Jessica was sad that she and Ryan wouldn’t be together for the holidays. Little did she know, Ryan had a surprise brewing. With the help of Jessica’s mom and brother, Ryan flew to Minnesota, and with a ring and a question, gave her the best Christmas present ever!

I’m so excited to continue this story this summer by photographing their wedding day. :)

Original article: Ryan and Jessica – She said YES!

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Last fall, Jessica came to Minnesota for a mentoring session and portrait session with me. She almost didn’t make it, as she woke up the day before feeling very, very sick! We were both really worried that she wouldn’t be able to come! She recovered enough to make her flight, and spend a few days here, learn, and brighten my life. Because that’s what Jessica does, she brings light and joy wherever she goes. Her smile is infectious and she is just so fun to be around. She makes me laugh and I dearly love to laugh!

Last weekend, Jessica hosted a growshop™ (a workshop through my growtographer™ program) at her parent’s home and cottage in San Jose, CA. I got to spend four days with Jessica, her beautiful daughter Lily, her sweet sister Ashlee and her wonderful parents ON TOP of teaching a fun workshop with three other great photographers. I loved getting to know Jessica even better and becoming an unofficial member of her family. She is a gifted photographer, a beautiful soul and someone I hope to always call “friend.”

If you would like to see her beautiful photography, visit www.jessicaannalee.com.

Did you catch the part in my introduction when I said that Jessica is FUN? Well, she is, and I LOVE that about her!

Original article: Joyful Jessica – Portraits of a Beautiful Friend

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Sometimes everything falls into place perfectly. Like how the weather in the weeks leading up to Megan and Tyler’s session seemed to be specifically working against the idea of an outdoor photo session. But we were patient and waited and when all the pieces fell together – the weather, the vivid autumn color, their outfits that perfectly matched the trees – and the result was magical!

Original article: Megan and Tyler and a Burst of Autumn Color!

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Well, maybe not actually country, but the location Jennifer chose for her session gave us a lot of great variety for her high school senior photos. I’m a country girl by heart, but I do love urban textures, so this was fun for me. :)

Jennifer is a fun, confident, beautiful young woman. She has already been taking college classes full time and excelling at it! I enjoyed spending this time with her and her mom creating these images!

Original article: Jennifer’s Senior Session Combining City and Country

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I usually like to start with a horizontal photo on my blog, but this vertical really sums up the playful and close relationship that Jarrod and Clarrisa have. Sometimes I include funny moments like this because *I* like them, and it made me so happy when they chose this photo for their collection. :)

Their session took place on the grounds of the Walker Art Center. It’s such a fun, quirky place to be creative – especially with a couple who are game for anything!

Original article: Clarissa and Jarrod’s Autumn Engagement Photos in Minneapolis

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I do love Autumn in Minnesota. I specifically plan NOT to travel out of state in late September and early October because I would be SO SAD to miss it!

Ashley’s session was during peak fall color and we had a beautiful palette to choose from with each new area we would walk into. Ashley, her mother and I spent a lot of time exploring and laughing. One of my strongest memories from the session was right at the end, the sun had set and a dewy coolness had set in. There was one spot on the path where we were walking that was warmer than the rest of the area. There was no visible explanation for it, but we all felt it at the same time!

One evening, I was watching the news, and there was Ashley! She was the project leader for a space science experiment at Minnehaha Academy.

I truly enjoyed getting to know Ashley and her parents, and wish them all the best!

Original article: Ashley’s Colorful Senior Session

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Phil and Christy’s love story spans the atlantic ocean. She is from Wisconsin, and he is from England. They met while they were both involved with Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and fell in love with each other as they served God and served others. Christy is an artist, doing pottery, graphic design, photography – you name it! When we first talked about their wedding, I knew we were kindred hearts. Phil is a soft-spoken, kindhearted man, very similar to my husband. I felt right at home with these two and their families.

As I am reminded even today, as we brace for, yet another winter storm (oh. my. word. can it stop now?), you can’t count on the weather. Phil and Christy’s wedding was on October 6th, it was 30 degrees and windy…the first snowflakes of winter made their appearance as we headed out to do their portraits after the festivities were over. These two and their bridal party were troopers. We would shoot until fingers and toes went numb, then get in cars to warm up, then go back out for more photos. I heart them. :)

One of my favorite things about this wedding was Christy’s dress. Simple, yet adorable.

This image placed 5th in the family category for the ISPWP Winter Contest.

Phil and Christy wanted to be able to pray together before the ceremony, but also still give Phil the surprise of seeing Christy for the first time at the start of their ceremony. A blindfold was the answer!

Phil’s mom got us all laughing!

The guest sang hymns, and I just adored the way they sang with great passion.

