minneapolis photographer | jennifer witt photography

I joined this family while they painted their plates (and dogs, and cups, and dog dishes) at Paint Your Plate in Edina. After getting artsy, they headed over to Edina Creamery. I have to admit, it was a little disheartening to walk in to the smell of fresh waffle cones and know I couldn’t have one. However, seeing the pictures that I took during that time made it totally worth it. The light, the interaction, all if it….it was perfection. These three have such an amazing dynamic about them. Sisters, mom, daughter, auntie, and niece all rolled in to a sarcastic, hilarious, intelligent ball of love. I hope you enjoy the photos. I, for one, could not stop swooning over them.

As most of you know, I took this fall off. We had some things happen in our lives that made me realize I needed to spend my weekends with my family. I loved spending all my free time with my this amazing little family I’ve built and it was so refreshing. However, I’m so ready to dive back in to photographing all of you! Here are some photos that I didn’t get around to sharing while on hiatus; some are from sessions and some are examples of how I spent my downtime. Enjoy!

I know. It’s been a while. I’ve been busy finishing up my school year and hanging out with my family. I’ve had a real affinity towards black and white photos lately so I thought I’d put some of them up. Of course, as you can see from the last picture, some photos just scream to have their colors shown!

I have started booking for this summer and spring! It was nice to have a break after a busy fall, but I am ready to see all my wonderful past clients and look forward to meeting new ones! When you have a date in mind, send me an email, even if it’s not totally nailed down yet. We can at least pencil you in and go from there.

And now, some uber-cute eye candy for you to enjoy!

I seem to have a new favorite photo every other week-at least. Of course they are not always of my kiddos, but during the dull-who-wants-to-shoot-outside-in-this-weather that is a Minnesota winter, my kiddos see the lens of my camera more than they would like. We had a string of warm days and then, all of a sudden, it was cold again. Suck. But alas, this momma was on spring break and wanted to get outside every day that we could. Plus, the warmer weather we experienced the days before had me all jacked up on vitamin D and even though we froze our tushes off (thanks to the wind coming off the still frozen lake), we enjoyed an hour at the park. Okay, maybe not quite an hour. I wasn’t exactly dressed for the weather. The photo was taken while my recently turned 3 year old was climbing. In golashes. In mittens. That’s quite the feat if you ask me. I love the texture, I love the black and white, but mostly I just love the moment. This quick moment when he looked up at me and said, “Momma, I’m coming up. Watch out. Please.” Touching, isn’t it? My first born, my Mr. Sensitive, my momma’s boy telling me to move out of his way because he’s doing his thing and I’m, apparently, in the way. My heart was torn between two realizations. First, that my baby was growing up and needed me less and less. Second, that we have, thus far, raised a smart, self-assured, confident little boy. One who only needs us less because we have made him feel safe in taking risks and in being independent. Okay, so honestly, the second realization was really just my brain trying to make my heart get a grip on itself, but it did help the sting a bit. So here’s to babies becoming kiddos and to hoping that their demands are always followed with a please!

Oh the quiet season that is winter in Minnesota. After a crazy-busy fall, winter seems so quiet. I will be shooting a wedding in March, a large prom group in April, and will be doing a commercial shoot for a small headband/tutu company this spring. I’m excited for all of them because they are not what I typically photograph. I know I said I would never do another wedding but it’s for a good friend who has assured me there will be no -zilla’s at the wedding (bridezilla, mother-of-the-bride-zilla). Plus, the bride and groom are so fun so I know I will have a blast photographing their big day!

I was so grateful to receive holiday cards from many clients. It meant so much to me to know that my photos were gracing holiday cards on doors, walls and fridges across the nation. It was wonderful to have them all displayed on my holiday card wall. I still haven’t taken them down!

I did a little impromptu mini-session with my boys. By impromptu I mean I was snapping pictures of them and out of the blue it was like they actually wanted their photos taken. It was bazaar. A bazaar moment I am so thankful for because I got a chance to get some good shots of their faces. Usually they are so enthralled in whatever they are playing with that I get profile pictures or the tops of their heads. Hudson was playing with his bear and actually stayed in one spot long enough for me to capture his sweet little face. Corbin thought he was on a photoshoot. It was one of the craziest things I’ve ever seen. He would smile or pose and then ask to see the photo. I love the one I got of him looking up. We were in front of a sliding glass door and it was snowing outside. I told him to look at the snow, which he hadn’t noticed yet, and I managed to snap his surprise (and his amazing lashes). I’m not sure what his amazement was all about in the last photo, but I’m so glad I captured it. It’s so him. I can’t choose whether I love it in color or black and white most so I included both! Enjoy the pictures of my boys and check back to see the exciting sessions I will be doing this spring!

