Family

























Looking for the Perfectly Posed Family Portrait? You've Come to the Wrong Place.
When you try to create something that's "perfect," it comes at a cost. Perfection often strips away the silliness, the genuineness, and the isms. Creating that perfect family portrait is not my goal. My goal is to capture connection and authentic laughter, and to turn those moments where you think everything is falling apart into your favorite frozen moments.
Lifestyle photography involves some directing and prompting, but it nothing is forced. The emphasis is not on perfect positioning, eyes to the camera, or smiling on cue. I'll have your family interact and connect while doing something simple, like throwing rocks in the water, playing in the sand, enjoying nearby flowers, walking through a field.



Documentary photography is not only knowing how to see perfection, but also understanding what it takes to capture it. As your documentarian, I aim to tell the real story, not a fabricated one, in photos.


I love helping people see the beauty of what's already there, without fluff of neatly folded hands or strain and stuffiness of "cheese." I love to nix the rigidity of rules. Spills and spontaneous dancing. Messy faces and dimly lit spaces. It's all welcome.


Some of my all-time favorite pictures are the ones taken when nothings planned and one's expecting it. The first photo I take after the session is "done." The in-between, putting on a coat because it's just too cold to take another photo. The one they didn't know I took: Dad's hand on a new mom's back as they give their new baby a sponge bath on the kitchen table.

— STACIE R.
MINNETONKA, MN
"You listened to everything I said and didn't miss a thing."
A sincere thank you for delivering EXACTLY what I was hoping for you to capture! The photos captured our relationships with each other, all of our personalities and the intense love we have for our sweet fur baby.
"Everyone was in their element."
Kara captured exactly what we wanted to remember about this season of our lives: the chaos, the joy, the laughter, and the pure innocence of being a child. There is not one photo I look back on and think, “Man, that one was stressful to get.”

— KRISTIN P.
ANDOVER, MN
"Despite our awkwardness, our family pictures turned out perfect."