The Stephanie Newman Photography Journal

Family photo sessions are a wonderful way to capture the joy, love, and unique personalities of each family member—and when a furry friend is part of the equation, the experience becomes even more special! I recently had the pleasure of photographing the Smith family during their summer session at Whitetail Woods in Farmington, Minnesota, alongside their adorable Bernedoodle, Sophie. Together, they created beautiful memories that will last a lifetime. Whitetail Woods is one of the most picturesque locations in the area, featuring scenic trails, lush greenery, and tranquil ponds that showcase the beauty of nature in summer.

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.

Just like my own child’s senior year was coming up and me being in denial that he is old enough to be graduating from high school soon. All the feelings and thoughts are copied and pasted for this young lady. This girlie is one of my son’s best friends and one of my bonus children. Luke and G, along with G’s boyfriend, Charlie became fast friends during our church’s Christmas Musical, where the trio played knock off Star Wars characters.

I’m always a little nervous doing shoots with senior guys because they’re either really quiet and it’s hard to have to connect with them during their session or we have a great time and we struggle getting through the shoot because we’re having a good time. At Zach’s session we had a great time! He was so friendly and talkative throughout his session

Another year with the Mischke family! I see Allesha and most of her men folk on a regular basis through a boys book club we are both apart of, but it doesn’t hit me until their family picture time, that these boys are growing and becoming more mature. Ben was just a little guy when I started photographing their family and now look at him! He’s half the size of his dad! And Brad is a tall guy!

Family is the most important thing in the world.” – Princess Diana

Sarah reached out to me in early spring to book a family session with her her family and in-laws, as a gift to her mother in-law for Mothers Day. I thought that was the sweetest thing ever. Also something the matriarch of the VanBenthusyen family would cherish for years to come.

I LOVE photographing this family. I’m sure I’ve said this before in previous blog posts about them. But they are the kindest, most wonderful group of people that I have had the privilege to work with. Seriously. I’ve photographed Kayleigh and Taylor’s family with her mom, dad and brother at one session. The next year I worked with them again, but with Taylor’s mom, dad and brother. This year, Kayleigh wanted EVERYONE! They were all together to celebrate little Oliver’s 1st birthday and what better way to continue the celebration than to get some family pictures done!

I have lived in Twin Cities for almost 12 years and have been photographing for about 5 years now, and I have not once photographed a family or senior in the cute little town of Northfield. Northfield reminds me of my hometown a bit with it’s old buildings and old fashioned charm. And let me tell you, the downtown area is beyond cute!

I think this session was the best way to kick off my Class of 2023 seniors. I said it in my sneak peeks of Molly’s session, holy buckets, she really did knock it out of the park!