• Welcome!

    Welcome to my new blog for Photography by Kari!!! This is the place where you will see my latest work, fun contests, specials, and happenings in my life. Have a look around. If you like what you see, I would love for you to leave a comment or two!

    Just a little bit about me. I'm a Southeast Minnesota based photographer specializing in family, children, and senior photography. I have always enjoyed taking pictures and valued documenting my family's life with photographs and scrapbooks. In 2005, I turned my passion for photography into a profession. I am enjoying every minute of it! I am so thankful that I get to spend time with wonderful people and get to do something I love while capturing memories for my clients at all stages of their lives.

    Enjoy my blog and feel free to head on over to my website to see more of my work, pricing information and such. If you would like to subscribe to the blog to get updates, there is a box at the top to type in your e-mail address. Thanks for visiting and be sure to check back often!!

Sep 27 2019

2019 Adorable Children Contest Winners {SE MN Children Portrait Photographer}

Posted in Babies,Contest,Kids,UncategorizedNo comments

The results are in for the Local Contest after 5,229 votes!  The results for the National Contest are also in.  Please check the end of the post for those results. =)

Thanks to everyone who participated and took time to vote in the Adorable Child Contest! 

And here are the  local winners….

Our grand prize winner will receive a standard session with a 5×7 Press Printed Brag Book (value of $405) and a 16×20 print from the session used in the contest (value of $105).

Our grand prize winner is Khloe  with 810 votes…

And our winners of a 16×20 print (value of $105) from the session used in the contest.

Nahla with 518 votes….

Then Claire and Drew with 282 votes…

Then Jennah with 279 votes…

Then Thomas and Jalee with 275 votes each…

Then Joshua with 273 votes…

And  we also had 2 National Winners…

The national contest is judged by a panel of judges based on quality, appearance, charm, expression ,an personality.

Alyvia with 1st Place in the 7 to 12 month category, winning a 16×20 of winning photo (a value of $105) and a $200 Visa Gift Card.


And Etta with an Honorable Mention in the 3 to 5 year category winning a 11×14 of the winning photo (a value of $75) and a $25 Visa Gift Card.

You can see the other winners in the National Contest here: https://acilab.com/adorable-winners-2019/

Congratulations, everyone!  Thanks for participating and voting!  =) 


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Oct 11 2019

Family of 6 {SE MN Family Portrait Photographer}

Posted in Families,KidsNo comments


One of the most rewarding parts of my job as a family portrait photographer is watching our client’s children grow up over the years. We’ve had the honor of photographing this family for the last 3 years. The B’s annual family portrait has become a very important family event in capturing cherished memories that their boys will come to appreciate later in life. It’s crazy how much they change from year to year. This family with 4 boys is such a joy to photograph. They are not only adorable, they are such good kids. We had a blast with this family and I hope we get to spend more time with them as they grow!

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Sep 26 2019

Justin ’20 {SE MN Senior Portrait Photographer}

Posted in Families,SeniorsNo comments

Yesterday we delivered this order of 4-11×14 standouts and a 16×20 standout as well. Love them! Standouts are a print with 3/4″ edge that is slightly textured with a black plastic that encases lightweight foam. They also have holes added to the backside making it ready to hang as soon as it arrives.

Had a fun time capturing some senior photos of Justin. We also got to do a few family portraits as well. How beautiful is their yard?! I was excited to be able to do a session there again as it just so perfect there for photos. And this time we didn’t have a snake cross our path as we did during his older brother’s senior session.

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Sep 13 2019

2019 Voting Adorable Children Portrait Contest {SE MN Childrens Portrait Photographer}

Posted in Babies,Contest,Kids,Newborns3 comments

*** Voting has Ended***

The time has come to vote for your favorite entry in our Adorable Children’s Portrait Contest!  You may vote once a day for one image or a couple of images, but only one vote an image once a day from now until Monday, September 23, 2019 at 12 pm central standard time.  Then on Friday, September 27, 2019 the winners will be announced from the local and national contest. You can share this blog post with friends and we have a  link on Facebook, too.

The top 7 winners with the most votes in the local Photography by Kari Adorable Children’s Portrait contest will receive a 16×20 print ($105 value) of the winner’s choice from the session used to enter the contest . The Grand Prize  winner of the local contest will also receive a Standard Session and  5×7 session brag book from this session (a $455 value).

To view the photos in their entirety, click on the thumbnail of the photo itself and it will open as a large photo on your screen.  To cast your vote click on the Aodrable button on the bottom of the photo you would like to vote for.  Good luck to all of the entries!!!! Cast your vote here:

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Jeanna KasterSeptember 18, 2019 - 7:20 am

Very cute photos

Donna JensenSeptember 20, 2019 - 1:51 pm

May I say all of the children deserve to win. Some families are just much much larger than others when come to online voting. You as a photographer do a great job capturing the unique beauty of your subjects in your photos.

Jeanna kasterSeptember 23, 2019 - 9:59 am

Cute photos!
Great job Kari!

Sep 06 2019

Engagement {Spring Valley MN Engagement Portrait Photographer}

Posted in CouplesNo comments

This morning I was at Chateau de Chic getting my hair done for my own family portrait that we had tonight and another customer came in and was talking about having rehearsal tonight for her brother-in-law’s wedding tomorrow and it reminded me I had never shared any of their engagement photos. ? So tonight beforethe wedding, I am sharing some of my favorites.
We had to reschedule once due to extreme cold and it wasn’t much better the day we did these. I’m honestly surprised none of us got frostbite as it was 10 below if my memory serves me correctly. However, the snow and frost on the trees made for beautiful photos outside.
Congratulations Kyle Oeltjen and Hillary! Wishing you a lifetime of love and happiness!

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