Jen, Eric, Theodora, and baby Esther’s calm and cozy family portraits at home

Jen and Eric decided on a portrait-focused structure for their lifestyle and newborn session, with an emphasis on capturing lovely, emotion-filled, and natural-feeling images of Jen, Eric, Theodora, and baby Esther in their home. We also wove in a few candid, storytelling moments to capture the everyday rhythms of life with a toddler and a newborn – including reading books, snuggling on the couch, and watching Theodora hold her baby sister Esther.

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Ashlee, Margaret, and Thea’s joyful, storytelling family portraits outside in St. Paul

Ashlee, Margaret, and their little daughter Thea love the fall. It is the season of Thea’s birthday, and as a family it is their favorite time of year to spend outside, savoring the warm air and beautiful colors. For several years now, Ashlee and Margaret have been in a rhythm of planning an outdoor family photoshoot with me in early autumn. It has been such a special way to document the milestones in Thea’s life and to celebrate who they are as a family amidst the ever-changing seasons of life. 

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Emily, Phil, and Lucy’s sweet and sentimental family portraits at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

I met up with Emily, Phil, and Lucy on a gorgeous summer day at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Emily and Phil got married here, so it holds a special place in their hearts and has become a place they love to take Lucy. Lucy is a bright, curious kid who loves to giggle and play outside, and it was so tender to see her explore the gardens with her parents. Walking the trails, sitting beneath flowering trees, and seeing Lucy burst into laughter as her parents scooped her into the air, these portraits offer such a tender time capsule for their family– documenting this joyful, and fleeting, chapter and savoring all the sweetness it contains.

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Danika and Blake’s meaningful, storytelling maternity photoshoot outside

Danika and Blake brought beautiful intentionality into their maternity photography session planning: they approached their photoshoot as a special time to document and savor the depth of joy and meaning this pregnancy holds for each of them individually, and together as a couple. They wanted their portraits to feel relaxed and easy-going, capturing their genuine happiness and gratitude to be pregnant and embarking on this journey into parenthood.

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Sari, John, and baby A’s loving, connected newborn session at home

Sari and John wanted their newborn pictures to feel storytelling and candid– capturing an authentic window into their everyday lives with a new baby. They loved the idea of documenting tender baby details unique to this time (like baby A’s tiny toes and hands), and they also wanted the portraits to honor the layers of relationship in their family – each of their individual relationships with their new son, their relationship as a couple navigating the transition into parenthood together, and their relationship as a loving, connected family of three. 

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Claire & David’s calm, storytelling engagement portraits in Minneapolis

Claire and David are getting married this spring, and they loved the idea of having a fall engagement session about six months before their wedding. Amidst the busyness of planning a wedding, Claire and David saw their engagement session as a wonderful opportunity to pause, be present to, and savor this special season of life as an engaged couple. They also don’t have a ton of pictures with just the two of them together, so they were excited to have intentional and storytelling couple portraits.

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Kiki Burgdorf
What to wear to a newborn session

I find that newborn sessions are less about making a style statement and more about capturing the tender interactions between you and your baby, so my biggest advice is to release the pressure to look a certain way for your session and remember that we are here to document relationships, not appearances. All that said, I know that it can be helpful to have guidance about where to begin when it comes to wardrobe planning - so here are some gentle wardrobe guidelines to keep in mind before a newborn session.

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Katharine and Ames’ magical, snowy engagement session outside

The day of their engagement session was a true winter wonderland. Katharine and Ames chose to have their pictures taken at Katharine’s parent’s house– a location they love with gorgeous woods, winding paths, and a warm sense of familiarity and rootedness. There happened to be a huge snowfall the night before their engagement session, so when we met the morning of the photoshoot, the sunshine was sparkling on the newly fallen snow creating such a magical backdrop.

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Cozy & Candid: Melissa, Andrew, Owen, and baby Eleanor’s newborn and family portraits at home

Melissa and Andrew treasure the portraits they have of Owen as a newborn, so they wanted this lifestyle session to include portraits that also felt cozy, candid, and storytelling. They chose to have the photoshoot in their charming South Minneapolis home in order to document the everydayness of life as a family with a toddler and a newborn. Their toddler Owen was out of the house at daycare for most of the photoshoot, so that Melissa and Andrew could share some moments alone with their newborn, but he came home in time to take some full family portraits.

