Northfield, MN family holiday photographer

Traditions resonate close to home

I'm often asked what makes my approach to family photography different from most photography studios. The answer is simple: I don't do a lot of posing. Our photo sessions can be catered to any client's needs, but I typically spend about 20 percent of the time (at most) assembling groups and 80 percent of the time simply letting the family be themselves. This style was a perfect match for the Shank family as they prepared to say goodbye to their Northfield, MN home.

With the grown children scattered across the country and career opportunities taking them elsewhere, mom and dad decided it was time to move and downsize from their spacious home. But before they did, they wanted to have one last big family Christmas celebration under one roof. So, four generations of Shanks came together to do what they do best: celebrate family, food and the arts.

After a quick set up of posed large group photos indoors, we moved outside to capture the family in front of their home, an homage to this place where they had made so many wonderful memories (You'd be surprised how many folks don't have nice pictures of their family and their home together). After that, the family was free to carry on their holiday traditions, including reminiscing of years past, playing music, cooking and decorating. During this time I worked like a fly on the wall to create photos of the family being as natural as possible.

I was honored to, in some ways, be a part of such a special time for this family. Though I didn't have a lot of time to get to know them first I think I was still able to build a rapport with the family that pays dividends in the images. I think they look comfortable and happy. What do you think? Please comment on or share this post if you like what you see. And if you have your own family tradition you'd like to preserve, contact us today!

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Minneapolis Family Christmas Photographer

There's no place like home for the holidays.

With my documentary approach to often doing long-term projects with photography, many of my clients become friends and feel like family. This year, the tables turned and I was able to photograph my longest-standing friend. Jon and I have been best friends since we were 3 years old! After being separated by contenants for a few years, it's been great to once again be living close together and watch as our families develop in synch. (We both have sons relatively the same age apart as Jon and myself).

Recently, Jon and his family purchased a new home and celebrated by trimming their first real Christmas tree. I'm sure his son will always remember that smell of Frasier Fir each time the holidays return. I love to capture these honest moments of the family in the midst of an unstaged event. Sure, eventually we put some semi-posed pictures together for their Christmas cards and the like, but most of the session was devoted to letting the family be themselves as they placed each ornament on the tree, practiced on the toy piano or played with their new puppy.

Please "like" this post on Facebook if you'd like to sit back and relax as I photograph your family during the holidays.

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Elko New Market, MN newborn photographer | Maeva

One Month: Part Two in a Four-Part Series

A lot of times people ask what they can expect from a newborn photo session with Anthologie. Or better yet, they wonder how creating photo sessions on a monthly basis with the same child can yield photos compelling enough to merit doing them with such frequency. Some of my favorite clients have answered these questions time and time again.

As for what to expect, we work on building a relationship with you so that you're most comfortable simply being a family. Sure, we talk about different ideas for your session, but it's more about how your child is developing and showcasing those special changes in her personality rather than where the session will take place.

For a one-month-old like Maeva, that can be a challenge. There's only so much such an infant is interesting in doing other than eating, sleeping and exploring the world with her eyes. At this stage of development I like to work in the family's home. It's nice to have a record of where you were living at this important time, plus, it makes the whole family feel more at ease. There's plenty of time for a baby like Maeva to simply bond with her mom and dad.

Maeva also has her big sister, Stella, around to keep her entertained. This is been the most noticeable shift since working the first time around to document the first year of Stella's life. Now, when I work with the family to see and preserve what's new with Maeva each month, I also have an energetic toddler adding to the family dynamic.

This works perfectly, though, with our approach to family photography. Since Anthologie doesn't focus on bringing props a session, or what set-up poses to work through, we're free to simply let the family interact and create a lasting memory that, hopefully, tells more about who the family was at a given time rather than just what they looked like.

These are some of my absolute favorite pictures from Maeva's one-month photo session. I think you can tell just how honest these moments are between mom and dad and their babies.

I don't know what a photo session would be like with this family without Stella hamming it up for the camera just a little bit! Frequenters of our homepage may notice a similar image of Stella when she was 12 months old and making her parents laugh tears of joy. It's featured on our "relax" tab.

If you'd like to create some wonderful memories for your family and get stunning photos in the process, contact us today to reserve your photo session, and start telling your own story today.

