I love my large albums. They give me so much design flexibility while still having an impressive formal look to them. Here are the pages I designed for a couple of weddings I did last year.

I have never been a fan of the “pick photo A and insert into slot C” wedding albums. I like to be able to use my artistic talent to show the story of the wedding day in a more modern, magazine layout style. Yet, I still have a love for the old, large, leather albums and the feel that they give photos. So, I found a compromise.

I use large, leather albums that I fill with 10×15 layouts (printed at my lab as 10×15 photos). I design the layouts in a more modern style and get to have fun with the layout, while the album cover and insert pages offer the classic “wow, what an album” feel that I want my albums to have.

I am also offering press-printed coffee table albums for those who want a true modern feel. They are also a little more cost effective for a couple on a budget.

Here are some highlights of the pages I designed for a couple. The pictures are from one of my first weddings, and my style has changed and improved since, but the layouts are the style that I offer. There is also a slideshow of the entire album (the pages are not in the finished order).

I love doing photography that presents some type of unique challenge and offers spots to take risks.

When I do photography for a wedding I don’t really have a chance to take many risky shots, as I have to make sure I am getting the couple a set number of perfect photos, and there is only one chance to photograph a wedding. Portrait photography and some events offer me more of a chance to take some risks.

A relative asked for senior photos, and she wanted something that would standout. I knew exactly what I wanted to do: night shots in Minneapolis. I have done some of these in the past a band and loved the unique look they had.

We did the shots from about 8:15 pm to about 9:30, working well into and past dust. I used my two Canon 580EX flashes to provide the main lighting and exposure for Maddie (the senior getting photos), and set the camera to expose for the background. I love this setup because it offers nice off-camera, dimensional lighting with simple yet powerful controls.

I started with this shot to give her something with a different look, but yet not something as extreme as the night shots.

I love this shot. It was one of my favorites of the shoot. Maddie is sitting on the edge of the Endless Bridge at the Guthrie Theater, about 60 feet above the ground. The lights of downtown the bridge in the background really make this shot for me, however, they are not so overpowering that you forget about Maddie in the photo.

In this shot Maddie is sitting in one of the windows of the Guthrie. You can see the Gold Medal Flour sign reflected in the metal work by her feet.

Here is the slideshow from the shot.