Tag Archives: mnfamilyphotographer

Family Fall session, Minneapolis, MN

What can I say about this beautiful family that these AMAZING images don’t already say?! I have been taking Torrie’s family pictures for a couple years now and every time I see them they are always really fun, go with the flow and ready to rock the entire photo session. Seriously this family cannot take a bad picture, ever! This sweet girl has such an infectious smile!

The light this evening was to die for, the golden hour definitely was on our side! The golden hour, in photography language, occurs when the sun is low in the sky, but not quite setting. At this time, the intensity of the direct light is reduced and everything in front of it look illuminated. It really created some amazing light, for some perfect shots! So gorgeous!

I cannot wait until our next session!!!

A Baby Session – 6 Month Old ~ Burnsville, MN

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I cannot believe how big Little miss Adrienne is getting! Six whole months already! Her sweet personality is definitely coming out, from sitting up on her own to being very alert to everything going on around her! I love seeing my clients grow! This cutie patutie definitely made me work much harder this time around, but we still got some amazing shots! Such a happy and smiley little girl, but once the camera came out nothing but seriousness! I was able to capture a couple little smiles and those big bright blue eyes. I cannot wait to see her again in a few months at her nine month session! Hopefully she will show off that precious dimple!

Thank you so much for letting me capture these adorable memories for you and your family! Adrienne is so sweet and I cannot wait to see you soon!

Stylized Easter Mini Sessions ~ Chanhassen MN

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Can you believe Easter is already this Sunday?! Last weekend I held my Easter Mini Sessions with LIVE bunnies! Which is always so much fun, for not only the kids, but me too! This year was even more wonderful– no one was really scared of the bunnies! Previous years some little ones are so afraid of these cute, cuddly creatures! They make for pretty funny pictures, but the poor kiddos are just traumatized! This year was different! It went so smooth it was even better than I could have hope for! Meet Cocoa and Maggie! I have to give these calm, cooperative bunnies their credit too. These bunnies were so accepting of all the love the little ones gave. These sessions are so bright and full of spring colors! Its time for old man winter to go back to sleep so we can enjoy spring!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to meet these bunnies! Cannot wait to see you again soon!

Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

A Twin Newborn Session ~ Cottage Grove, MN

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I seriously cant even! They FINALLY arrived! These little cuties have been living their lives in the spotlights way before they were born! For those of you who don’t know, Miss Tasha is my wonderful assistant. Some of you may have met her at a wedding, on one of my crazy busy mini session days or at an expo running the booth with me. She is also my behind the scenes manager. If it wasn’t for her everything would probably still be sent by Morse code. Haha.

But back to these adorable babies! These two had their first debut around the same that big brother Oliver turned two and got to announce he was not get just one new sibling her was getting TWO! A few months later he also got to announce in a super fun gender reveal, using suckers (his favorite candy) that he was getting a baby brother and sister!

Watching Momma and these little itty peanuts (or should I say pumpkins!) grow over the next few months was so much fun!

The last week in January finally arrived, and these two were FINALLY ready to come out! Full term twinsies at 38 weeks 1 day! If your wondering why I have not mentioned their names yet, it’s because they chose to not tell anyone until the babies were born. This was crazy to me because Tasha cannot keep anything in, so it was interesting that she could hold this surprise so long! It was a killer!

Baby Preston and Baby Aria made their debut on January 28th. Everything went smoothly and according to plan. Baby Preston weighing in at a whopping 7lb.1oz and baby Aria just an itty bitty 5lbs. 6 oz. both healthy as can be! These two are so perfect. Big Brother Oliver was very excited to meet them, and wanted to hold his baby brother right away!

Now, what you all have been waiting for… more pictures of the babies below!

Congrats again to all of you! Thank you guys for letting me come along on your journey. I can’t wait for the many many more adventures to come! JWPhotography_365warm

: The baby with the tie is none other than Big Brother Oliver! He was my first newborn session, and Momma loved the stacked books so much, she asked me to re-create for Preston and Aria too!

A Newborn Session ~ Minneapolis, MN

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I just cannot get enough of this little peanut! Not only did I get a trip to the hospital to see him, I also witnessed the whole pregnancy, and maternity shots! This little man is very close to my heart because his mother and I are good friends. The always gorgeous Juli gave birth to a whopping 10.5 lb healthy baby boy, not-so-little-Hugh. I try to always get newborn pictures done right away- within the first 10 days of life, since that is when the babies sleep the most and allow me to move them into fun poses… Anytime after that they are always moving around and usually wide awake with a look that says “Who are you and where is my Mom?!”

As life would happened, we struggled with getting all the shots done, I ended up making a second trip to make sure I got all the shots! So happy I did that, because they turned out amazing! I am pretty sure that by the time we finally got little Hughs newborn pictures done, he had already gained a whole pound! I think this little guy is definitely the biggest newborn I have ever taken pictures of, and I am perfectly ok with him keeping that crown!

Congrats again you guys, I am so excited and happy for you! Just can’t wait to watch him grow!

: I had to add a picture of big sister Virginia! – She looks JUST like her mom in this shot. Completely a Juli Look! 🙂

Family Holiday Session ~ Lake Elmo, MN

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I headed out to Krueger’s Christmas Tree Farm one more time for a final family session with my stylized holiday mini session props, and I was so ridiculously excited… Wahooo SNOW!!! I mean come on, it’s December in Minnesota, where was the snow? Of course we would have snow in December, right? I spoke too soon… it started to get warm the couple days before this session and I kissed the winter wonderland of snow goodbye. A little stuck around, just enough to make it a wet mess, just my luck!

Pulling into Kruger’s was rough.. oh the MUD!!! So so sooooo much mud!!! I embraced it and accepted I was just going to be covered in mud by the end of the day from walking, crawling, crouching and laying in it. I am bummed I didn’t take a picture of the craziness, but I am sure you can imagine what my knees and calves looked like.

Meet The Cherniy Family!

They definitely were the highlight of my day. Any worry I had about mud, getting stuck or slipping around disappeared when we started this session. I mean just look at little baby Lucas! Isn’t he a doll! Seriously, he looks like a sweet little doll! But I swear he’s real! He’s just a tad too little for smiles, but he still had that pout lip that I cannot resist capturing! We managed to break ourselves away from his adorableness to get a couple gorgeous shots of Mom and Dad too! You all three look amazing!

Congrats on your new journey as parents! I look forward to see you all again!

Thank you again to Kruegers Christmas Tree Farm in Lake Elmo for allowing us to capture these amazing memories that I’m sure will be cherished forever!

Holiday Mini Sessions in Lake Elmo, MN

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I was so excited to do these holiday mini sessions outside and not in a studio! This was my very first stylized shoot where I put together this whole cute little set of favorite holiday items… My set consisted of hot cocoa, candy canes and marshmallows, lots of marshmallows, some snowflakes and cute pinecones! I had always wanted to do a session at a Christmas tree farm but being so busy this time of year, it just never happened. This year I was determined to make the time and block a day to do minis out at one! I searched all around the Twin Cities for the perfect tree farm. One that wasn’t to far north or too far south, since I have so many clients all over the metro, I really wanted to make sure it would work for anyone. I stumbled upon a small family owned tree farm in Lake Elmo that is so adorable, it was perfect for my sessions. I spent a full day out at Kruger’s Tree Farm in Lake Elmo, MN last weekend capturing 12 different families holiday pictures!

I started the day with the sun just coming up over the horizon. It made for a great first session of the day. The sun was in full force. It was shinning bright. But don’t let that fool you it was COLD! I had a blast getting to know new clients and seeing a couple of my regulars. Thank you everyone for making this day so fun! Your sessions turned out so wonderful and I can’t wait to see everyone again soon! Also, a shout out to my wonderful assistant Tasha who was 7 month pregnant (with twins!) and ran around all over the place for me!

: This couple definitely had the best sun rise shots. I love when I have to use minimal editing because the sun works with me instead of against me!

