When your cousin from Michigan reaches out to see if you would be willing to photograph his wedding, you say an emphatic yes. Zak and Michaela met earlier this year online. Very early on, it was evident that they would be wanting to spend the rest of their life together. That is, after Michaela was not scared away by Zak’s super direct questions and answers. (Still would like to hear how the question on the Holy Spirit is going, you two!) We started to hear word from my dad’s family in Michigan that we should set aside some time for a trip out that way sometime this fall for a wedding. So when the text came, we started working quickly to find the time to do it and were so glad we were able to make it work. Getting to meet Michaela over zoom and then talk all things wedding in the next months were a fun way to get to know the couple before the big day. I had to remind myself while meeting her in person that it was the first time I had met her in person – I’m grateful that relationships can be formed over zoom these days!

I think I have found a new protege. Little Ryan here was all about taking photos during his family's fall photos at Lake Rebecca Park. I often show my back of camera to littles during a shoot to help them feel more excited and comfortable about the process, but taking the photos was a particular favorite of his. "Picture! Picture!" he kept saying, with me encouraging him he could take one right after the next photo we did within their family.

Meet Sheilah. She's turning 30 at the end of the month, so she figured what better way to celebrate this milestone than to capture this stage of life. This beautiful lady comes from Kenya and currently lives with her sisters while she waits for her hubby to join her — did I mention that she also is a mama of a 2 1/2 year old? I loved that she was able to take a moment to get away and celebrate by doing a 30th birthday photoshoot just for herself. 

Ah, Alexis and Isabel. These ladies are two peas in a pod, having been friends since 3rd grade after meeting through a mutual friend. They currently both work at Raising Cane’s after both applying the same day, having orientation on the same day, and then Isabel starting one day earlier. (Apparently, Alexis’s title is a bird specialist. TBD on Isabel’s.) So all this to say, naturally, taking their senior photos together was a perfect idea. We spent the evening walking, talking, and giggling our way through their senior photos. 

Meet Elizabeth, a class of 2023 senior for East Ridge High School who is currently doing her first year of college thanks to PSEO at the University of Minnesota. We met on a beautiful fall evening with the best weather we could ask for for her senior portraits in Cottage Grove, taking our time to visit two of the parks in the area. As we walked along we talked about some of the aspects of her life – how her parents both work for 3M which gave them the opportunity in the past to live abroad in Dubai, how they loved specifically traveling to Greece for the beautiful food and culture, how she is looking at going into biology with an interest in potentially into forensics, and how she enjoys playing lacrosse.