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Sue and Rachael’s meaningful engagement session at Jay Cooke State Park

Jay Cooke State Park is a storied place for Sue and Rachael. They had one of their first dates here. They also said “I love you” to each other for the first time while walking these trails. This place has witnessed many formative moments in their lives together, so it felt fitting to document their engagement here. Sue and Rachael love spending time outside, especially in the winter, so they chose to have their engagement session in late November.

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Olivia & Jonathan’s elegant fall wedding at the Beach Club in Minneapolis 

Olivia and Jonathan’s wedding ceremony was so heartfelt and lovely. One of my favorite moments to photograph was Olivia’s entrance: as she descended this grand staircase and processed into the ceremony space, she had the biggest smile on her face as she saw all the people she loved gathered to celebrate her and Jonathan. Meanwhile Jonathan looked so happy with his eyes locked on Olivia - it was such a moving moment to witness. 

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WeddingKiki Burgdorf
Alex and Jessica’s happy & romantic elopement on Halloween 

While Alex and Jessica knew they wanted to plan a full wedding gathering some time in the future with all of their people, they decided to elope because they felt ready to be married. With days to go until their planned elopement, they were in search of a photographer who would capture their elopement and help them celebrate this special day. They reached out to me, and as luck would have it I had last minute availability, so I said yes! 

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ElopementKiki Burgdorf
What to wear to a family session

I love that my lifestyle sessions capture families and homes in all their forms, and my favorite thing about these sessions is documenting the beauty of what family and home looks like at a particular moment in time. As I'm planning these sessions, at  some point in the planning process I often get the same question: what should we wear? This summer, I shared my top 10 tips for what to wear to an engagement session, and those tips apply well to individuals or couples planning a lifestyle session. But what about when you're choosing outfits for a family?

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Olivia and Jonathan’s joyful and serene engagement session near Lake of the Isles

Olivia and Jonathan love spending time outside together, so they chose to take engagement portraits in meaningful outdoor spaces. They had recently moved into a home in Minneapolis near Lake of the Isles, so they wanted photographs of them walking around the lake, as they do daily, as well as sitting on their favorite outdoor spaces at home. They envisioned their portraits feeling relaxed, romantic, and authentic– capturing the everyday joys of life as a couple.

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Emma and Andy’s happy, relaxed summer wedding

Emma and Andy had a grand entrance into the reception space alongside their wedding parties, and then the dinner began. Emma and Andy spent much of the dinner time visiting all of the guest tables, intentionally connecting with their people. They did sneak outside for a few sunset pictures, which turned out so beautiful. It was a quintessential hot, summer night in Minnesota, and the sun shone brightly as it set. 

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WeddingKiki Burgdorf
Sara, Joe, little E, and baby A’s newborn session full of giggles & delight

We began the day taking some portraits of just baby A all snuggled up on the bed, but this didn’t last long as little E was so eager to snuggle and be photographed with her sister. These portraits where E grins, giggles, hugs, holds, kisses, and plays with baby A are some of my favorite portraits of the day. They feel so precious and storytelling as they document the authentic enthusiasm little E has for being a big sister and how much she delights in baby A.

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Newborn SessionKiki Burgdorf
Sue and Rachael's intimate & heartfelt summer wedding on the North Shore

Rachael and Sue wanted a romantic first look moment beside the water, and when they found a spot with a big, beautiful rock overlooking the waves, they knew it was the perfect location. It was an epic, magical moment witnessing them see each other all dressed up–full of happy tears and affection. We then spent some time exploring the rocky shoreline and wooded trails of the resort to take portraits alongside the stunning North Shore.

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What to wear to an engagement session

If you’re not sure where to start in picking out outfits for your engagement session, my biggest tip is to stop thinking that you’re choosing an outfit for a photoshoot, and instead imagine that you and your partner are getting ready for an event. Imagine you’re dressing to go hiking, to get Sunday brunch with your buddies, to stroll through an apple orchard, or to have a fancy dinner out with your partner. For each of these events, you two would probably dress to a similar level of fanciness, and you wouldn’t match but you would coordinate and make sense together while each wearing your own style. 

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Katrina and Katie’s happy, easy-going elopement with breathtaking views of the North Shore

When planning their elopement, Katrina and Katie knew they wanted a small ceremony surrounded by nature and featuring their closest friends. They love and feel a strong connection to the North Shore, so they chose several beautiful spots alongside Lake Superior for their elopement day. They wanted their day to feel easy-going and relaxed, with unstructured time to pause, take deep breaths, and truly feel present to the adventure of getting married.

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