I’m a documentary storyteller – showing happy and natural images of the two of you, fun and comfortable images with your wedding party and family, joyful candid images, and timeless documentation of day, all with an eye towards bringing the environment (be it a moody warehouse, a snowy prairie, or cabin in the woods) into the images. I’m also know for my “camp counselor” voice – making family formal portraits happen quickly and beautifully.
I’m probably best known for my work in dark spaces, as well as for my portraits with lighting. I often use a compositional technique called “flash composite” in which I layer multiple images together for a dramatic group image.
When should we book a photographer?
You’ve read all the way to this part of my page, so photography is clearly important to you! Booking your photographer is something you’ll want to do as soon as you have your wedding date confirmed. Most out-of-towners book within a few days of getting in touch – I have a simple online system for booking, or we can set up a time to meet in person or via skype.
To hold your date, you’ll need to finish a contract (online) and return the deposit (typically $1000). The balance is due on or before the day of the wedding. If you are ready to book, just get in touch so I can send you the paperwork.
Should we do an engagement session with you?
QLook, you probably have not had professional photos taken of yourself. That makes engagement sessions are totally a fun time to get used to being in front of the camera, getting to know each other, and make use of locations or weather that would be difficult on your wedding day.
That said, you totally might not want or need engagement photos, and that is cool, too. Either way, the photos I take on your wedding day will be a singular amazing experience and I’ll make sure you look comfortable and at your best.
Engagement photos are about all the other days you spend together.
Our location is really dark/bright/windy/wet – can you shoot it?
Long answer: One of the most important parts of wedding photography is having a lot of tools available no matter how the day unfolds. Some of those tools are managing people, anticipating moments, and general good cheer. Some tools are tangible (like lighting, and lenses, and composition techniques). Sometimes I have to dig deep into my bag of tools and sometimes I don’t, but I’m ready with ideas no matter if your wedding is on a yacht, in a cave, or in a snowstorm.
How long until we will see our photos?
Whenever I get photos taken (of my headshot, my family, etc) I totally watch my email like a hawk waiting to see the results. That is why I post preview images and sometimes a small gallery in the days after your wedding. The full gallery of all images are ready 2 months after your weddings and in 2-3 weeks after engagement sessions.
You are doing a lot of planning to get the vibe of your wedding just right, and that is what I want to capture – the feeling of being there, the emotions, the laughter. I also take photos of the pretty details, but mostly of the people you’ve invited to share with you. The number of wedding images can vary depending all those things, but typically a full wedding is over 450 final images.
How do I know how many hours I’ll need?
QThe hilarious thing about planning your wedding is that it is totally unique to you and your people and your vision, so you probably won’t totally know the number of hours until you get closer to finalizing all that stuff. I will totally work with you to hone your timeline and make sure that the events and people you want captured are on target. Typically, weddings benefit from around 8-9 hours of coverage.
I shoot a lot of weddings solo because I love the small footprint and unobtrusive nature. That said, I know that a second shooter seems like a huge addition to coverage, so I offer a second shooter at all local full day weddings.
﻿Do you travel outside of Minneapolis/Minnesota/the USA?
Yep – destinations from Duluth to New Zealand. No charge to Madison, WI (my hometown!). I’d love to get on a plane for you – tell me where!
﻿ Do we have printing rights to the images?
All weddings and engagements include the high resolution edited files without a watermark. That said, I offer a variety of wall art because I so often hear from clients who never got around to printing the files. Canvas, framed photos, and photo boxes are available and a much more fun way to preserve images than a USB drive.
I have been a full-time wedding photographer since 2006. I have shot hundreds of weddings in that time. I honestly still view every single one as a challenge and opportunity.
The majority of what I do is to document the day that you plan and capture the story of your wedding day and the people there. That said, I take immense effort at each wedding I photograph to make sure that the family groupings are beautiful, happy, and efficient. It’s kind of a big deal to get married, so let yourself feel it. Taking family photos should be a PART of your wedding, so enjoy being with the people that mean so much to you, and let your me worry about getting you all into place. I come from a big family and I know that family photos require a plan, so I’ll send you some info about putting together a list, and some ideas for navigating family.
I want an unplugged wedding, (or I want everyone to use a hashtag and upload all their photos), what do you think?
We want the same thing – documenting your wedding. If you want me to keep your guests in line and have the photos move along quicker, I can do a very good “Camp Counselor” voice. If you have a hashtag, let me know so I can use it, too!
We don’t really like formal photos, do we have to do these?
Good news- you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You have probably looked through my images and by now you know that the bulk of my work is candid. That said, part of my job is capturing the posed images you want and making sure it is as fun and efficient as possible.
Lots of Nikon digital cameras, the occasional Fuji, and tons of other lenses and flashes. I am happy to tell you all about my equipment I use and all sorts of technical information if you are into cameras. If you are not into camera geekery, then know that I shoot on professional equipment with multiple redundancy.
How do you dress for weddings?
I dress in dark dress casual. Between the weird positions I get into for poses and the multiple cameras hanging off me, I can not blend in as a guest. I try to be as unobtrusive as possible, and my dark attire is part of this. I view myself as a wedding ninja.
I edit every image before you ever see it. Usually that includes color correction, some conversions to black and white, and occasional retouching. If you have specific concerns, let me know before the wedding so I can shoot with that in mind.
Becca is AWESOME! Surprised my now, wife with a photo-shoot turned engagement. Becca was super supportive in helping my nervous-wreck self carry out the task. She took my every phone call and was able to walk through every little detail on how we should break it down. The photos were amazing, and were a huge hit with family and friends. Her services were so great, we used her for our wedding! Do yourself a favor and look no further. You will not regret this decision.