photoshoot Archives – Studio Laguna Photography

1980s Styled Shoot

June 25, 2013 By katrina 1 Comment

Yesterday, I photographed a styled shoot by Blomma Designs. Erin is unapologetic about her love of the 80s (I heard a rumor that she owns a fanny pack!) and wanted to do an 80s influenced wedding shoot before leaving for her new home in Alaska. It was our last hurrah together, so we wanted it to be fun! Erin chose a bright and vibrant neon color palette and made the look more modern by using neutrals for the jewelry and clothing. Our lovely bride wore a vintage gown from Andrea’s Vintage Bridal and cute black booties. The guys got a touch of neon as well with their suspenders. Christine’s Floral Touch designed the flowers and did a fantastic job keeping things bright and textural. For the hair and makeup, Brett Dorrian Artistry Studios put a great coral color on the bride’s lips and put her crimped hair up in a modern bun. The look was just dynamite.

This is my favorite shot of the day.

After pictures at First Ave, we head over to 110 North Loop Loft for some reception pictures. Glam Doll Donuts set up the most beautiful neon tower of donuts, and Patrice Soehnlein designed an invitation suite that includes records and cassette tapes.

Boombox cuff links? yes please!

110 North Loop Loft has a great feature, a large garage door that opens up to allow a food truck to serve the event. For this shoot, AZ Canteen stopped by to make us some delicious food!

Check out the reflection!

At the very end of the shoot, Erin pulled out this crazy 1980s wedding gown for a bit of dress up fun.

So what do you think of the shoot? I love how fun it looks and how fun it was to shoot!

Gypsy in the Woods

June 14, 2013 By katrina 1 Comment

Dani Tietjen is a blogger, author, mother, wife, inspirational speaker, and missionary. She travels all over the US speaking to youth and church groups about love, mercy and identity. Her blog is full of anecdotes about her life and she has such a generous heart. She also really loves dressing up…and twirling…and reading…and laughing…and we did pretty much all of these things for her website photoshoot yesterday.

Dani came up with a great theme of creating a pretty little reading nook in the woods. When she was done creating the set, I immediately thought of the word “gypsy”. And that word fits her, she is creative, grows a lot of her own food, creates all kinds of art, has a homespun natural twist to her designs, and likes a slightly weathered well worn look to her furniture. She did a fantastic job, and I was so excited to photograph all of the details!

She hired Brett Dorrian to come and doll her up, and we had a fun time in my studio getting ready. She did an amazing job on Dani, emphasizing her gorgeous eyes and giving her hair lots of texture and interest. Then Dani got into her SKIRT. Holy moley, you’ll just have to look at the pictures…

At the end of the shoot, I asked her to just twirl and have fun in her gorgeous skirt, and I love the results =)

What a fantastic session! Dani, I hope you enjoy your sneak peek! Thank you for letting me be a part of this creative process!

Great Expectations

April 3, 2013 By katrina 1 Comment

When the inventory of items you’re bringing to a shoot includes statement jewelry, a pick axe, and taxidermy…you know it is going to be awesome.

Anyone who knows my views on the wedding industry knows that I am a huge fan of vendors that are down to earth, ethical, deliver a top notch product and are all about customer service. It seems like an elusive thing, but man, we found that magic yesterday at our photoshoot! I’m still giddy about it…how excited we all were to work together. How we collaborated over evertyhing…the fashion, the angles of the shots, the little details…we all helped each other out and had such an amazing time. I write about this because I think it is rare and also I think it is spectacular.

The brainchild of this shoot stems from our location, Aria Minneapolis. If you haven’t seen this place yet, schedule an appointment, it is gorgeous. The design inside is this fabulous mix of over the top glam, industrial, and a little bit of decay with its textured walls and rough edges. The Aria team, Brett Dorrian and I came up with a decadent rock look. Todd Pinzuti, owner of Bungalow 6 Design pulled the design together with visuals that had everything from vintage to school house industrial elements. Summer Harsh joined the team and created out of the box floral designs that were full of texture and brought in our emerald green and purple color scheme. A Milestone Paper Company designed an invitation printed on wood that was inspired by rock posters. We wanted something a little bohemian, a little over the top glamorous and just a hint of Grey Gardens as well. I still have no idea how to explain the look in just a word or two…but man, did it look GOOD. We came up with the title Great Expectations, inspired both by the book and also the mindset of having a grand wedding.

When this shoot started to materialize we really got excited. When Mestads came on board and told us they were shipping gowns in from their favorite designers, I think we all did a little girl giggle of excitement. The big day came, and everyone worked together to set things up. I ran to Patisserie 46 to pick up the most delicious assortment of pastry goodness for our dessert table. Summer and the Aria team set up the main tablescape, including a floral chandalier! Aria’s head honcho, Jessica, and Lynsie from Mestads put together some awesome outfits for our models as they arrived, and Brett did what Brett does best…make everyone look AMAZING!

