xx Christine + Anthony | Wedding xx

There’s an added layer of extreme gratitude that comes with being asked to take photos of someone’s love/family/wedding/birth during a global pandemic where life is extra scary and a little dark and our futures are even more uncertain than normal. Tell your people how much they mean to you always, but especially right now.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves and hope that they give you a warm, tingly feeling! Christine + Anthony and all of your favorite people, THANK YOU. And if you’re taking the time out of your day to view these photos, thank you. Your support means the world to me!

xx Emory, Everett & Abby xx

Sometimes sessions with little ones don’t always go as “planned”. Sometimes they’re tired and hungry and just want to scream + play and not even think twice about sitting on Mom’s lap to smile for a boring camera. Guess what? That’s okay! Don’t stress about not getting super posed + smiley photos. I encourage them to be wild and let out all of their big emotions on their tiny little faces! These are the real moments that we see everyday anyway. Every year they’re in school you’ll get that super awkward photo of them sitting on a tree stump with a strained smile. You’ll cut them into wallet sizes and give them to Grandma and Uncle Joe, and you’ll all kind of giggle (super lovingly of course) at that overly posed, forced smile. The best photos are of them making silly faces, laughing while being chased/tickled, and that huge grin once the sugar from the ice cream hits! 🤪

xx The Miller Boys xx

If you’ve ever had a conversation with me that’s lasted more than ten minutes I’ve probably mentioned these cuties. Earlier this year I was in the habit of seeing them at least once a week so when Covid-19 and the Stay at Home order hit, my heart broke. It’s always really hard saying goodbye to these three boys for a few months when I’m traveling, so being in the same state, less than an hour away and not being able to visit was extremely difficult. We tried Quarantine Calls on FaceTime, but it’s hard to get a then 5, 3, and 1.5 year old to sit still, hold up the phone just right, stop playing with toys and have a conversation. 🤣 After three long months I finally got to see them and we had this awesome photoshoot! These might be my favorite photos I’ve ever taken. We took some pictures in their adorable, matching outfits (cue happy tears) and then played with bubbles and water guns in the backyard with tons of giggles, screams, funny faces and so much love.

The photos of them dancing have me dyinggggg haha!

Aaaaaand two that probably won’t make it up on a wall, but have me cracking up 🤣

xx Susie xx

This incredible human has kept me around to photograph a pregnancy, engagement, wedding and these “just because” photos. Susie you are too cool for words and I’m just so happy you’re in my life! This world needs more people like you in it.

Stay at Home Sessions - Love in the Time of Covid-19

Trying to stay positive and creative while not being able to leave the house. The quality of these photos are kind of shit if we’re being completely honest, but that’s pretty cool isn’t it? It’s incredible that we’re able to just hop on our phones or computers, click a few buttons, and then we’re instantly in our loved ones’ homes expressing our love during such a strange time. Not ideal, but it’s better than nothing, right?

Keep in mind, they will be grainy, a little out of focus, won’t make great prints… they’ll be different. We’ve got to play the hand we’ve been dealt and make the most of it. This is what life + love look like at this very moment. If you’re interested in giving this a shot with me, reach out and I’d be happy to spend a little time with ya. Completely experimental, a fun little memory and an excuse to drink wine in the middle of the day if you feel like it.

This was my first Stay at Home Session that I did last month. Thank you to Ireland and Maddy for inviting me into your apartment (and fridge 🤪) giving me a little glimpse of what your quarantine looks like. I couldn’t decide if I wanted the photos to look as if I were actually there with them or if I wanted to include the screens. I’ve included both in this post for now while I figure out how I’ll continue to do this moving forward. Enjoy!

xx A Celebration in Granada, Nicaragua xx

Toñas, horses, music, dancing and so, so much love.

We were sitting in this gorgeous restaurant called, Pita Pita that was about a 5 minute walk from our hostel. Picture an adorable spot with a huge wood fired pizza oven, an open garden + greenery area in the middle, and some of the freshest, tastiest hummus I’ve ever had. Rebecca, our server + soon to be new friend was asking us if we were going to partake in “hipica”. Aminda and I had no idea what it was so she kind of giggled and explained.

Rebecca summed it up as events that would be happening throughout the week. A bull run down the tiny streets of Granada, music at all hours, marching bands, a parade of horses “even the reallllly ugly ones get to be shown off too”, street food + beers and people trying to climb up a pole that was slippery with butter or fat (I can’t remember) on it in order to win a cash prize…

Here are a few photos from the day of the procession of horses. The little cowboy and cowgirls killed me!

I think I’m going to post more about my travels on here. I haven’t figured it all out yet or what it will all look like, but for my next post I’m going to focus on the little things I remember + appreciated from my time in Nicaragua. I’m not great with words, and I’ve recently realized that once I “come back” from traveling, I don’t really talk much about it (unless you’re like my best friend, then you won’t get me to shut up after a few tequila sodas). I mean to say that I don’t usually elaborate or expand much on what I saw, experienced, lived, felt because the second I start to open up, all of my emotions come FLYING out at full speed and that’s an extremely vulnerable state that scares the hell out of me. This is my messy, strange, uncertain attempt at trying to allow myself to feel what I gotta feel and share with those who’d like to listen. Here’s to a more heightened form of documenting my travels, and hopefully sticking to it… 🤪

xx Stay Home xx

Life is weird right now.

This is Schmoe, my roommate’s cat. No, I don’t know why she chose that name. Yes, Schmoe does actually love me, contrary to what her face may show in these photos.

We’re all in this together. Take a deep breath. Enjoy some photos of a grouchy looking cat.

This is my Day 12.

xx Courtney + James xx

James reached out to me a while ago asking if I could meet up for coffee to catch up. Little did I know that he had fallen in love with this gorgeous gal and was planning to propose! He told me he wanted me to be there to photograph the big moment. I was nervous and excited and scared and grateful. We planned the day, but Minnesota weather happened and the date we picked had awful weather. A few days later I got a text saying that the right moment came and there was a selfie of the two of them, sun in their eyes (and a few tears I think), recently engaged!!! I loved photographing these two. They just knew what to do, they made me laugh, they felt comfortable together and I could feel their genuine love for each other. Courtney and James, I’m so so so happy for you guys! Thank you for letting me be a part of this exciting time!!

xx Ireland + Maddy xx

Here are some super adorable photos of my baby sister and her girlfriend. I’m so fucking proud of you both!

Love is love is love is love.

xx Leah + Jacob xx

My little sister got engaged over the holidays and I couldn’t be happier for the two of them!! I got a message from her then boyfriend, Jacob, the morning of the proposal, asking if I could somehow figure out a way to capture the big moment. Luckily enough, I had planned to take a few photos of Leah as a present for my Dad so she wasn’t even slightly suspicious. (She knew about my dad’s present because I went to his work recently and the photos he has on his wall of our entire family were taken like 10 years ago. I sent a photo to Leah and we had a good laugh about how dated the photos were, so I figured it was time for an upgrade!)

I was suuuuper nervous and I for sure was not making any kind of sense when giving direction. I wasn’t exactly sure when Jacob was going to pop the question, because we didn’t really talk much about it beforehand. Looking back now, probably not the smartest choice, but I think we both were just too excited and nervous that we weren’t thinking clearly haha! I’ll let Leah share how she remembers the actual moment, but dang, it was pretty darn adorable and I’m so glad that I was able to snap a few photos!

Look at how sweet the are together! *cries uncontrollably while scrolling*