Minneapolis Wedding Photography | Clewell Photography

Updates!

2010-10-15T09:28:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! You may see that our site is down right now, it will be back up and running in the next 24 hours while we do some updating. If you are here you should know that this blog will soon be replaced with a new one you can find at http://clewellphotography.com/blog

We've got a ton of new stuff to share with you so stay tuned for some awesome updates!

Alli + Andy Unbooth Teaser

2010-08-17T15:29:00.000-05:00

Alli + Andy | North Oaks Wedding Photography

2010-08-17T15:27:00.002-05:00

News

2010-08-17T11:45:00.000-05:00

The blog is changing, please bear with us.
We promise you'll like the results <3

Jessica + Polo: Featured on Elegant Owl

2010-08-03T18:29:00.001-05:00

Check Jessica & Polo's wedding featured on The Elegant Owl.

Jessica + Polo | Minneapolis, MN Wedding Photography

2010-07-27T09:56:00.001-05:00

Mad Men BBQ [The Un-Booth]

2010-07-27T09:36:00.000-05:00

Anne + Dan [Un-Booth] | Minneapolis Wedding Photography

2010-07-18T17:22:00.000-05:00

Molly + Andrew | Minneapolis Engagement Photography

2010-07-11T19:49:00.004-05:00

Anne + Matt | Minneapolis Wedding Photography

2010-07-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

Susan + Chris | Minneapolis Wedding Photography

2010-07-05T21:53:00.003-05:00

Goodbye Roxie :(

2010-06-25T19:44:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we lost our best friend, our awesome dog Roxie suddenly and without warning. If you didn't get a chance to meet her then you've probably seen her here on the blog. We've received lots of support from friends and clients and it means so much to us, thank you.

I would love to tell you all about what a great dog Roxie was but we are still grieving and its far too hard. We have done lots of engagement shoots of late with our couples puppies and we just wanted to tell you all to hug your little guys you never know when it might be your last chance.

Alli + Andy | Milwaukee Engagement Photography

2010-05-31T19:43:00.001-05:00

Featured Work

2010-05-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

Check out Tanya & Nick's wedding featured on The Elegant Owl today.

[Elizabeth + Matt] Minneapolis MN Engagement Photography

2010-05-13T00:08:00.001-05:00

[Mama's Boys] Minneapolis MN Family Photography

2010-05-09T23:09:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day Everyone!

We did this shoot as a Mother's Day gift for a very special lady. We found out that the husband had snuck out, bought the kids new outfits, got them haircuts and even bribed them with Iron Man 2 tickets to get these photos done as a surprise gift for his lovely wife.

We haven't heard back yet but we're hoping Libby is loving how sweet her husband is and how handsome her boys are.

[Elizabeth + Matt] Teaser

2010-05-09T22:24:00.001-05:00

[Carolyn + Eric] Minneapolis, MN | Engagement Photography

2010-05-06T22:46:00.015-05:00

Ginger Dahlia's Greatest Party on Earth [Un-Booth]

2010-03-28T16:27:00.005-05:00

We had the privilege of donating the Un-Booth to a great charity event. Ginger Dahlia's Greatest Party on Earth. All proceeds from the event went to a great local charity, Serving Our Troops.

From the Serving Our Troops website:

Our National Guard members are Minnesotans who have  stood up to make the sacrifice to serve our country when they are  called. They have jobs and families like any Minnesotan, but they are  making a sacrifice to provide us the freedoms we enjoy each and every  day. The mission of Serving Our Troops is to send a message to these  soldiers and their families that they are not forgotten and that we  appreciate their sacrifice.

Many National Guard members are stationed  far from home without a chance to see their loved ones or to enjoy the  comforts of home. What better way to show our appreciation than by  bringing them just a bit of home – a meal from Minnesota. 

Polar Bear Plung | Minneapolis Minnesota Event Photography

2010-03-01T12:26:00.006-06:00

As part of our "Giving Back" we were asked to take some shots at the South Metro Minnestoa Polar Bear Plunge this past weekend.

From their website: The Polar Bear Plunge (presented by Minnesota Law Enforcement to benefit Special Olympics Minnesota and part of the year-round fundraising of the Law Enforcement Torch Run to benefit Special Olympics Minnesota) is a unique opportunity for individuals, organizations and businesses to support Special Olympics athletes by jumping into frigid Minnesota waters. January through March, 13 plunges across the state give you the chance to be Freezin' for a Reason!

