Wayzata High School Senior Photographer | Ruth

It's always such an enjoyable experience to work with someone once we've had time to plan out their photo session in advance. For high school senior portraits this may sound like perhaps a bit of over thinking it. After all, the goal is to simply to create a great picture of the subject — to preserve how they looked at this important time in their life.

I believe the best pictures are made when the photographer and the subject have a great deal of trust for one another. So, simply meeting for a cup of coffee and getting to know one another can make both parties that much more relaxed when it comes time for the actual photography session.

This was definitely the case with Wayzata Senior High School student, Ruth. As a student volunteer at a church summer camp, her time to schedule senior pictures was very limited. We made a point to get together right after her junior year ended and talk about her personality and what she hoped to achieve with her senior portraits. Faith and reading are a big part of her life so we worked to incorporate some of those themes in while at the same time simply showing who Ruth is as a young woman. The best part about planning is that I was able to explore an area I often photograph in — Minneapolis' Stone Arch Bridge and Mill Ruins — but in a new light. I'm very pleased with the results. If you like what you see, please comment, like or share. Thanks for viewing!

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.

Northfield, MN Engagement Photographer | Rachel and Philip

You have to hand it to Rachel and Philip — they're definitely troopers. I was somewhat surprised to see the couple dressed in such formal attire when they arrived for their engagement photo session in Northfield, MN back in March - especially since it was quite chilly (it's difficult to tell in the pictures) and Rachel was in a sleeveless dress.

Despite photographing outdoors for nearly three hours with no breaks from the blustery Minnesota air, Rachel and Philip had no complaints for me — part of that may be that they had each other to snuggle up with and keep each other warm.

It turns out the couple's attire served a more meaningful purpose then just having fun with their engagement pictures. Rachel and Philip were hoping to help set the tone for their September wedding at The Grand Event Center in Northfield. With a live band and an evening of dancing on the agenda, they wanted to let their guests know their wedding would be a formal affair. They ended up using some of the images we created for a cool save-the-date card.

In fact, we ended up using The Grand as the backdrop to many of the photos. The locations served a dual purpose as Northfield is Rachel's hometown, and since moving out of state, the photos will always remind her of where she grew up. And though Rachel spent years hanging out in the city's charming downtown, I'm proud to say I still found some vignette's for photos that the couple had never seen before.

I, too, know the downtown area well as I worked as a news photographer in Northfield for four years before opening Anthologie in Bridge Square in 2009. It makes the idea of photographing the couple's Northfield wedding even more exciting. But most importantly, Rachel and Philip have the perfect combination of being easygoing and adventurous that are certain to make for some more stunning images coming soon. I can't wait to see what we come up with on their wedding day!

If you like what you're viewing, please comment, like or share using the handy tools at the foot of this post. And to see even more photos from this engagement session, visit Anthologie's Facbook page.

Contact us to reserve your own engagement photo session and start sharing your own story today!

Faribault, MN Engagement Photographer | Krystine and Matthew

Matthew and Krystine's engagement photo session was a lesson in finding what's hidden in plain sight. For the first portion of the couple's engagement pictures we chose the parkways of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis along with the adjacent neighborhoods. The couple is often active in the area as it's where Krystine first lived when she started going to school to become a chiropractor.

When the wedding plans kicked into full gear for Krystine and Matthew, however, Krystine moved closer to her home town in Faribault, MN. I like to choose a location setting that's an extension of the couple's personality, and with Matthew living in Faribault as well, the city's downtown and parks were a natural fit for the second portion of their engagement photo session — especially since the couple wanted to bring out Van Gogh, their adorable Boxer, for some pictures.

When I worked as a photojournalist I did some assignments for the Faribault Daily News so I was familiar with the area and I had a few locations already in mind for the session - mostly near the beautiful architecture of the city's downtown shops. But when Krystine and Matthew suggested we scope out the town's viaduct I was blown away.

Like I said, the viaduct was one of those seemingly forgettable areas, a utilitarian structure to get from one part of town to the other. Underneath, however, was an amazing location! I kept commenting that I had to limit our time photographing at the one spot, or we'd never leave. I honestly could have spent the entire session simply photographing at the viaduct. Fortunately, we moved on as there were plenty more great opportunities for engagement pictures in the area.

We chose the Riverbend Nature Center as the backdrop for the remainder of the couple's engagement pictures. Always active, Krystine and Matthew frequent the nature reserve for hikes with Van (on a leash, of course). The river, trails and prairie grasses are just the type of places I love to photograph in, and I think it shows in the results. What do you think? If you like what you're viewing, please use those handy little links at the foot of this post and feel free to like, comment and share. Thanks for visiting Anthologie!

Want to see the other portion of Krystine's and Matthew's photo shoot? Click HERE to visit our Facebook page and see the set of Minneapolis engagement pictures.

Contact us today to reserve your own engagement session.