: Those curls! LOVE! She was very hesitant to take off her coat, but as soon as we pointed out how soft and warm her furry vest was, so was ready to take her coat off! So adorable! Baby brother was having a rough time, but thank goodness baby scrunchy faces are adorable!

: This peanut was having a lot of fun, NOT looking at the camera, but we were still able to get a few good ones in! He really loved the marshmallow cup and wasn’t sure he wanted to let it go…

: These boys were so busy! Those adorable red cheeks are from running and running and more running! I was struggling to keep up, but we were still able to get some really cute ones in!

: My assistant Tasha nearly lost it when these boys arrived! She is having twins and just wanted to snuggle with these two the whole session! I had to send her away onto another task so I could get them to look at me instead of them watching her!

: I learned a valuable lesson from this little guy– no one comes between a boy and his bear! Thankfully Mom and Dad were ok with his bear too! Such a cutiepie!

: This family is one of my regulars, and as always, they come with a basket full of smiles and refusals to be serious!

: These kiddos were my only “big kids” so we were to do a little bit more fun stuff with them, like marshmallowfights, snowflake blowing, lots of giggles and snuggles with Mom! This was their first outdoor session and private photography session! I hope to hear back from them soon!

: This mini may look familar, she was just on a recent newborn blog, and at two months, the smiles just poured in! Be sure to check out the adorable boots in the previous shot, I can’t even!

: These two were so cute! They both have such cute smiles, but neither would smile in the same picture! Silly kiddos! The wind really picked up during this session, we tried to block the wind as much as possible, but the little guy was very cold! Their family session is super cute- LOVE!

: I adore taking this little ones photos, she is on my homepage and I LOVE capturing this family! She was very hesitant of my assistant, and as soon as she went away the smiles just lit up!

: As always, I LOVE when clients bring little props and keepsakes to add a personal touch to sessions, and thats just what this couple did! Look at the adorable truck, hauling his little tree and presents! WHAT?! Cuteness overload!

: Just wanted to add a HUGE thank you to Krueger’s Tree Farm for aloowing me to capture these amazing memories for these families! It was cold, but worth every shot!

A Family Session ~ Bloomington, MN

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I know, 9 mile creek again. I just can’t help myself, this location is so pretty! This time, things were MUCH different… I brought a boy, his dog and his parents on down to the creek for this session. As I posted before, sometimes the water is different, and this time around, the water was a little higher due to the rain we had. So, for everyone’s safety, there wasn’t too much climbing on the rocks, but their were leaves!

When we first got there Easton was really tired, he fell asleep on the car ride there and did not want to wake up! I didn’t think he would want anything to do with me or waking up, which is always a struggle, but the show must go on! What finally got him up? Running, lots of running! Mom and dad definitely must have their hands full at home, always on the go. The rest of the session was running and playing with his pup! We got to the end of the session and thought we would play in the leaves a bit. Bruce, their pup definitely knows how to put on a show. They would throw a pile of leaves in the air and Bruce would fly through the sky and bite them out of the air. So funny!

Thank you for allowing me to capture your family’s memories and I look forward to capturing more in the future!

A Mommy & Son Session ~ Hastings, MN

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I know I say this a lot, but I LOVE when sessions are made a little more sentimental to my clients by a location or a prop, and that is what happened here. Boys will be boys was the saying at this session. Little mister is definitely the typical full of energy exploring two year old boy! He was more than happy to play with his Moms childhood toy tractor. This tractor means a lot to Heather, and I love that I was able to catch a few moments of them together. Today, so many toys disappear or break so it is so precious that she kept something that was hers to share with her family.

We went to The Little Log house in Hastings, MN. This location is to die for! Did you ever wonder where the sign from the old Cottage Grove Drive-In went or the old Porkys sign? The Bauer family has created one amazing place to preserve these iconic signs and buildings. Once a year, the Bauer’s open the village to the general public to tour. I have already made a mental note to come by next year! But throughout the year it is available to rent for weddings or for any other special occasion, like family pictures! I am so happy Heather shared this beautiful gem in the outskirts of Hastings. I would have never knew it was there. I cannot wait to shoot another session there!