Time for the pictures! Are you READY?!?!?!

Though spring is just (finally) starting in Minnesota, we decided on a fall color scheme a bit ahead of the trend. It fit the space and the mood we were going for…this is my favorite floral image of the day…

One of Aria’s signature decor items are their chandaliers…we HAD to incorporate them!

The first gown was all about texture…we incorporated texture in every part of the image, from Summers super cool fern bouquet to the walls of the Aria.

While I was photographing the bride in all her glory, John and the groom were experimenting with light. Eyob looked so dapper in his Heimie’s Haberdashery suit!

The Aria team created a set for us using some old doors (you know, they just have this cool stuff lying around!) and furniture from their collection.

A few party guests joined us…

At the table, we had an ecclectic mix of dishware, including custom designed lace plates by artist Steph Guidera. Linen Effect’s new glassware and silverware sets were used along with their emerald green napkins, and champagne linens with a lace overlay. We embraced gold in all its glory!

An industrial dessert table displayed the lovely creations of Patisserie 46…we all got to taste them at the end, it was heaven!

Now back to the table in its full glory…simply stunning!

After the dinner party, the guests went upstairs to one of Aria’s VIP rooms…things got a little crazy 😉

The models changed looks throughout the day, and John and I used every corner of the Aria to get a variety of portrait styles. This was where we were really allowed to collaborate and experiment with the whole group of vendors, it was such a blast!

I have no words for the gratitude and sappy love I feel towards everyone involved in the shoot! Enjoy the images I hope it inspires!

Norwegian Styled Shoot

March 1, 2013 By katrina 4 Comments

Today, we had an amazing styled shoot. I am still hyper, and did all kinds of crazy happy dances today! There is nothing like standing in a room watching vendor after vendor come in and presenting their amazing designs and seeing all the hard work and planning come together! Erin, owner of Blomma Designs, and I cooked up the inspiration for this shoot after realizing we both had such a love for primitive antiques from early America (think colonial times) as well as sharing Norwegian heritage. Erin worked her tush off designing this shoot, and we had a wonderful time collaborating!

So without further ado, here are my favorite images of the day! We’ll start with the lovely invitation suite designed by Patrice Soehnlein.

Our bride and groom were fabulous! Ellen wore a Jim Hjelm Couture gown from the fantastic Che Bella, and her own antique Norwegian selje earrings. The floral pieces, including her crown, were beautifully made by Sadie’s Couture Floral and Event Styling. Colin donned his custom tux designed by Heimie’s Haberdashery, I love a man that wears a real bow tie =)

I wanted to photograph this shoot with a low key style that emphasized the textures of the details. The Minnesota Boat Club was the perfect choice for our location since it has gorgeous mullioned windows that not only poured light into the room, but gave the colonial look we were going for.

The magnolia runner was to die for and looked fabulous on the hand made farm table from Rudy’s Rustic Rentals. The earthy browns used throughout the design made the pewter accents pop, and I love how Erin combined the textures of burlap and lace. The design elements came from the personal collections of both Erin and myself, and from Linen Effects, plus some pieces full of Norwegian heritage that were kindly provided by Ingebretsen’s in Minneapolis.

Sadie’s Couture Floral and Event Styling gave the table a pop of spring with light textures and soft colors. The hint of muscari blooms here and there was my favorite touch, as was the addition of kumquats!

Onsite Muse was the talent behind Ellen’s hair and makeup, and man, she looked smashing! We continued the theme of texture with a loose fishtail asymmetrical braid and kept the makeup fresh and light, to show off Ellen’s beautiful eyes.

Amanda Neeld, the pastry chef for Crave Catering, went above and beyond with her gorgeous desserts! She embraced our desire for texture and created an amazing array of cakes, pies, cookies, bars and tortes that wowed us all. And they tasted just as good as they looked! And in blessed happenstance, both Amanda and Amy at Sadie’s used kumquats as a garnish, I love how these things happen!

We paired Amanda’s gorgeous desserts with a Norwegian cheese platter fit for a king.

We enjoyed every minute of this shoot, what a blast! Thank you to all the AMAZING vendors that were a part of it and to the fabulous Ellen and Colin!

This is my favorite portrait of the day, the bride and groom with their Norwegian wedding pipes.

Norse Mythology Wedding Shoot

May 16, 2012 By katrina 2 Comments

Wow, this week is photoshoot heaven, eh? =)

The shoot I’m showing you today was actually photographed in January for Hearten Magazine, produced by the Independent Wedding Association. Now that the magazine is out (and you should really go read through the whole thing, it is AMAZING!) I can share the shoot as well, and I’m so proud of how it turned out!