Here are a few of our favorites:

There are still more plunges happening this year check out there website (Special Olympics Minnesota) for more information about how to become a plunger or to donat

Polar bear Plunge | Minneapolis Minnesota Photography

2010-02-28T17:17:00.002-06:00

Baby Kailyn

2010-02-21T23:10:00.004-06:00

This weekend I had the honor of taking a few photos of the beautiful 9 day old Kailyn. Here are a few favorites:

How to help your photographer without doing anything at all... Part 2!

2010-02-19T20:51:00.002-06:00

The old addage of it being bad luck to see the bride before the wedding has finally been put to rest, making your life, and everyone elses lives easier. Seeing your lucky guy or gal before the ceremony is the #1 way to ease stress on you, your family, and everyone participating in the wedding. Hours of time spent pining and hand wringing prior to the ceremony can now be spent easily relaxing and enjoying time together, and with family and friends.

Trying to shove the formals, candids, and fashionesque style shots in between the ceremony and the reception is a near impossible task. Especially in the fall months, when light is fleeting... Meeting prior to the ceremony allows you to fit in the formals before the ceremony. This gives your family and wedding party freedom to relax in between the ceremony and reception. It also gives you precious alone time with your photographer to visit a predetermined location for the shots that everyone knows, loves, and wants. More later! Thanks for reading!

Here are some of our favorite first meeting shots for you to take a look at...

[Miss S] Pin-up

2010-02-14T21:06:00.005-06:00

Now that Valentine's Day has passed I can finally share with you the awesome shoot I did with Miss S. I had so much fun spending the day with some great ladies getting these fun photos, her boyfriend is a very lucky man.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T01:47:00.002-06:00

♥ ♥ ♥

2010-02-13T15:40:00.000-06:00

In honor of Valentine's Day here's a preview from last weeks pinup/boudoir shoot.  ♥

How to help your photographer without doing anything at all... Part 1

2010-02-02T19:21:00.002-06:00

There are many things that are often overlooked when planning when and where things happen on your wedding day. For many brides, the photos are a key and integral piece of their wedding puzzle. Though this is the case, mistakes are made, and some Brides fail to realize sometimes the photos can only be as good as where or when they are taken. This blog post is meant only as a primer and a guideline. I do not wish to come across as a self important photographer that hopes for the entire day to revolve around him. It is only meant to be a helpful guide using my experiences to mention what works well in situations to get the best out of your photographers talents...

In Part 1 here, I will be discussing getting ready. I of course don't want to post up any bad examples, lest I embarrass someone, but the getting ready portion of the day is the most often overlooked portion of the day. The photos people love to expect are dreamy, and grandiose. The beautiful bride gets ready in the top of the castle and eventually floats down the stone stairs to her awaiting hero. While this is obviously an exaggeration, its a far cry from getting ready in the public bathroom of the church. It's tough for the photographer to get a great shot of the groom intently putting his tie and cuff links on with a bathroom stall in the reflection of the mirror. The bride, no matter how beautiful, isn't going to look her best if the tampon dispenser hangs ominously out of focus in the background of her getting her hair done.

While the perfect location may not be available, many churches offer a green room. Try to see if the church you are interested in has one. if not, where would you be getting ready? Is it comfortable? well lit? Often a hotel is the place folks are getting ready. Are there a decent amount of mirrors? Are they big enough for you see yourself in your dress in? Is there room for 6 or 7 guys to get ready comfortably and still allow the photographer to move around? Just a little forethought and very little can really help your photographer create great images of your anticipation. Part 2 will discuss the 'first meeting' and formals. Stay tuned!

P.S. Hang the dress somewhere nice, and get an attractive hanger for it! :)

[Tanya + Nick] Married

2010-02-01T00:31:00.006-06:00

We've been looking forward to finishing Tanya and Nick's wedding photos to share with you! Such an amazing couple to work with.

The wedding was held at one of our favorite locations, the Semple Mansion in Minneapolis.

Tanya's hair and make-up was done by Minnesota Bridal Make-up Artistry.

As usual it doesn't take the guys much time at all to get ready so they spent the time helping Nick cool his nerves.

I loved her style, especially her something blue.

Although the weather wasn't in our favor it did give us the chance to bring out the cute umbrellas.

We brought out our medium format Mamiya camera for a few shots, I'll be sure to post them once we get them developed.

The reception is one of the favorites we have seen. Every detail from the centerpieces to the chandeliers was done beautifully.

You can view Tanya & Nick's engagement photos here.

[Awesome Photos] Engagements

2010-01-28T20:20:00.001-06:00

Managing Your (and my) Digital Images...

2010-01-28T18:37:00.001-06:00

Usually Jes posts on the blog, but I thought I would post up on something that's often overlooked and very, very important. Taking care of the digital files you get from your photographer.