Phil and Christy LOVE to play Farkle, so they had games on each table. It made for a fun post-lunch activity, especially with a fairly competitive group!

Original article: Phil and Christy’s Intimate Autumn Wedding

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Beka is one of my dearest friends. She is a gift to my heart who lives entirely too far away, but I got to spend some time with her and her beautiful little family last fall. It was one of the best days…

She is the first person I ever mentored in photography. I wasn’t very good at it, but she was gracious, honest and somewhere in the passage of time we both grew. I couldn’t be more proud of how far she’s come and how hard she’s worked to become a great photographer (see for yourself on her web site, Tirzah Photography). To get to have my “mark” on her life and success fills my eyes to the brim with tears of joy. I love her so much.

In the past year, Beka and Brandon became parents. It’s been one of the most beautiful things for me to watch. I read Beka’s personal blog, “Our Paper Boats,” often in tears. I’ve said that if there was ever someone who would make me want to become a mom, it would be Beka. She’s in love, and her little Laef is a true blessing to all who meet him. His smile is contagious! Get ready to share his smile as you view their photos.

Just a note, this is exactly the kind of session I want to do for families – I want to wrap each session around daily life or a fun family activity, but also include some nice portraits. If you’re interested in a session like this, please let me know! I would love to hear your ideas!

I haven’t shared much about Beka’s husband Brandon yet. I always say he is one of the most excellent people I’ve ever met! He is smart, funny, kind and a great dad. :)

Are you smiling yet? 

Left: “Hey Laef, you lost a shoe!” Right: “Whatchyoutalkinbout?” Ahahahahaaaa!

Brandon and Beka are both musicians, so it’s fitting that Laef would be interested in the piano. He was plinking out a little melody!

Time for bed!

They sang as they said goodnight to sweet Laef. Tears…

Original article: Brandon, Beka and the Cutest Little Boy I Know

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Tyler and Jessica were a dream couple to work with! They are laid back, fun and are the best of friends. I loved getting to photograph a wedding that this fun downtown location, the Mill City Museum, which offered great urban, rustic backdrops for both portraits and the ceremony.

When I was a kid, one career path I would think about was meteorology. I’ve always been fascinated by weather! As an on-location photographer, I have to be aware of the weather for a better part of the year. The weather this weekend was unseasonably cool and windy and Tyler and Jessica had planned an outdoor ceremony at dusk. They are hearty Minnesotans and did it anyway!

I will always share something in common with this couple – our anniversary date – I was also married on their date of October 5th!

A lovely ring photo by my second photographer Tiff!

Jess has a great smile and wore it all day!

Tyler surprised her and wrote a note on the bottom of her shoes. It made everyone cry!

Jess was crying before their eyes even met!

Tyler and Jess have a cute little boy who seemed to enjoy the day! Photo by Tiff.

Is he not adorable???

The Mill City Museum is built on the ruins of the world’s largest flour mill. Photo on the left by Davaun, and intern that was working with us at this wedding and the next!

Photo by Davaun. It was nice to have a third person up in the balcony getting these photos!

That’s concentration!

Even though I’ve never photographed a wedding here before, I have photographed the wood ceiling on the left! I used to do a lot of architectural photography and one of my clients designed, created and installed that cool ceiling!

They blindfolded Tyler and put Jess’ maid of honor in her place. Naughty!

Tyler was a good sport!

The best way I’ve ever seen to launch a garter!

A few more portraits to end the evening. Used a video light for these.

Original article: Tyler and Jessica’s Mill City Museum Wedding

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.

As I write this, I’m flying high above the plains, on my way home from a working trip to Kansas City. This is my second trip in three weeks. I love to travel and fly frequently for both photography and photography instruction, so I thought it might be helpful to others for me to share some of the things I’ve learned about low-stress traveling with my camera gear.

My primary purpose for this trip was to photograph the Senior Dance Recital for the daughter of dear friends of ours. In addition, I set up several mentoring sessions, one with a hands-on element, and also wanted to photograph my friend’s twin babies while staying at her home. I needed gear for a low light theatre photography (which was mainly my 70-200 2.8 L IS II and 35mm 1.4) and a few portrait sessions, which was mainly my 50mm 1.2, 85mm 1.2 and 135 f2. I also wanted to teach off camera flash at the hands-on mentoring session, so I needed to bring one flash and my Stratto II trigger set to fire the flash.

Planning My Trip

I would have made a great travel agent. I love searching for flights and getting a great deal on travel! I have found that it’s true that the best travel prices are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A TSA agent told me today that the airports are the least busy on Tuesdays as well. About 45 days before a trip, I start to watch the prices on flights. They can fluctuate quite a bit, and I like to watch them for a week or two to see if it looks like they are going to drop more. I decided only three weeks ago to fly to Kansas City for this trip instead of drive, and that was a good call. There were snow storms I would have had to contend with, possible on both legs of the trip! When I started watching prices they were around $210 for a round trip ticket. That’s a great deal! But I waited for Tuesday to roll around and they dropped to $193. Even better!