It all started with me having a dream about an image. I wanted it to look like Vanity Fair and be a modern winter wedding with medieval elements and the groom was wearing a wolf head. Yep, these are the dreams I have. It just so happened, that as I started to flesh this shoot out on paper, I attended an IWA meeting where they wanted to photograph elements of Scandinavia for inspiration…including one based on Norse mythology. So it was all meant to be!

As with all the shoots I do, I try to think like a current bride. What elements would be in the wedding? What would be practical vs just looking pretty? Rather than having a themed wedding, what would a bride that likes these design elements do to keep her wedding contemporary? And my secret weapon…I started asking some incredibly talented vendors in the area to be a part of the shoot so we could all organically design the concept.

We broke Norse Mythology down to the basics. Moss, ferns, candles, wood, metal, strong, substantial, natural. To modernize it, we decided to keep the color palette clean, especially since we were shooting in winter. White and gray with touches of black and neutral browns became the color scheme. Whenever you choose a fairly monochromatic color palette, texture comes heavily into play for visual interest, so all of the vendors focused on that. From the subtle textures of the hand made paper and tablecloth, the natural textures of the cake and flower varieties, to the crimped texture of the model’s hair and ribbon of her bouquet, most elements had thought put into how it would fit as a whole in the design concept.

The Tree of Life is a huge part of Nordic mythology as is intricate knot work. Loving history as I do, it was fun to go back before the Vikings left their shores, to explore the people that had these myths of Fenrir, Odin and Thor.

<Geek Moment> My intense love of Lord of the Rings, especially the people of Rohan had a lot of influence in this shoot as well. Tolkien took the history of the ancient Norse as inspiration for the Silmarillion and it was easy for me to picture the visual elements I wanted to use because they were perfectly executed in the books and movies. Ahem, I digress.

The Outing Lodge in Stillwater was a natural choice for the shoot. With the dark wood interior and stone fireplace, it is one of the only venues in the Twin Cities with medieval and rustic charm. The Outing Lodge’s chef created a perfect dish to compliment the shoot, a roasted chicken with root vegetables and a rosemary garnish. Set on a metal plate with pewter silverware and a linen napkin with a bird’s nest ring, the dish was fit for a king.

A Day in Provence used grays and whites throughout her floral designs. Her winter bouquet was given a very homespun feel…cotton, spanish moss and dusty miller with snowy white nerine and soft gray hues of brunia berries and kochia. This beautiful combination of natural floral elements compliments the season. The table was accented with rustic gray barn wood boxes adorned with black velvet ribbon. Soft textural elements along with unexpected pops of fresh cotton and bold anemones made the designs complete.

Medieval Nordic design evokes an image of handmade beauty that isn’t fussy or overdone and shows function and structure. Jessica’s Cakes took that aesthetic and went one step further with a completely unadorned cake. It provided gorgeous visual texture and the warm brown color made it stand out perfectly against the white filling. Fall and winter weddings are ideal for deeper flavors, denser textures, and richer colors. Cardamom is a spice that is found in Scandinavian baking and a favorite of Jessica’s in general. Applesauce and sourcream add the necessary moisture retainers to the batter and the cake formula was dense enough to be stable even stacked 4 tiers high, 4 layers per tier. And oh my goodness did it taste good!

The invitations and other paper elements were created by Red Letter Design Studio, who also did the hand calligraphy. Red Letter teamed up with Nomadic Press to come up with the idea for the favors, which were bottles of whiskey and spices in a custom wood box. Using an ink pen, the calligraphy on textured hand made paper with torn edges added to the medieval element. The wax seal was another literal element of the time referenced and gave us some versatility to use in a couple different applications. Place cards hanging from a chord of cut wood in front of a roaring fire adds to the overall aesthetic and ambiance of the Outing Lodge and invites you in for hearty comfort foods and winter cheer.

Our models are an actual husband and wife pair (and yes, their children are just as gorgeous as they are!) who happened to be celebrating their 10 year anniversary this year, it was fun to have them be a part of this shoot and get dressed to the nines. Danielle wore one of my favorite Ian Stuart gowns from Posh that was the perfect shade of gray, that showed the structure we were looking for while still being very current. Brett Dorrian Artistry Studios took great care crimping Dani’s long hair and styling it after the ancient goddesses. Even the simple flower crown had a medieval feel. Paul wore a well cut monochromatic suit from Hammer-Made, who gave him two looks for the day, one more traditional and one a bit more edgy with a gray and white striped shirt.

Want to embrace Norse Mythology in your wedding without being to literal? Have runes on your wedding bands or knot work along the side of your wedding invitation. Or simply choose a location or maybe a style of wedding gown that embraces elements of that time. By breaking down what you love about a certain time in history the way we did, you can find design ideas and elements to use for your own inspiration.

Sorry for the book, I want these shoots to be educational as well as lovely! Here are the images, enjoy!!! When you’re done with this shoot, check out www.studiolaguna.com/2012/05/sunset-romance/ for some more romance and prettiness =) And I’d love to hear your thoughts!