As I always do, every year or so, I have to massively upgrade my storage space to hold all of the weddings I shoot. I began thinking it might be a good idea to talk about storing digital images, and what you should do with the ones you get from your photographer. I'll excuse myself ahead of time if I use any jargon or techy stuff that someone might not be familiar with, but I think its important to talk about this. Feel free to skip over the next couple of paragraphs if you want to get what all this means to you without listening to me blab about what it means to me.

Every wedding I shoot is around 30-60 gigabytes worth of data. To familiarize yourself with how much this is, it's around 15-20,000 mp3s worth of storage space. It is an immense amount of photos, and the file sizes are large. I shoot everything in raw. Raw is basically a "negative" like back in the day. Its something that needs to be "developed". These days that generally means opening up photoshop and lightroom. This is essentially the darkroom for the modern photographer. So If I am doing 15-18 weddings per year, you can see that storage runs out fast. Thats a terabyte (1000 gigabytes, or for comparison that would hold 200,000 mp3s) of JUST wedding photos for one season. It comes to anywhere from 30,000-45,000 photos. I have to have everything backed up for you guys. It's an expensive but necessary precaution to protect some of the most precious photos you'll ever have. Its part of what you are getting when you hire a professional to shoot you wedding.

The professional (as opposed to the justgotmycameraatbestbuyletspostoncraigslistanddoweddingsohboy!) photographer knows he is responsible for the images he takes for the client. I have backed up every wedding I've done for the past 5 or 6 years. Its an immense amount of data. After 2 years I assume you arent going to want anymore from me right away and I move things off the computer itself onto a set of discs. I make two copies. Hard drives fail. CD's fail. DVD's fail. Everything has a chance at failing. Its important to have redundancy.

Now you. What do you do with the photos you get from me in their nice little case that we make? Back it up. Twice. Three times. put one set in a safe deposit box or a fire proof safe. I know it sounds strange but DVD's do fail. Someday you may put that DVD in to grab some photos to email to Mom, and the disc will have failed. While you can always contact me, and I can get you what you need, its important that you are personally responsible for your images. I hope not to be hard to find in 35 years, but you never know. Be smart. Take care of your data. One of the best things these days is online backup. At 5$ a month its a cheap way to offload the responsibility to a company with millions of dollars in redundant equipment. Mozy and Carbonite are both great options. Both offer free trials...

I know this seems a little geeky, but I think its important that you look long term. Don't forget you are going to want to look at these with your daughter, or even grand daughter decades years from now. With so many photographers not doing albums anymore, and just giving you a disc of files, its critical that you take good care of your photos.

After all, there's no re-do's in wedding photography.

[Tanya + Nick] Teasers

2010-01-24T01:22:00.000-06:00

I just could not wait to post some photos from Tanya and Nick's Wedding today at the Semple Mansion. Here are a few quick ones before we pass out for the night.

[Giving Back]

2010-01-22T15:29:00.002-06:00

We have been blessed in so many ways. Unfortunately not everyone is so lucky. Do you know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances? Do you know someone who can’t afford professional photography, but who would cherish it?

This does not necessarily have to be a family, if you know a charity that would benefit from a day of family portraits or even the Un-Booth.

We want you to hear your stories so we can try to help these people. This is not a contest, simply email us at info@clewellphotography.com with your stories and we will respond to the ones we can make happen.

[Roxie!]

2010-01-17T14:37:00.003-06:00

Thanks to everyone for the kind words, Roxie is doing much better here is some of her cuteness!

[Cameras]

2010-01-17T14:14:00.001-06:00

We've got all the fancy cameras for the important photos and then we have a group of cameras that are for the fun stuff, here's a peek at some of the collection.

1960's Kodak Automatic 8

The always un-trusty HOLGA

1950's Duaflex II with flash

Ansco 1045 ZF

1950's Kodak Pony 828

Keystone Auto-Instant 126 film

1977 Polaroid OneStep with Flash

And the favorite, Mamiya RZ67 Medium Format 120

Also, here are some photos of my non-editing workspace while there is some sunshine for once.

[Awesome Photos] Last Minute Tips

2010-01-15T20:33:00.001-06:00

[NEW SITE!!!]

2010-01-05T14:25:00.000-06:00

We have finally launched our new site: http://clewellphotography.com

check it out and let us know what you think!

Kris's Birthday [Un-Booth]

2010-01-03T20:11:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Kris's Birthday on Saturday and had the Un-booth set up. Here's a few from the night.

[Updates]

2009-12-27T21:59:00.004-06:00

Lots of new and fun things have been happening in the last few months that we are looking forward to sharing with you including our new website which we will be launching later this week.

We have made the decision to limit ourselves to only 2 weddings per month in 2010 and they are booking fast so email soon if your interested.

