??Celebrating 20 Years as a SE MN Portrait Photographer??

I guess I shouldn’t let February get away without celebrating our 20th-year anniversary in business as a portrait photographer in Southeast Minnesota! It has been an incredible 20 years capturing cherished memories of families, seniors, sports teams, newborns, couples, and pets through the years.

Journey of Photography by Kari

My journey in photography began with capturing sports action photos for my cousins to use in their scrapbooks. Soon, friends who were getting engaged and having babies started asking me to document these special moments, which led me to begin photographing portraits. These clicks of the camera turned into a business.

I started with digital photography with a Canon 5D, focusing on natural light outdoor sessions and using our quonset shed on the farm, as well as our living room, as my studio when I started incorporating backdrops and lighting into indoor sessions. Then, in 2010, I rented a building in Spring Valley, MN, for my studio, and I have been there ever since.

Over the years, photography has evolved, and I’ve been dedicated to growing with it. I’ve embraced new technology and dabbled with trends while maintaining my timeless signature style. One of the greatest joys in my career has been photographing people multiple times throughout their life. I have been able to capture people at their newborn sessions and then again at their senior portraits. I have even done photos of seniors, then their newborns, and this summer I will have done my cousin’s senior portraits, his son’s newborn photos, and then will do his senior session. Crazy! It’s always so fun to see how they have grown and changed over the years.

Thank You for 20 Amazing Years!

Reaching this milestone wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my clients, family, and the Southeast Minnesota community. Most importantly, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all of my assistants—both past and present—who have been my arms and legs throughout this journey. I could not do this without them. Their dedication, creativity, and willingness to help in every aspect of the business have allowed me to continue doing what I love. From setting up lighting, adjusting poses, capturing the perfect angle, creating props, cleaning the studio to doing bookwork, my assistants have been instrumental in every step of the process, and I am forever grateful for their support.

If you’ve visited the studio and seen the photos lining the walls, you know I couldn’t limit myself to just a few client photos or images with my assistants over the years to share, so I put together a collage featuring my cousins, Connor and Courtney, along with two of our dogs instead. Although every family member has served as a model or assistant at one time or another, Connor, Courtney, and our dogs have likely spent the most time both in front of and behind my camera. Their photos have documented not only my growth as a photographer but also how photography captures change over time. My family’s patience, love, and support on this journey mean the world to me.

Thank you for allowing Photography by Kari to be part of your lives, whether by trusting me to capture your most precious memories or simply following our page to enjoy the photos. I am excited for what the future holds and look forward to continuing to provide beautiful, heartfelt portraits for many more years to come.