I LOVE this idea, Gina! I have always wanted to have a shoot with my now-husband and I in all of our favorite places—a series of shots at our favorite restaurants, doing typical things at home and more. This would include us reading books and sipping coffee at Barnes and Noble or Borders, enjoying brunch on Sunday morning in our kitchen, playing board games on our bed in the evening, dinner and bubbly at Sapor, a walk on the Stone Arch bridge, throwing leaves at each other in fall in our backyard, playing with our crazy cats, and snuggling up with a movie on our sofa in the basement. Just regular life stuff. I know it’s not that crazy or interesting, but one of my little dreams.

Through the eyes of a little one: A Day in the Life of a Baby from her perspective; what she sees and what she does.

Thought is might be neat and more pictures of Alexis!

Gina, I was thinking that since many photographers backdrop are seasonal or change with the newest great idea. It could be great fun to see several rounds of shots taken at the Minnesota State Fair.
Just think of the endless backdrop options …Children’s Petting Barn, Amusement rides including the historical Ferris Wheel and carousal, a plethora of prize stuffed animals, the local food stands which often feature outrageous signage with fantastic color schemes, machinery hill, old town, the International Bazaar, the daily parade, Green Street in the Eco building, and many, many more…
Fair organizers might grant you a special access and just thinking of the light during morning sunrise and evening sunset you could capture with your clients.
Good luck!

I saw this and just couldn’t resist posting! I have a very dear friend who has recently become engaged. She is truly a wonderful person with the biggest heart in the world.

Meghan has always embraced the Irish in her, giving me this stellar idea of having an Irish themed photo shoot.

I see an Irish pub, with tall glasses of Guinness. A bar dressed in dark wood, with old fashioned glass fixtures and a fireplace in the back. (there’s a place like this in the Twin Cities, right? ) The young couple downing their beers, throwing darts, enjoying each others company. Perhaps they could be eating a shepards pie or stuffing their faces with cornbeef sandwichs. (Meghan can be a silly person, so I’m sure some humor in the photos would be welcomed.)

Maybe, you could let your creativity flow, and incorporate a shamrock some how. In an open field or on the water, I’m sure they would be down for anything.

I hope this sparks some creativity. These are some wonderful people you would be photographing.

Here is my email, if you are interested: kassandra.barrett@gmail.com. I’d be more than happy to pass along your information and vice versa.

What a great giveaway! I would love to do a “Through the Decades” photo session. Starting out with the 40′s/50′s with all the “Mad Men” inspired clothing (Housewife look, red lipstick, etc.) – 60′s with mini dress/skirt, headbands, big eyelashes, the “mod” look, etc. – 70′s with sequins, tall shoes, etc. – 80′s with big hair, fluorescent colors, funky sunglasses, etc. – And I’ll have to think about the 90′s… maybe the preppy look?

I am over the top passionate about the State Fair. Every year I try to capture my nephew on the Mighty Midway – mid scream – on a ridiculous ride. Kind of hard to do that with my little digital but I still have fun trying. I love the look of pure joy (he’s never really scared) on his face. Been doing this since he was a baby and now he’s almost 15. Two more weeks until pronto pups, crowds, cotton candy, animal barns, crafts, blue ribbons, free music and the most fun you have for the price of an admission ticket.

My husband and I are expecting our first baby and are looking to get an earthy, organic + quirky maternity session shot honoring and blessing our baby. I pictured an old wooden boat somewhere in the woods or a romantic grassy field, with us laying inside it capturing life as baby grows and embracing our pregnancy. We have a bunch of old fashioned fairytales and other storybooks that my Grandma read growing up that I’d love to incorporate, and I was thinking of getting a henna painting on my belly for the occasion. I’ve collected a few props that we’d love to use as well. I’m picturing a very unique & magical fairtytale like shoot, I’m a big fan of light. Yes this sounds crazy but it would be fun to do an early morning shoot right as the sun is coming up (I’m a photographer too and I LOVE the lighting at that time..it’s absolutely magical) Just something different. It would be fun to start in the nursery (kind of like the newlywed series new home) and then venture into the wild!

My husband and I didn’t have a great “wedding” photographer and so our pictures aren’t very romantic. That being said, we met in Uptown at Williams (dark and dingy) late at night in December. I’ve wanted to recreate that night, in pictures, for a long time. Dark, dingy, packed bar….

Wow-Great Ideas! THE BEAUTY AND FREEDOM OF HORSES. Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted and loved horses. I think it would be amazing to have a photo shoot with horses. Hey I could even wear some brown (cowboy) boots that don’t look anything like the ones you want-but I’m keeping the boots in mind. I visualize being In some open grassy area for some of the shoots and in a fenced in area for a few. Some shoot ideas: me standing and horses running toward me in the background, me laying on the horses back, walking next to the horse in some tall grass, horse and human laying on ground,, riding the horse, It could even be done with a bunch of girlfriends being cowgirls: all sitting on a fence (horses in background) with cowboy boots. Just a few ideas! I’m willing to try anything. Well, just about anything!

Love all your pictures Gina-you do amazing work.

hey Gina, i love that you’re trying to push you’re boundries and not get into the same ol’ swing of things. great ideas so far. as i’ve told you before, my brother’s a photographer as well. a couple presented him an idea that was past his boundries. they were getting married on oct 31st in a cemetary somewhere. granted the right couple would be needed but although it would be kind of creepy you have to acknowledge the true romanticism of it. starting a life together in the same place they’ll spend thier afterlife together. i dunno. you said you wanted outside of the box. i told him it’d be easy, lots of low lighting and shots from below. anyways, thats the most unique idea i’ve heard in this business of yours, thought i’d pass it along.