Stay tuned 2010 is going to be an exciting year!  

[MERRY CHRISTMAS!]

2009-12-25T22:29:00.002-06:00

We are so blessed by the awesome people we got to meet in 2009. Thank you for asking us to be a part of your stories. We’re also very, very excited for 2010, and all of the fun times it’s sure to bring.

We’d like to wish you all a happy, loving, fun Christmas. And a joyful new year.

[Thank you!]

2009-12-08T19:57:00.003-06:00

We are honored to announce we were chosen by brides as The Knot's best of weddings 2010 in photography.  The Knot is the #1 wedding website and most trusted wedding resource in the United States.

We could not have received this if it were not for our awesome brides and groom's who have been so great.  So THANK YOU to all of you and everyone who voted for us!

Laura + Aaron: Teaser

2009-12-06T15:25:00.002-06:00

Laura & Aaron were our last wedding of 2009 and it sure was a good one! Have fun on your honeymoon there will be more when you return.

Ceremony: Bethlehem Lutheran Church http://www.bethlehem-church.org/

Reception: Chateau at Medicine Lake http://www.mintahoe.com/go/venues/ch-teau-at-medicine-lake

Kris + Jessie

2009-11-08T20:59:00.000-06:00

I found this photo tonight at my parents house from our wedding neither of us remember seeing it before but we thought it was cute and stole it from them.

Jacquie & Rocky [un-booth]

2009-11-03T23:10:00.001-06:00

Intorducing The Un-Booth!

2009-10-25T16:10:00.003-05:00

We've been thinking about doing this for a few years now and we finally decided to start it out. The un-booth is like a Photobooth only you are not in a booth, you've got room to move and you can take as many photos as you want. That's right YOU take the photos, no stupid photographer telling you to pose ;)

Some of our favorites from Elizabeth & Marc's Wedding:

A special thanks go's out to these three for helping me win the bet, there were way more than 100 :)

Anne + Matt!

2009-10-12T02:40:00.003-05:00

It's not too often I Invade Jessies blog space! Admittedly Jes has been feeling a bit under the weather, so I thought I would go ahead and take over on this one! Anne and Matt braved chilly weather to come out to do our shoot today. Diesel was a fantastic puppy, albeit a bit camera shy. Winter has definitely come early... I think my hand is still cold... I cant remember the last time I did a shoot in october when it was 35 degrees out!

Teasers: Alexa + Jeremy [A Wedding]

2009-10-11T21:47:00.004-05:00

Alexa & Jeremy were married October 10th, here are a few teasers from their wedding.

Alexa + Jeremy [engaged to be married]

2009-10-08T20:16:00.000-05:00

These two were so wonderful to photograph! What a great connection! They just adore each other and couldn’t stop looking or smiling at one another. Alexa & Jeremy are getting married next weekend, We can’t wait to photograph their big day!
Here are a couple more from their engagement shoot.

[Teaser] Alexa ♥ Jeremy

2009-09-16T15:07:00.000-05:00

[People we love] ♥ 1: Miss Shelby

2009-09-01T16:32:00.003-05:00

We know so many great people in the wedding industry and we are going to start recommending some of our favorites. For the first edition its Miss Shelby who does awesome make-up.

She has better taste than anyone I know and she is extremely talented! She is fun to work with, has a great personality, and is awesome at what she does!

Proper makeup makes the image. Shelby customizes her makeup applications to each bride and the result is a clean, vibrant look with beautifully accentuated features. Her style is classic so you'll look like you just walked out of a bridal magazine.

I could go on but her work speaks for itself, here's a few examples of her gorgeous work.

photo by Nic Marshall

For information on her services and availability
email: look.amused@gmail.com
or find her at Jon Oulman Salon

[Elizabeth ♥ Marc: Casual Shoot]

2009-08-30T12:00:00.000-05:00

We took Elizabeth and Marc out on Friday night for a casual shoot. They are super adorable together and so much fun to work with!

[Team Cougar Bait]

2009-08-30T11:54:00.002-05:00

I spent the day with the boys of Team Cougar Bait yesterday. They are currently building a 1994 Saab 900 for the 24 Hours of LeMons endurance race, held on October 3rd and 4th in Nelson Ledges Ohio.

The race is restricted to cars that were purchased, fixed up, and track-prepped for total of $500 or less not including required safety equipment. For more information on the team visit culturegarage.com

Here's a few of my favorite shots.

{NEW BLOG}

2009-07-01T18:21:00.011-05:00

After months of hating our current blog layout I finally took the big step of changing everything. I'm pretty happy with the final result. Now we can finally show images in larger sizes! Let me know what you think!!!