I also had to rent a car for this trip, so I did a bunch of research because I was finding that any well-reviewed car rental company at the KCI airport was going to run me close to $200 for an economy size car. I read that Travelocity had the best car rental rates, so I went there a scored a car for $137. That’s a pretty great savings! I almost couldn’t have driven down here for $330 (I drive a Jeep with a v8 Hemi. That equals poor fuel economy.)

Packing My Camera Bag

I carry all my camera gear in the Think Tank Airport International Rolling Camera Bag. I love this bag because it’s roomy, rolls great, locks both to things and locks the contents of the bag, but most of all, I love that it will fit under the seat in pretty much any commercial airplane. I prefer to put it in the overhead bin, but there are times when I’m on a very small regional jet and it won’t fit in the overhead. I’ve been in situations where they wanted to gate check my bag and I absolutely will NOT check my camera gear. I don’t want it out of my sight for theft reasons and I don’t want it thrown around by baggage handlers.

Above you see a photo of how I packed the bag for this trip. I have two camera bodies in there, one with a lens and one without. I have my 70-200 tucked under my flash, and some flash accessories in that smaller compartment in the middle. I didn’t need to fill the bag for this trip, so I do have one empty compartment, that I sometimes threw my wallet into.

I also brought my Shootsac, a monopod, and a small soft box for my flash. I packed those in my big suitcase, as I wasn’t worried about damaging them.

Packing My Carry-On Bag

My carry-on contains my laptop, accessories, wallet, book, snacks (always bring snacks! I pack nuts and Mojo bars) and a super handy water bottle with a built in filter (they sell them at Target). I hate paying $4 for water at the airport, so I just keep the bottle empty until I’m past security, then just fill it from any tap.

I always leave a pair of ear buds, a flash drive, pens, a note pad, and other small things like Truvia for my coffee an extra memory card reader in this bag so I don’t have to pack it every time I travel. I throw a small purse in my suitcase so I don’t have to lug this bag when going out to dinner or shopping.

When I travel for weddings, I bring a backpack for my carry-on instead of my laptop bag, so I can fill it with my lighting gear and put more lenses in my camera bag. My backpack has space for a laptop, so it’s works well.

The Airport

I try to arrive at the airport two hours before my flight. You can cut it a lot closer than that, but I don’t want to be stressed when I travel, so I get there early. If the lines are long, I can just breathe and people watch, instead of freak out that I’m going to miss my flight. Getting there early also gives me time to get coffee. An essential element to easy travel. ;)

I am old school and still like to carry a paper boarding pass. I’ve done the phone pass thing, and it’s just not a easy as paper. I’m constantly having to unlock my phone, reopen the Delta app (if I was on, say, Facebook for the hundredth time). Paper is just easy to pull out of my pocket.

When I go through security, I always put my shoes through first and my gear through last. If my camera bag gets inspected, I don’t want it whisked away while I stand there waiting for my shoes. I purposely wear comfy shoes that are easy to get on and off, shirts with no embellishments and pants that don’t require a belt. Travel is not a fashion show for me, and this gets me through security quickly and painlessly.

If my bag does get pulled for inspection (which happens very infrequently for me), I just smile and practice patience. Oh, and I don’t make small talk about bombs. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything. ;)

I also smile and greet any TSA person or Ticketing/Gate Agent I make eye contact with. It takes almost no effort to be kind and I think it just makes the experience better.

Boarding the Plane

Minneapolis is a Delta hub, so I try to always fly Delta. I’m a SkyMiles member, which means I pay a fee to have a credit card through them and I get to board right after first class. The reason this is important is that if I board last on a full flight, I could end up with a situation where there’s no room for my bag overhead. I can put it under your seat, but then my carry-on will have to find room overhead. It’s possible I could get separated from one of my bags and I don’t want to take that chance, so I board as early as I can.

With my SkyMiles membership, I also get my first bag free. Because I fly with a camera bag on almost every trip, I have to check a bag, so this easily pays for the membership in the first two trips of the year.

I personally like the aisle seat, so I don’t have to climb over people to get to the bathroom. I also like to put my bag in the bin right over my seat, so I can get it down without worrying about hitting someone on the head.

Once I’m in the air I sit back, write blog posts, and enjoy the ride. I today, the flight isn’t full, so I moved over to the window seat and have enjoyed looking out the window a few times and marveling at the snow-covered earth below.

Original article: How I Travel with Camera Gear

©2013 Shelley Paulson Photography Blog. All Rights Reserved.