Monday Moments: From MN to AZ | My Christmas

This year Marcus and I were able to enjoy a Christmas with his family in Arizona. I was fortunate enough to bring him back with me to Minnesota when we got married and I knew he had been really missing his family, so Christmas seemed to be a good enough excuse to me the journey out there.  (Photos are both my camera and my phone!) 

Besides waking up at the early hour to make our flight, the whole trip there was pleasant. I was able to enjoy a new book I finally purchased after weeks of contemplating;  "Why Not Me?" By Mindy Kaling is a book that had me laughing out loud from just her honest views of life and it had the feel of listening to a new friend's life story. Anywho, here are a couple of my christmas trips highlights. ( besides sleeping in and actually feeling like I had a Christmas vacation )

When we arrived on his doorstep, his two little siblings just had shock written all over each others faces as they hugged Marcus for a long period of time. Half of use were tearing up!

Besides the cool breezes of 68 degree weather, Christmas in Arizona started off with celebrating grandma and grandpa Shay's 50th year anniversary.  (#marriagegoals )
Aunt Judy read off a list of everything that happened the year they got married; Grandpa Shay talked about how hehad gotten his draft notice in the mail 2 days before his wedding.  (Talk about stessful!) I am thankful for my husband's family being so loving and caring;they made me feel like a part of the family.

With anyone with younger siblings might understand, Marcus and I needed a small break to ourselves. Venturing out to explore a little bit of Arizona, we checked out Montezuma Castle and the Tuzigoot.  With a fun car ride and beautiful sites it made the day one of my favorites from our trip. 

We saw lights on multiple occasions but holy moly some of them out did the others! Most impressive was done about 45 minutes out of Phoenix at a Mormon church that had nativity seasons all throughout their property.

One of my christmas presents to my MIL was photos of her and her children, we did this at Christmas dinner at the grandparents. It was a really laid back day and a little weird with no snow on the ground.... I am happy I live in Minnesota!  But I loved how these photos turned out!!

I had a wonderful Christmas with family and I hope yours was just as wonderfilled. <3
I am excited to find what this new year holds for my family! 

5 Reasons Why I love Second Shooting

I am sitting trying to figure out where to start with this one. I Second shot for a couple of weddings before I really got serious about it. That came when I decided I wanted to take my photography from hobby to professional, the camera the lenses, the lighting , the whole shbang. I was always most attracted to wedding photography so in my last semester in college I reached out and landed myself an internship with a local wedding photographer. This decision was one that I will always look back at as my true starting point. 

Fast forward and I have now done over 25+ weddings second shooting alone. Here are a couple of things that I really have come to truly enjoy about second shooting.

1) The Preview : second shooting with Justin helped me see the good, the bad, and the hard work a wedding photographer goes through on the wedding day. Lugging around 7-10 pounds of equipment for 8-10 hours can be pretty tiring. I was able to see for first hand the hustle; it helped me realize I loved shooting weddings. It was a preview for me of how a wedding photographer worked to be successful on the wedding day itself. After my internship I knew this was one party in life I wanted to be apart of.

2)The Schedule : shadowing a professional really helped me to understand how a flow of the wedding day can look like. For the most part it looked the same : I am now able ask my MW brides for more time for bride and groom portraits and have a heavy influence in look of the schedule. It feels good to be prepared as much as humanly possible.

3)The Opportunity : I am given the opportunity to grow my portfolio,  grow venue experience, grow my network. The opportunity to meet so many great people in my area is something that would take years on my own. As I am still in the growing areas of my business, I can still able to expand my experiences !

4)The Angles : I did not start trying new things until I had a solid feel for what my lead photographer wanted/needed with every wedding. I have to admit this did not happen until our second wedding season working together. Not having the pressure the first shooter to get certain shots, I have been able to play around with angles and vantage points to see if I love it or just find it doesn't work at all. This also helps me in future if I ever am able to shoot at that location again!

5)  The Photos: I have to explain something first. My lead shooter is gracious and does things A LOT different from other photographers (I soon found out from the other photography groups i follow that my situation was an anomaly in a first and second Shooter relationship ) I get all the raw photos I shoot. I am able to edit them and use them with no restrictions . Reading about other business relationships, there are so many restrictions that as a second I don't know if it would be worth it anymore. Being able to use my photos is a huge point in my marketing. It also is a great way of growing my talents as a photographer. 

I am very grateful for the friendship and mentorship I was able to receive with Justin. Having reached out to several other photographers in my area,  I have found he is a true gem in the industry and genuine to boot. If you in your carrier have the opportunity or the desire to second shoot for another photographer, do it! I hope your experience is as good as mine! 

Downtown St. Paul Engagement Photography | Megan & Stefan

                                                                   The Proposal 

Meg and Stefan started a day trip to Red Wing. They both had the day off and wanted to take advantage of their limited freedom from their daily lives. As they weaved in and out for store fronts and lunch they eventually  came to the pier to steal away some calming moments together looking at the water. As Megan started to break away from Stefan's  embrace he simply started her name, and as she turned she was greeted by Stefan on one knee asking her for forever. Well as you can see from the photos she obviously said yes. According to stefan , megan just grabbed the ring and put it on herself with no answer. Even though she states she doesn't really remember that part. 

Their wedding will be this summer. So much love; I can't wait.