Elko New Market, MN Newborn Photographer | Maeva

Welcome to the world, Meava: Part One in a Four-Part Series

I was enjoying my day off, staining my deck 10 feet up in the air on a ladder when my phone rang. On the other end a familiar voice responded to my hello. It was one of my favorite clients, whose family I've closely worked with for more than four years. In a very calm and collected tone she said: "We just had the baby. Can you come up to the hospital right away? We'd like to get some photos of Stella seeing her for the first time."

After getting over my initial shock of just how nonchalant Cari was about the whole scenario (after all, she had just given birth), I excitedly said I'd be there as soon as I could and proceeded to get down on the ground and get my paint brushes in water. I don't think I had time to change clothes before I jumped in the car and rushed up to beat two-year-old Stella who was en route to meet her baby sister.

As a former news photographer, I was eager to start photographing. Opportunities such as the one I then just been presented with don't happen often. In my newspaper days I'd do what so many photographers do and compare my work to others in the industry. I'd see stunning work from other shooters and think to myself: "I could do something like that if I only had the time." Some of my most favorite work comes from long-term projects and when working in a small market, enterprising projects you'd like to do for yourself often get trumped by annual used book sales and the prized russet potato someone harvested that bore a striking resemblance to Abraham Lincoln (OK, in fairness, there really were some well-done, hard news stories, too).

One of my biggest takeaways from newspapers was what I deemed the three Ps of photojournalism: prepare, prepare and prepare. When you ethically cannot recreate a moment, the only thing you can do is do as much homework as you can to ensure you're in the right place at the right time so you can capture the essence of a story as it actually happens. So, with being invited to a birth, this means developing a trusting relationship with the family well in advance of when you're needed to actually to photograph the life-changing event.

All of this actually only added to my anxiety as I approached the hospital. I've photographed the events surrounding births before (I'm not much interested in photographing the live birth itself), but when you're given such an opportunity you don't want to screw it up. I also had a brand new camera in tow that I hadn't yet had a chance to put through its paces, so that had me sweating, too.

I barely arrived in time to congratulate Cari and her husband, Eric, before Stella hurriedly walked into the room with a gift. I put the camera up to my eye and ...

... was able to get this photo of Stella as she turned to see the newest member of her family.

... 2.5 seconds later ...

... and finally, as she got to see her then-unnamed sister up close.

The rest of the afternoon was a blur as I worked to capture these moments while being respectful of how significant this time was for the family — and figure out the technical aspects of my new camera in the process.

I was, and am, so grateful to Cari, Eric and Stella for allowing me to be on hand for such personal moments.

There are so many more pictures I am proud of from this day, but I want to save many of these moments for the family to enjoy by themselves.

After a day in the hospital, Cari and Eric called to let me know they had decided on a name for their little girl: Maeva. More of her pictures and story will be coming soon.

Contact us today if you'd like to document your own special life story.

Related: Click here to view photos of the cake party when Cari and Eric learned they would be welcoming their second daughter to the world.

Elko New Market Event/Celebration Photographer: Stella's Third Birthday Party

Have your cake and eat it too

I often hear the refrain: "I know, I should put this camera down and enjoy myself." My answer to that is. Go ahead, do it!

Anthologie specializes in capturing life's important moments as they  happen. I recently had the pleasure of working with one of my favorite clients who understands this approach well. They had me out to photograph the third birthday party of their daughter, Stella.

Rather than fret about the lighting conditions or fumble through f-stops and shutter speeds, the family was free to simply enjoy the day and have plenty of time to talk with all of those who showed up to share in the celebration. Believe me, it's hard enough to manage a big party: keeping refreshments - well - refreshed, serving food based on every child's specific allergies, and staying on task to meet the needs of demanding nap schedules.

While the hosts had enough to keep them busy, at least they could take one responsibility off of their plates and let the professional handle getting all the best pictures of the birthday party.

Are you planning your own special celebration? Please contact us today so that you can enjoy each and every moment. We'll make sure you have meaningful memories preserved so you can relive the event always. You can call direct, 952-232-5830.

Please let us know what you think of these photos, and if you like what you see, comment or share using the handy-dandy links at the bottom of this post. Thanks so much for visiting!