch of pin up and you get a sexy lumberjack! The 2nd edition of Mrs. Depew Vintage. These awesome lumberjack knickers are handmade by Ohhh Lulu lingerie and Apparel, based out of Ontario, Canada. The store carries aaaaadorable "romantic lingerie with a vintage flair," and it's all custom made to fit! Check out more of her collections HERE.
Maybe once a year, I shoot one of the local burlesque shows in town. I love these shows because the women are such amazing performers, and they make things like taking off your gloves look sexy. It's a sight to see. Also? It makes for great photos. So much glitter! And feathers! And twirling! I even took my mom once. I seriously suggest one of these shows for a fun night out with either your true love or a bunch of girlfriends. There's just a lot of smiling, laughing and wine. Fun for everyone.
Happy Valentine's Day to all the newly engaged couples out there. Today would be a great day to start practicing that camera ready kiss. Step 1: Lean In Step 2: Meet Lips Step 3: Eyes Closed Step 4: Let it Linger
More amazing kisses here.
Since it's the dead of winter and weddings and shoots have slowed down a bit, I wanted to talk to you brides about light. We photographers worship the light. It's the paint that makes our art, and we need it in one fashion or another to create the best possible images.
I have noticed in the last year or so that more brides are starting to visualize their weddings. Not just plan it, but visualize it. I am pretty sure this is because of Pinterest. Yes ladies, I love the site as much as you do, and I'm thrilled you are turning to photographs for brainstorming your big day. THRILLED. This is because you can now show me what you like (sometimes saying it out loud and finding the right words is tough -- I get that). The site helps us all brainstorm and visually communicate, and I think nothing but great things can come from it. Pin away, I tell you!
But I want you to notice something. I want you to look hard at all those images you're posting and look at where the light is coming from. Are there large windows? Is the couple outside? Are there lots of trees? Is it dark and lit mostly by candle? I want you to notice the light because it's like the "hidden" character in the picture.
Stay with me here. Did you ever watch Sex and the City? Yes? How many main characters were there? Many people would say four. Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. But I would say five. I would add Manhattan. That city was like the character that made the show. It had good moments and bad moments and it had story arcs as well. And that's kinda what the light is in your photographs. It's not the subject, but it's still required.
OK, still with me? Now think about the light as you're pinning away on all of your favorite wedding photos and inspiration photos, and try to guess around what time the photos were taken. Nothing exact, but was it high noon? Are there shadows on the faces? Is everything bright and crisp? Or are things softer and warmer? Like late afternoon/early evening? This also should be considered. Taking images outside of all of your family and wedding party might be most practical at noon, but with the light directly above, there will be more shadows on the faces, so maybe you'll want to push it back a bit.
Now wait. I don't want to discourage you! We are, after all, a bunch of professionals who know tricks around such situations. We can totally make scenarios like the one above work. I'm talking about getting the best-possible situations here though, and I want to manage our brides' expectations.
So when you're trying to decide the timeline of your day or the location of your cocktail hour, the position of the sun or the number of windows might be something you want to factor in. And if you are overwhelmed enough without thinking about something as silly as light, then meet with your photographer beforehand. Show him or her the kind of photos you want and talk about your location and the two of you can create a game plan to get the kinds of images you want.
And don't worry if it's cloudy! I hear so many brides (and parents of brides) who worry that clouds will ruin their photos, but the clouds simply diffuse the light, making great light no matter the sun position (or timing), so clouds actually work in your favor.
And lastly! You should follow us over on Pinterest! It's where we post a lot of our inspiration, as well as some of our own work.
I have a daughter, Annika. This week, I've been wondering where the past year went to. Though obviously on a much smaller scale, I am having as much fun planning her first birthday party as I had planning my wedding. I took her picture just the other week. Isn't she cute?
In case you didn't get a chance to head out and visit us at one of the bridal fairs last Saturday, here is a little peek into our European Booth! The Rivets crew had a booth at Den store Bryllupsfesten (The big wedding party) and MN Bride's, Look of Love. I had such an AWESOME time meeting all the bride-to-be's, grooms, designers, and stylists. I was also lucky enough to be right next to Chelsea's Cool Cakes...which kept an incredible aroma of sweet chocolate cake surrounding me all day. Yes, yes I ate lots of samples.....Oh dear.
Don't forget // You can still get in on the fair offer if you book by this Friday! Just give us a hollar! 
With Tom and Kristen, we tried something different... studio engagement portraits. Novel idea huh? Well, when it's cold and gray outside, sometimes it's best to get back to basics. Personally, I love how these turned out and hope you all do too. By the way, aren't these two cute? We were definitely having fun, it was Tom's birthday after all!
Here's a little pre-Valentines day boudoir inspiration! I was so lucky to meet the lovely and talented Mrs. Depew Vintage. I know I use the word 'lovely' a lot...but seriously this girl is the definition of lovely! She designs and creates vintage lingerie patters. She sewed these gorgeous pieces and together we created a sweet, simple and classy shoot for her one-of-a-kind designs.
Now I'm wishing I would've listened when my grandmother was trying to teach me to sew! ;) Check out Mrs. Depew's online store here.
Hair/Makeup: Charlene Nedrum Lingerie: Mrs. Depew Vintage Photography: Desiree Mostad Special thanks to Cafe Stills!
a little impromptu shoot with model Blair Emerson around Harriet Island. I recently got some new fun equipment so this was a great opportunity to test it out!
I have a bride that I'm shooting later this year at her "real wedding" with her family and friends present, but for practical purposes, it made sense for these two to tie the knot before the end of 2012. So they decided to sneak off to the courthouse and get things done on the sly. They didn't want to upset their families or make their "real day" any less important, but sometimes you need to be practical when government laws/benefits are involved. And they asked if I wanted to be one of two witnesses. Hell yeah, I did! I've never shot a wedding at city hall before, and I was extremely curious as to how it would go. And while they didn't officially hire me to take any photos, you know I couldn't resist.
A few things to note about this day: 1) The groom's ring did not arrive in time for the ceremony! Not to be discouraged from the big event, they subbed in a candy ring pop. 2) This judge put on one of the best ceremonies I have ever heard. And I've heard a LOT. I really liked his message, and the thought that was put into such a "quickie" wedding was nice. Should you ever need a judge for your big day, I highly suggest Judge Kevin S. Burke in Hennepin County.
On Friday, perhaps the warmest and sunniest winter day we will have in January, Ben and Emily tied the knot in Maple Plain, Minnesota. We managed to make our way to Baker Park with the bridal party after everyone was ready. Feast your eyes on the gorgeous fur Emily wore while we were there! After a charming ceremony in the local community church the reception got underway in Medina. Thank you Emily and Ben for giving me so many wonderful opportunities to make great photographs. You two are terrific!
This week is a week of inspiring meetings and prepping for our upcoming Bridal Fairs! Before catching the bus on my way home this morning, I snapped a few photos. Yep, it's quite cold and people are bundled up here in Norway too! (ok, maybe it's not as cold as Northern MN..hehe) Let's embrace the cute hats and scarfs...the bit of sun....and the cold?! ;)