My life has become similar to Katherine Heigl’s role in 27 dresses…I have a closet full of expensive bridesmaid dresses, some of which I can wear again and others that are too hideous to even donate to goodwill. I think a fun photo shoot would be to artistically place all the dresses around me, drowning me in a sea of bridesmaid dresses. After that I think it would be so fun to take the ugly dresses and trash them around the twin cities like many brides do in photos with their wedding gowns.

How about a fitness shoot….everything you can do to stay healthy and happy. I would start out with a gym shot, maybe a spin or pilates class (sweat and all). Followed by an outside “workout” hiking, bootcamp class etc. Finishing with dancing…the ultimate workout Now…how to style a workout shoot?!?!

Even though I’m not married or engaged , I do have some experience as a photographer. One of my craziest dreams was to take a picture of my brother and sister in law kiss while hanging couple hundred feet above the ground. Yes , this is crazy and dangerous but what’s hurts more than love? If your husband or your beloved one really loves you that much , why won’t he/she be willing to do something out of the ordinary?
To ensure that you’re going to pick something out of the ordinary. I’m going to give some more suggestions.
How about a calm photo of you two sitting on two separate ends of a desk , ( as if you two are playing Battle Ship ) and smile at each other while holding hands.
If that didn’t work , why not just simply go to the top of a lighthouse and hold hands while looking up at the light , together!
Okay if those two didn’t work … you have some problems deciding… but I have one more suggestion nonetheless. How about you two playing football?

Hi! My grandpa has Alzheimers and is really starting to lose his memory. My grandpa loved, loved, loved Minneapolis. They were here from ’50-76, than they moved. He loved his house in SW Msp, Loved Downtown, Lake Harriet, the Creek, Edina country club, etc. I would love to be able to go to his favorite spots and get the beauty of why he loved those spots, so that he could remember them. This would be the best present I could give to him. He is sooo mad and depressed that he his losing his memory. He was such a smart, well known business man here and its sad to see him going. Thanks! Kerry

I think it would be cute to photograph each part of Jimmy Buffett’s “If you like pina coladas” song. You know… him reading the paper in bed while she slept, then images of drinking pina colada, getting caught in the rain… all the way up to the part where they meet in the bar and reconnect. SUPER cute!!!

My friends and I have always kind of joked about this: you see my boyfriend and i met in the dells. I drove ducks for many summers and he works maintainence. the catch is he works for the other duck/boat company in the dells (betcha didn’t know there were two companies!!?!) so, anyway, there is a point on the tour (dell creek) where both duck companies go through and often “run” into each other. we always thought it would be fun to have him on one duck and me on another and do a photo shoot. then take it a step further and go the upper dells and have him on one jet-boat and me on another and do another round of photos… just an idea.

And cowboy boots and hats of course.

i would love to see you capture the joy and love of our family. old fashion cars have brought us all together. it was an old car that dan picked me up in for our first date (high school prom), an old car that our dads bonded over, an old car that drove us away from the church after our wedding ceremony, old cars that brought our daughters out on their first adventures (auriana loves to go to car shows and say “car show…HAPPY”, old cars that continue to bring us all together a few times every summer…i would love to see you capture the love, family memories, and joy that hot rods have brought (and continue to bring) to all of us. it would be amazing to do a photo shoot with all the old vehicles at dan’s parents house, capture the girls enjoying a car show, overall to capture the joy that this hobby brings to us!

I completely forgot to mention my parents’ house is by the MIssissippi… it’s misty there in the morning, so it might be cool to do the camping scene at the end of the day, you would stay over night (inside of course, ha:)), and then we’d start the cello session in the AM, and hope for foggy river scene… or, at least “cozy in blankets, cause we were just camping” with our coffee on the dock, scene, and then get ready for the cello session… or, maybe we did that the previous night.

Gina,
I am so bummed I missed this opportunity! I would have loved to enter this contest… I guess my idea would be about our little lady, Autumn Jubilee, exploring Autumn! Fall up the northshore (Duluth and beyond) is absolutely stunning. Our Autumn is 9 months now and loves touching grass and pinecones and listening to rushing rivers and waterfalls. My idea would be to take some amazing shots of Autumn and/or our new little family during Autumn in northern MN…

Probably too late, but still something to think about!

Jill

My fiance and I live in small town Missouri and practically live in the outdoors! He works at a sawmill and I have worked at a flooring mill, we hunt, fish, help raise cattle on my grandpa’s farm, hike, go canoeing, and pretty much anything that gets us outdoors! Most of our time in November is spent in a tree stand, and in the summer is holding a fishing pole. We love rifles, 4-wheelers, tractors, big trucks, old trucks… Country life to the fullest! One of my greatest loves (besides my family of course) would be cowgirl boots! I plan on wearing a new pair with my dress in some wedding pictures! Our wedding in May 2012 will be on my grandpas farm. We are looking for a creative way to combine our love for each other with our love for the outdoors. It is beautiful out here and there are many excellent places for photography but we are on a limited budget and that usually means limited quality when it comes to photographers. We want something truly memorable, something worth showing off to the world, something the world wants to see.
One of our favorite spots around the local area is a place called “Flat Rock Tower” which is a tall lookout tower that give a view higher than the trees.
My fiance is also really into mixed martial arts and cage fighting. He just reccently fought in his first cage fight.
I’m really wanting something special to share with my fiance and friends and family that will last a lifetime. Something other than the same old poses and the same old fake-looking smiles… I want something that catches our relationship at it’s best, most natural, and happiest state.
The area is full of beautiful places just asking for attention from a camera and from a young, newly engaged couple! Help us help you!!!!