I was kind of sad to do my last photo session of the season. It’s been good to look back through the posts of the families that I’ve been lucky enough to do sessions with. You all made my first “real” photo season awesome. I was thrilled that my last session was with a dear friend. She was hearing about jennifer witt photography before it even was. She (along with the awesome momma from this post) is part of my Friday retreat. Well, kind of. I mean as much as having a playdate with four children – two and under – running/screaming can be a retreat. Hey, every momma knows time with other mommas is pretty sacred, even if the soundtrack to the playdate is two year olds arguing over a toy broom. But, I digress…

This family was so fun and laid back. Laura left her purse just about everywhere you can imagine and it’s a miracle it didn’t get lost at some point. Here are my favorite shots from the day. Enjoy B family and thanks for letting me end on a fabulous note!

I had to include this last photo. I cracked up as I was editing. It’s as if Chase is saying, “You have got to be kidding me. We are sitting on old wood, what is there to smile about?”

I had never been to Bandana Square before but this family heads there often. Their boys love the train museum. It was an awesome location with loads of character. We ended up getting shots in and around the outside of the building. Grayson wasn’t so sure of me at first, but my super duper preschool teacher powers won him over and he told me all about his ball themed birthday party. Xander was down for anything and pretty much stayed put wherever we decided to put him. Thanks for a fun morning D Family! It was great to work with you.

This is one of my dearest friends. One of my dearest friends who is also beautiful, inside and out, and uber-creative. I can’t forget to give a shout out to Mike, who was totally a trooper. One of Amy’s friends said to her “How did you get Mike to wear that hat?” Her response? “Constant nagging.” If he was reluctant, he didn’t show it. I think now that he has seen the photos he realizes they wouldn’t be the same without that hat. I love when clients get creative. Does it mean you have to? Of course not, but it makes for some pretty stellar photos. We headed to the Mill District in Minneapolis and had a fun, albeit cold, session. They are such a gorgeous family and the love they have for each other is so evident. Their daughter Natalie has curls just like I had when I was little and I’m so jealous that my boys did not inherit them. Look at those tight little ringlets! Thanks for choosing me to capture your vision and your love for each other J family!

I got a little carried away with this sneak peek but once you see all the images you’ll see why it was so hard to choose.

Remember that uber-creative thing I was talking about?:

Amy rocked her heels:

Most of the time anyway!:

Mike and Amy were changing their outfits and I was hanging with Natalie who had yet to put on her fancy clothes. I loved this photo so much, I couldn’t resist including it:

More love:

This is my FAVORITE photo. I love it. Amy was laughing (and pointing even!) at Mike’s pose. I thought he looked quite distinguished. Amy had other ideas:

Thanks for choosing me to capture your vision and your love for each other J family!

I love this family. The girls and I are intertwined through the friendship that our parents share. I started off with the plan of just doing one of the family’s photos and then I got an e-mail that they wanted pictures of all the kids and grandkids. I was so excited to be able to get images of ALL of them! A family tree session typically consists of mini sessions (10-15 photos instead of the usual 20-30) for all the families plus a mini session for the large group shots. In the middle of the shoot John and Julie let me know that we were at the same location that they got married! They then went on to say that their photographer didn’t get any photos of just the two of them on that day. I felt honored to go back to the spot where the wedding family photos were taken and to give them some photos of just the two of them. I found out later they both cried as they looked through the slideshow. I know it is not always fun to get photos taken but what an amazing gift to give your family! It was an awesome experience and it was a beautiful day so the kids had a blast. Thanks for letting me capture your connections R family!

I had the pleasure of photographing 3 sweet girls and their parents this past weekend. I traveled to my hometown of Algona, IA to do this shoot as well as a large “family tree” type session (stay tuned for that blog!). These girls were fantastic. They were totally diva-licious. Not in an I-only-want-red-m&m’s-in-my-dressing-room way but in an I’m-gonna-rock-this-shoot sorta way! I had to QUICK take shots of anything that could even be considered a posed shot because one or two shots in the arms would start flaring out and the hands went on the hips and these girls totally rocked the camera. It made for a fabulously fun session. I LOVE the first photo below, B was snuggling her sisters. ADORABLE! Even though Baby P wasn’t so thrilled about her sisters holding her today (diva in-training?), she held her own when she saw the camera coming. Thanks R Family for letting me photograph your beautiful and vivacious family!