The Stephanie Newman Photography Journal

The historic buildings, quaint shops, and beautiful parks all contribute to a unique atmosphere that beautifully complements the colors of fall. As we strolled through the streets, the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot and the crisp autumn air set the tone for a memorable day. We made our way to Bridge Square, where the iconic bridge over the Cannon River provided a stunning viewpoint. With the river reflecting the fiery colors of the trees, it was the ideal spot for capturing the essence of autumn.

As summer draws to a close and the excitement of senior year begins, there’s no better way to celebrate the journey than through a memorable senior portrait session. For Ashlyn, a dedicated soccer player at Apple Valley High School and member of the Class of 2024, her recent shoot at Spring Lake Park Reserve in […]

These peeps are my favorite peeps. Enough said. HA! Laura is my bestie and fellow photographer. I could tell you the LONG story of our friendship, but I won’t. She is the Frodo to my Sam.  I love these guys like they are family. The girls call me Miss Neffers, a nickname that goes back to Laura and Kevin’s second oldest couldn’t say my name right, so she called me the closest she could get to my name, and it stuck. 

Ava was my second to last senior girl of my Class of 2024. I was a little sad that my season with this senior class was coming to an end, but happy that I got to spend it with this beautiful bubbly girl. It was windy and a little chilly the day we met for her session and that didn’t seem to bother her at all. Girl was so used to being outside in cooler temps as a cheerleader. The wind helped create some great Beyonce moments when we were down by the lake. Which sometimes is awesome, others it was a pain in the behind trying to not let her hair get into her face so much.

It’s really hard to see kids you’ve known since they were like 8 years old and then all of the sudden, bam! They’re fully grown people who are basically adults now. Anthony is the youngest of the Peters family, and the third I’ve photographed for their senior portraits.

I have spent A LOT of time hanging out at Whitetail Woods this summer and early fall, that it was a bit of relief that I was able to head towards Eagan for Amber’s senior session. I’ve only done a few sessions here in the past and it’s fun to try to find fun and newish areas to take my seniors to, to get a little bit of a different vibe than from the other times I’ve been here.

I absolutely loved hanging out with Aryanna and her mom Nikki for her senior session this month. She was super sweet and fun to get to know throughout her session. I loved that one of the locations she wanted for her session was downtown Farmington, specifically out front of her church, Homestead Church. It’s one of my favorite buildings in Farmington and a must when I shoot there. The building was for sale for years, I told myself that if I won the lottery, I would snatch that building up and use it for a studio. Unfortunately, I have not won the lottery, and they bought the building before I could.

Earlier this spring when I was advertising for booking summer senior sessions, I got an email from Claire’s mom, Jenny, asking to book a session for Claire. I was soooo excited to hear from her. A couple of years ago I had done Claire’s brother’s senior session, Luke.

Sydnee’s late summer senior session at Whitetail Woods was a beautiful celebration of her achievements and the journey ahead. As we captured these moments together, I was reminded of the importance of embracing change and cherishing the memories we create along the way.