Photography by Kari Blog-- Southeastern Minnesota Senior, Children, Newborn, Maternity, Engagement, Family photographer. Updates and recent photoshoots from Photography by Kari. Photography by Kari is located in Spring Valley, MN.

Tuesday, March 22, 2022

Minnesota Newborn Photography {MN Newborn Portraits}

Another gorgeous newborn photography session here in the studio. This family was celebrating the birth of their new baby boy with a newborn session. It was great to see them at the studio again. We’ve also had the pleasure of doing Dad’s senior photos back in the early years of our business, Mom and Dad’s engagement photos, and big brother’s first year with a Watch Me Grow Session.

We had to delay the session a couple of times because of colds, so he is 2 months old, but we still got some great newborn-like poses. It was such a wonderful newborn session with family images included. We had such a great time together and we were able to build a beautiful image gallery to show off this infant baby boy!

We started the newborn session with the family portraits. He adored the flashes of lights and was mesmerized by them. With him being a little older and being a little fussy and spitting up some, we had to take a couple of breaks, but with a little patience, we got some great photos. We always allow extra time for newborn portrait sessions knowing they will need time for lots of feeding, burping, and diaper changes. Patience is key. Wonderful photos can’t be rushed.

This gallery turned out absolutely gorgeous with the blues and yellow tones used throughout the portrait session. Here are a few highlights…..

Minnesota Newborn photography of newborn in blue on brown drop

Tags: 2022, Kari McGill, Photography by Kari, Rochester Minnesota Newborn Photographer, SE MN Newborn Photographer, Southeast Minnesota Newborn Photographer, Spring Valley MN Newborn Photography

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Friday, March 11, 2022

Watch Me Grow Portrait Session {MN Photographer}

My, how much do they change in such a short time? One of the best parts of our job is seeing all these precious babies change throughout their first year of life with our Watch Me Grow Portrait Sessions. One moment they are brand new to this world and the next they are sitting up, clapping and full of gummy toothless smiles.

I’m so excited to be sharing your 6-month Watch Me Grow Session, today. While it feels like Miss K was just here for her Newborn and 3-month Session, she was already back again for her 6-month Watch Me Grow Portrait Session, and oh my word what a treat it was to photograph her, again. She has grown into the cutest little baby girl in the world. I loved getting to dress her up in our outfits from our studio closet and pick out headbands with her Mom and use some of my favorite props available at the studio.

We are so excited to see Miss K again at her 9-month Watch Me Grow Session and her 1-year Cake Smash Watch Me Grow Session! Don’t grow too fast!!!

This session reminded me to remind everyone of how crucial it is to schedule these types of sessions with us in advance. To ensure that I can accommodate your family on our calendar, I strongly advise families to contact me at least 6 weeks in advance to schedule their portrait sessions.

Families frequently skip these six-month milestone events because they are unaware of their importance. But now is such an excellent time to do them. At this age, babies are normally sitting unsupported, but not crawling or walking. This brief moment in your baby’s life goes by so quickly!

Watch Me Grow Portrait Session 6 month baby girl

Tags: Baby Photographer Near Rochester MN, baby portraits, Kari McGill, Photography by Kari, Rochester MN Area Children's Photographer, Rochester MN Portraits, SE MN Infant Portrait Photographer, SE MN Portrait Photographer, Spring Valley MN Children's Portrait Photographer, Spring Valley MN Portrait Photographer, Stewartville Minnesota Baby Portrait Photographer, Watch Me Grow Portrait Sessions

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Sunday, March 6, 2022

Maternity Session {SE Minnesota Maternity Portraits}

Photographing maternity sessions warms my heart, especially with such a wonderful couple! Seeing their love and excited anticipation is such a treasure. I am honored to have the privilege of photographing this milestone before they undertake such a grand adventure of adding another baby to their family.

This mama chose to use 3 of my gowns that we have in our studio closet and also brought a gown of her own, too. I love the gorgeous and dramatic look of a studio maternity session. The contrast, the black and white, the gorgeous gowns, and a beautiful mama… gorgeous….

Can’t wait to finish editing this session and meet the newest member of their family in the next few weeks.

Tags: 2022, Maternity Photographer, Maternity Photography MN, Maternity Photography Southeast MN, Rochester MN Maternity Photographer, SE Minnesota Maternity Portrait Photographer

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Sunday, March 6, 2022

First Birthday Portraits {SE MN Baby Photographer}

First Birthday portraits are so much fun! This is one of my favorite one-year-old sessions! I honestly can’t believe this little lady is already 1!! It seems like just yesterday I was taking her newborn portraits.

This sweet little lady arrived at my portrait studio ready for her golden first birthday photo session just after her morning nap in the car ride to the studio. It’s an understatement to say she nailed her photo session!I

knew that this birthday girl was having a gold-themed first birthday from my planning consultation with her Mom prior to the session. From the pre-session planning chat with her Mom, I knew this little girl was celebrating her golden first birthday with a gold theme. Colors, props, and outfit selections were discussed before the session. These are some of the topics These are some of the things I always discuss with parents during the planning stage of sessions. It helps us prepare the perfect set for the portrait session.

Her older sister had recently had a birthday party, too, and had a white and gold balloon garland decoration, so Mom brought that with her to use for the backdrop. I love it when parents can incorporate party decorations in their photo session. They make great props and help customize the set! The balloon garland was still intact after the session so, she also took it back home to use at her birthday party. This little lady also wore an amazing gold tutu dress from Etsy.com for her cake smash portion of the session and a white dress from our studio closet for her other set of photos.

Look at those happy faces! This girl knows how to party, and it shows! (check the comments for a link to a reel on Instagram of some of the behind the scenes) After all, how could you not grin on your first birthday when you look so cute?

Happy golden first birthday, Miss J!

Looking to book a milestone first birthday portrait session or a cake smash portrait session. Check out our session options and send us a message to book a session.

Tags: 1 Year Old MN Cake Smash Session, 2022, Baby Photographer Near Rochester MN, Cake Smash Photography, Chatfield MN Children Portrait Photographer, Kari McGill, One Year Cake Smash MN Photographer, Southeast MN Children's Photographer, Spring Valley MN Children's Portrait Photographer, Watch Me Grow Portrait Sessions

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Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Family Photographs {MN Family Photographer}

Family photographs frequently commemorate significant events or milestones in a family’s existence. It’s not uncommon for a client to call because they want to recall something unique. Others will come yearly or a few times a year. Portraits allow us to freeze a moment in time. As a result, photos of our loved ones are among our most treasured assets!

I cannot seem to find the words to describe how incredibly beautiful this family is. I am blessed to call them my friends and family, too. And you’ve probably seen this family here quite a few times as they come yearly for their photos. This year, we decided to do Fall photos, again and lucked out with a gorgeous day with beautiful trees filled with color for their family portrait session at Good Earth Village in Spring Valley, MN. Good Earth Village is a wonderful place for family photos! The trails are beautiful and it’s generally pretty quiet.

One of my personal goals is to create family portraits that are beautiful and stand the test of time. A great tip for dressing a large group for photos is to pick a pallet and then dress with colors from it. These guys did a perfect combination of rusty, orange, cream, green, and denim, this is the second year doing this color combo because Mom and I loved it so much. Using a color palette, everyone will look coordinated without being matchy-matchy and everyone can add their style to their outfit. This is a great way to make a cohesive image that will become a treasured family portrait.

If it’s been a while since your family has had a photo, send us a message! We would love to help you create a family heirloom!