One of my favorite parts of my job is when I get to continue documenting a family. The couple reaches out when they get engaged, I photograph their wedding and then they contact me when they want photographs with their little ones. This year I got to see so many of my past wedding couples with their little ones and it really brought me so much joy. Earlier this summer Jenny reached out and I got to visit them with my camera when they brought their son Liam home.
I photographed Katie and Trent when they first got engaged then I documented their wedding day and when their first was born I did a session with them in their condo and now they have 2 wild and lovely boys and they asked me again to come photograph life in their new home. I love this, and by this I mean couples coming back and asking me to photograph their life. So here is a Friday morning at the Osterholz Home.
Mary and Kelsey won a session with me from Wintersong which is a Indie Acoustic Holiday show benefiting Second Harvest Foodbank through a wonderful evening for music and a raffle, which will be happening again Next Saturday, December 7th at the Barrymore Theatre. I went to their beautiful home last month and met their amazing daughter Luella and their amazing dog named Russel (which is the best name for this dog) and photographed their lovely family spending an evening together.
It’s always hard to leave the Lang’s home - they always seem to have fresh coffee, homemade goodies and wonderful conversation and I’m grateful for their friendship and for the opportunity to document their days together. A few weeks ago I went over with my camera for some fresh coffee, homemade bread and fort building.
We almost rescheduled because it was a rainy day but I am so glad we risked the rain because we got some cozy photographs of these two! We started this shoot at an Irish Pub Lisa and Andy frequent which is fitting since Andy proposed to Lisa on the recent trip to Ireland. After the Pub, we went to their gym where they both practice Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and they showed me some moves and then we ended by the lake for the sunset. These two are getting married next September and I cannot wait to get them in front of my camera again!
Katherine and John made their engagement session a walk down memory lane - starting with The Mason Lounge, where they had their first official date ending with the Edgewood boardwalks, where John proposed! These two told me they have never gotten their pictures professionally taken, like ever - I think they did a real good job being in front of the camera together and I look forward to being apart of their wedding day this coming spring!
I love when I come home from a session and Luke asks me how it goes and my answer is “ah, so good, this couple is amazing and I want to be their friends” Chelly and Mark was exactly that. It was honestly hard to stop having a conversation and take photographs because they have such interesting lives and I wanted to hear more about Mark's travels and Chelly's time in the Peace Corps. I also love that I get some many couples who love to travel, travel is such an important part of my life and getting to connect with other people who feel the same is so great. Chelly and Mark were in town for the holidays for they both live and work in D.C, with their flight the next day we were lucky to get a nice day for a winter session (nice in Madison in January is 40 degrees). We met for tea at Lakeside Coffee, and went for a walk on the frozen lake. These two will be exchanging vows next fall at Tenney Park and I'm looking forward to spending more time with them.
I've always wanted to shoot an engagement session at Devil's Lake so I was so happy when I suggested it to Maggie & Tim and they were into it. I like these two, I met Maggie for coffee to discuss their wedding and just to get to know each other before they booked me and it was one of my longer coffee meetings - which is my favorite - I love to connect, it's how I can photography they way I photograph. Our session was fun, these two are lovely and I can't wait to document them again next September.
A few years ago I photographed the Kovacic family, at the time their youngest, Mike was just born - a few weeks ago I got to go back to their lovely home and photograph them again. I love getting the chance to grow with families, and document their ages as they continue to grow up - this family was lovely to work with.
Madison is filled with wonderful people and Jenny & Bobby are two of those gems. I had the chance to meet these two last summer for coffee to chat wedding and then again at their dear friends Maddie and Bret's wedding (another pair of wonderful people) and we all hit it off - So when these two wanted me to document their day, I got really excited. These two were so much fun during their engagement session last fall and since then I couldn't wait to be apart of their day. Their wedding was wonderful, I think I cried a total of 10 times, these two are so filled with love for each other and their family and friends are all so wonderful and supportive and really fun people. If I could, I would do this day all over again because it was really just a perfect day. 
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet Linsey & Steven's daughter, Elliot. I spent a few hours with them in their ridiculously beautiful home as they spent the day together.
A few weeks ago I met up with Whitney & Kyle to document their lovely soon-to-be new addition to their family. We drove out to Cambridge to go for a walk in the wood behind their good friends home, a peaceful way to capture such a beautiful moment in life. They had their little girl, Mavis a week after our shoot.
A rainy and foggy Sunday afternoon forced Sammy, Melissa and I's shoot to be indoors, luckily these two own a beautiful home right outside of Milwaukee. We poured some Whiskey, took sometime to get to know each other and I documented them in their space. These two will be getting married in a month, a small gathering on the beach followed by a reception with family - I am so looking forward to spending a few more days with these two in front of my camera!
A few weeks back on a Sunday afternoon I took the beautiful trip out to Monroe Wisconsin, a place everyone must visit, to meet up with a family who I have become friends with to capture some images of their 2 daughters and their 2 nephews as well. I went out in the yard with the 4 kids who all now have hung out in front of my camera a few times now to capture their ridiculousness -- enjoy.
At least once a year I get to hang out with the Johnson crew with my camera and this time was extra special for they have a new member in the family - meet baby Etta. This time we spent the morning at their home, making coffee, eating breakfast and trying to get Asher to not cry every time I pointed the camera at him. A morning at the Johnson house..
No words are needed to describe what is happening here...
Everything about this wedding was perfect, from Megan's dress (with pockets) to the beautiful venue in Minneapolis (Nicollet Island Pavilion). Megan and John now live in Hawaii and came back to the Midwest to celebrate with their friends and family, it was a wonderful ceremony, with written letters to each other that made everyone cry, to vows from The Simpsons for some comic relief. It was a great day to be apart of, filled with beautiful people to photograph.
A few weeks ago I got together with my friends Jessica and Joseph to meet their daughter Dee Dee and catch up. I've Known Jessica and Joseph since the first week I moved to Madison, they both lived in my neighborhood and we would spend many late nights on the porch listening to records that would end in a dance party. I remember when Joey proposed, I remember their lovely wedding day and now, years later they have a little girl that I get spend time with and document her life .
San Francisco is a magical place, I recently went there for a visit and a few projects and it was hard to come back here. I had a very lovely trip, and saw many wonderful people, I can't wait until I get back out there. Here is a collection of image from when I wasn't doing projects:
A few Sunday's ago I went to see Amy and Tim, I photographed their wedding a few years back and was happy to hear they had a healthy baby girl, Esther Ann. They live in a beautiful home in Lake Mills, when I arrived Essie was sound asleep, but like all newborn shoots - that didn't last. It was the challenge of getting little Essie back to sleep, but she just wanted to hang out:
