PSA from your local Minneapolis engagement photographer: 

If you’re dreaming of engagement photos that feel like you—goofy, in love, a little wild with the romance and not even remotely stiff—then pull up a seat. This one’s for you.

(And it stars two absolute golden hour dreamboats that I’ll never be over: Kaylee and Shaun.)

Step One: Be Silly… And Then Be Even Sillier

Want the real secret to photos that feel like magic? Get weird. Be dorks. Laugh with your whole body. Throw your head back in total bliss. Lose count of how many times you spin around just for the heck of it. 

That’s the gold.

Kaylee and Shaun nailed this instantly. From the first shutter click, it was open-mouth laughing, spinning-in-the-field energy. Kaylee’s dress whipping in the wind, Shaun tossing Kaylee over his shoulder and making it look at all too easy doing it.

And the two of them never, ever stopped moving. Not once.

They were in their own world from the jump. No stiffness. No overthinking. Just full send into the moment.

And as a Minneapolis engagement photographer, let me just say: this is how it’s done. The sillier and more yourselves you are, the better your photos will be. Every time. No exceptions. 

Step Two: Choose a Spot That Feels Like a Movie

We shot their session at the Bluffs in Eden Prairie, a spot that, honestly, should win an Oscar for Best Supporting Role in a Love Story. 

Golden light? Check. Tall grass that glows like it’s been grazed by the gods? Double check. Room to run, dance, dip, spin, and fall into each other over and over again? Yep, it’s all here.

The place looked and felt like their own private rom-com. In fact, it was totally giving The Notebook, minus the rain and iconic canoe scene. (Which, yeah, I said it—they gave The Notebook and they gave it well).

The bluffs gave us space to breathe. Space for those epic, cinematic wide shots I love. Space for their love to take up actual physical room.

And that’s where the magic happens.

Step Three: Ignore Me (Your Minneapolis Engagement Photographer) Completely

Yes, I’ll direct you. I’ll tell you where the light’s doing something stupidly good. I’ll gently wrangle rogue hair strands and yell “HOLY COW THAT’S SO CUTE!!!” at inappropriate decibel levels.

But the dream? When you don’t even hear me. When I’m talking, but you’re so locked into each other that I could say “The sky is falling!!!” and you’d still be mid-swoon, totally unbothered.

Kaylee and Shaun absolutely understood the assignment. They were so enveloped in each other, I might as well have been photographing a movie unfolding in real time.

It was romantic. It was electric. It was ridiculous in the best way.

Which honestly tracks. Kaylee and I clicked instantly when we met over coffee long before this session (we’re both girl’s girls with a whole lotta yap in us, obviously), and she and Shaun already had that ride-or-die, finish-each-other’s-sentences energy built in then. It only made sense that they’d have no problem melting into the moment with each other when it came time for their golden hour session.

And because of that, the session didn’t feel like “taking photos” at all. It felt like being in a memory you’d want to relive over and over.

Step Four: Follow the Light, Baby

We timed this whole shoot for golden hour, and wowza—did the bluffs show up or WHAT. The lower the sun dropped, the more it looked like the whole field was on fire (in a gorgeous, warm-glow kind of way, not a Smokey-the-Bear kind of way).

I played with composition. I shot wide, I shot tight. I played with angles and composition while they just kept dancing and laughing and doing their thing. Shaun couldn’t stop lifting Kaylee up and flipping her around (10/10 very helpful fiancé behavior). 

The light gave us movement, dimension, and energy in every single frame. We leaned into every last minute of it and came out with photos that feel like feelings. 

If you’re hiring a Minneapolis engagement photographer, make sure they know how to chase both the light and the feeling. That combo is where the magic lives.

TL;DR? (aka, Take It From Your Minnepolis Engagement Photographer)

Want to love your engagement photos so much it’s a little embarrassing (jk, there’s no such thing!!!)? 

Here’s your cheat code:

• Be ridiculous. The more playful and unfiltered, the better.
  
• Pick a location that makes you feel like you’re in a movie.
  
• Let your relationship take the lead. Let the weird in. Let the love be loud. I’ll handle the rest.

I’m not here just to take stunning photos— I’m here to help you feel them. If that sounds like your speed, and you’re looking for a Minneapolis engagement photographer who gets it, you know where to find me.