Wow, oh wow, oh wow. As I sit here and have a chance to look back at every wedding day, engagement session, family portraits, anniversary photos, mini sessions, maternity portraits, lifestyle sessions, newborn portraits, senior portraits, and more, all I can say is wow. 2018 was such a blessing. You blessed us! So many special announcements, new steps and chapters in life, and stopping to document life are seen below. You trusted us and invited us to walk alongside of you in these precious moments -- allowing us to live vicariously through you and celebrate the best parts of life with you. So below, you'll find some of our favorite photos as wedding and portrait photographers that highlight many more photos and moments not shown, each freezing memories to be looked back on for a lifetime.

When Samrica reached out desiring a portrait session so that she could send photos back to her hubby in Africa for their anniversary, my heart melted and I was absolutely for it and promptly squeezed them in to a busy Thanksgiving week. Then, when she requested to take their mini portrait session photos at our church, I was at first a bit nervous, but excited when I walked in the doors and saw the amazing volunteers decorating for Christmas. We moved some items around and had ourselves a very Merry Christmas mini shoot!

Talk about #TransformationTuesday! Say hello again to the Ogren Family! I've had the privilege of documenting this amazing family the past few years (here's a link to last years'). This past year, Bethany decided to change some things in her family's diet and you can see the difference! Way to go! It was so great to get to hang out with the Ogren's for their family portraits this year on our mini session evening. We spent our time hanging out at The Old Mill Park in Hastings -- super close to Vermillion Falls, but a hidden gem in terms of how many people drop by! 

When Jim & Michele pulled into the parking lot, there was a very sleepy child in the backseat, so we walked a few steps away to capture a few photos of just the two (well, three) of them before pulling Austin out from his sleepy slumber! Austin definitely was having a hard time waking up and was pretty straight faced at first -- that was until I said the magic word: "ninja." He instantly lit up and smiled at me. Ninja? Yup! Austin loves this word and is always wanting to show our oldest how to be a ninja and teach him some ninja moves.

​Is this family not the cutest? We met up at Hasting’s beautiful Lake Rebecca Park for their September family portrait mini session. I love how fall creates so many fun opportunities to work with amazing families like this! ​​Little Everly and Henry were so cute and did amazingly well with all of the fun distractions like water, geese, and sticks around. In fact, we “rewarded” Henry with sticks to throw into the water from time to time with how well he was doing – oh the simple pleasures of little boys! Everly definitely was a bit ounsure of me and my large camera at the beginning but soon warmed up and even let her parents parents, Levi and Jenna, take a few photos by themselves before the end of our time together.

When I asked Kristina where she would like to shoot her and Adam’s mini portrait session in Hastings, her first response was LeDuc Historic Estates because one of her favorite sessions we did was a 60thwedding anniversary session there. (It’s one of my favorites, too, Kristina!) 

What do you get when you mix busy boys and photos? A fun-loving adventure of picking crab apples, licking lollypops, and just being kids. Getting to hang out again with the Hobbs family and their two precious boys is such a privilege! We visited Hastings’ Leduc Historic Estates and even though the main building was under construction, we still found plenty of spots to keep us occupied.

Hey everyone! We’re starting our first ever mini sessions this year! I know, you’re like it’s APRIL! But here us out, the holiday season will be here before you know it! Get your Christmas card photos done in the beautiful fall colors, capture those growing kiddos in the freshness of spring, or celebrate an anniversary with your sweetheart on a summer night. In fact, why not book more than one? ;) This is perfect for major milestone moments, so join us as we capture some memories of your family, your children, or grab great sweetheart or even maternity images. If you’re not into the Christmas card thing, no worries! This is also a very affordable way to capture great lifelong memories of your current everyday family life.

Last week we talked through the hard side of getting photos taken and two of our tips to help rock your mini sessions. Tonight, Mark and I are sharing our final two tips to help everyone enjoy the process!

 We know how overwhelming portraits can be. We’ve been on your side of the camera. That’s why we’re taking a few moments to tell you how to get the most out of your mini portrait session. See if any of these resonate with you: