Best of 2010- The Knot

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Thank You,Thank You, Thank You,Thank You, Thank You to everyone who voted me as one of the Best of 2010 by the The Knot. I am totally giddy with excitement and over the moon your kindness. I have always loved what I do and to know that you love it too just makes me so unbelievably happy. Love ya' all!

New Year-New Opportunity

I am usually not one that makes a resolution on New Years, but this year is different. 

My resolution for 2010 is to learn more and to help others learn. 

That is why this summer I will be hosting a series of photography classes for free to some of my Facebook Fans. I will share more details when the warmer weather returns.

Click here to visit my Facebook Fan page and to become a fan.

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas

For those of you that are braving the storm this holiday, please drive/fly carefully. 

I will be hanging out in Elk River area with my family. I am so excited to going caroling tonight for the first time in my life and to see tons of my family over the next few days. And for the family members that I won't be seeing, you know that you are in my heart and that I will be thinking of you.

I am going to be away from my computer and turning my phone off for the next few days so that I can really enjoy my family time. I will return all messages on Monday the 28th.

Have a wonderful holiday everyone! Enjoy making some great new memories...don't forget to photograph them. 


Katie Raivala

Kim and Brett- Married!!!!

I have been anxiously awaiting Kim and Brett's big day for roughly 14 months so when the day came, I was totally excited to see them and couldn't wait for them to see each other. 

Kim was so cute.  She sneaked up behind Brett and whispered something in his ear before he actually got to see her. 

We had a few extra minutes in between the formal pictures and the ceremony so I was able to capture Kim and the bridesmaids relaxing and chatting.  
The church that (St. Anthony in St. Cloud) has the most beautiful natural light that I have ever seen in a church before.   I love how light filled everyone's face from the little beams of sunshine that peaked through the windows.  



After the ceremony the wedding party jumped into the shuttle so that they could celebrate in style and have a little fun before the reception.  Before we left the bar I thought that it would be fun to have Kim sit on the pool table.  Little did I know that Brett was going to demonstrate his ability to lure Kim with his impersonations.

There first dance was so sweet.  Brett asked for his wife's hand, yet again and swept her off of her feet.
Just look at the way she starring at him.  Doesn't it make your heart flutter?
And then it was time to really get the party jumping...

We did sneak away for a few minutes because we had a vision that we had to photograph and I personally think that it turned out fabulous.  Here is one of my favorite images from night.

Schaap Family

I love the Schaap family.  Their two little girls are so sweet.  

When Sarah first told me about the dresses that she ordered from Etsy.com for the girls (yes, those are feathers that you see) I instantly thought that they would be beautiful to photograph them in a wide open field, but let's face it...it is November in Minnesota.  Sleeveless dresses on little girls and November don't mix well.  Instead, we went to the Guthrie and moseyed around.

Family Traditions

Hi everyone! With the holiday season right around the corner, it has got me thinking about family traditions. My family has many traditions that we hold dear to our hearts as I am sure that your family does too. Over time, my memories become a little foggy which is why I decided that this year all of them will be photographed and preserved. I would love to do the same for your family traditions too. Whether it is picking out your christmas tree, making cookies, wrapping presents, decorating your house or any other family tradition; I want to be there to photograph it. When you schedule this session you will receive 1 hour of documentary style photography and a disk with your images on it for only $150.00+tax I cannot wait to learn more about your family tradition and to capture it for you so please contact me to learn more and to schedule your event.

My Family

Last week Travis Johansen of Travis Johansen Photography was kind and brave enough to photography my family.  He had met everyone before so I was surprised to hear that he would do it.  :)

We started our session about 30 minutes before sundown so we had beautiful warm light and afterwards Travis got out his off camera flash and had some fun taking photos of the kids on the swing.

Travis was nice enough to allow me to post some of the images on my blog.  Thanks Travis!

Images © TravisJohansenPhotography.com - Used With Permission  

My boys.

My goofy family.  I love them!
Travis shot a series of images that include me flipping Ethan around.  I don't want to share them because they might be Christmas presents.
Another great shot of Ethan and Noah goofing around.  This is one of my favs from the night.
So sweet.
I keep starring at this one because I love how Ethan is moving so fast that there is just a little bit of motion blur on his face.  If you have ever met Ethan, you know that he moves fast all of time so again, Travis nailed it!
I love the facial expressions that everyone has on their faces.  This is my family.

Yup, she had enough fun and was ready for dinner towards the end of the shoot.

I love the blue playdough on Noah's shoe!  He chases me around the house with playdough because he knows that I don't like the smell of it.  Silly kid.

Thanks again Travis!  You captured my family perfectly!!!