THROUGH THE
// THROUGH THE
& back again
We’re all just a mess of skin and bones, heartbreaks and heartbeats, smiles and stretch marks-- all of it worth celebrating. I’m going through the wilderness with you, camera in hand and wholeness of heart in tow, and that’s a promise.
let's skip the small talk
hi there,
i'm mads
I’m a Minnesota photographer known for a lot of things: my curly hair that refuses to be tamed, the fact that I speak fluent sarcasm, and how my whole world revolves around my little family of three... just to name a few.
But above all else, I am known for my capacity to hold space for the whole story-- the depth and the playfulness, the grief and the happiness, the wilderness and the homecoming. I photograph life for humans who see the magic in what happens when no one else is looking, and who know that-- more often than not-- joy and chaos exist side by side.
WHERE
THE MESS
meets
the milestone
the milestone
the both/and of it all
Life isn’t a perfectly set table; it’s the crumbs and candlewax left behind after gathering around the table with the people you hold closest to the chest.
It’s the toddler-sized bootprints tracking mud across the hardwood floor after an impromptu backyard adventure; the way rain-soaked hair clings to your face after losing yourself to a moment and the mercy of the skies; and the chaos of mismatched socks on a frosty morning.
It’s in the laughter that erupts when the cake collapses, and it’s in the quiet exhale that escapes when you collapse into your favorite armchair after a long day of chasing your littles around the living room.
Life is lived in all of this, and more-- and it’s this wild and wonderful unpredictability that I exist to document, for you.
It’s one thing to capture you with your special someone. It’s another thing entirely to press the shutter right when your groom rests his forehead on yours, relief written all over his face that-- of all the humans on this Earth-- he found you. Fast forward to ten years after ‘I do,’ and it’s another thing entirely, even still, to document you two all this time later, hair showing hints of grey but hearts still only beating for each other.
couples / engagements / weddings
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You’re going to want the photo-- both of your body carrying theirs and everything that comes after. No, not the photo of your little ones forced into a pose that their antsy arms and legs can barely hold, but the photo of the absolute mayhem that comes all too naturally for them. The grubby hands that instinctively reach for you, the itty bitty voice that seems to only know the words ‘but why?!,’ the mismatched outfit they proudly declare they’ve picked out all by themselves. It all matters, and it all makes the moments.
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maternity / newborn / families
Your relationship with your body is one of the most important that you have. It’s that very body that moves you through the world, that allows you to see it and experience it for all of its peaks and valleys. But that doesn’t mean your body has always done right by you. Together, we will remind you how to celebrate and embrace it, again.
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boudoir
20 MINUTE mini sessions by minnesota photographer
kinfolk
In a world that moves at breakneck speed, and in a life like yours that is filled with work meetings, carpools and grocery trips, time can be hard to come by.
That's why my signature service, Kinfolk, exists.
To fit in the margins of motherhood. To be a pause in your rapid pace. To check 'get Christmas card photos taken' off your to do list long before December. To make sure your living room walls are filled with all of your mess and even more of your milestone.
During our twenty minutes together, we will capture 75+ images of whatever season of life you are in: head over heels in love, newly engaged, carrying your first child, celebrating your second, or wrangling three of them.
Note: Kinfolk can also be utilized for branding and headshots.
KIND WORDS FROM
STORIED
FOLK
NATALIE | MAMA OF 4
“We’ve had the privilege of having Madeline capture our family and major life events for the past thirteen (!!) years! Every time she picks up a camera, she creates magic. She has a natural ability to work with every type of person, from the grumpy dad to the tantruming toddler to the mom who is just trying to hold it together... She will laugh with you, cry with you, and give you sass, if you need it. One of my most memorable moments of Madeline was when she captured the birth of our first baby-- a long labor turned to emergency c-section, and without hesitation, she put on the scrubs and entered the OR with my husband, giving us the best gift of documenting those first precious moments with our baby girl.”
TAYLOR + RYAN | from bride + groom to parents
“Finding Mads to document our engagement, our wedding, our first Christmas as newlyweds, our daughter as a newborn, six month old, one year old, and now the extended family has truly been a gift. To know Madeline is to know a genuine heart, a creative eye, our biggest cheerleader, a relateable mama, and truly an incredible friend.”
TAYLOR | FROM BRIDE TO MOM OF 3
“Madeline has photographed me for over twelve years. I have seen her from the beginning of her journey as a photographer and how she has perfected her craft. There truly isn’t a picture on my wall that she hasn’t taken. While being incredibly talented, she is kind, sweet, hilarious, and always professional. She can handle crying newborns, rowdy groomsmen, and dads who think they are too funny for family pictures. I have had the honor of her capturing our engagement, wedding, maternity, newborn, family, and Christmas photos. It has been amazing to have her photograph our life, but also watch her capture the people we love and their lives.”
KIND WORDS FROM
STORIED
FOLK
NATALIE | MAMA OF 4
“We’ve had the privilege of having Madeline capture our family and major life events for the past thirteen (!!) years! Every time she picks up a camera, she creates magic. She has a natural ability to work with every type of person, from the grumpy dad to the tantruming toddler to the mom who is just trying to hold it together... She will laugh with you, cry with you, and give you sass, if you need it. One of my most memorable moments of Madeline was when she captured the birth of our first baby-- a long labor turned to emergency c-section, and without hesitation, she put on the scrubs and entered the OR with my husband, giving us the best gift of documenting those first precious moments with our baby girl.”
TAYLOR + RYAN | from bride + groom to parents
“Finding Mads to document our engagement, our wedding, our first Christmas as newlyweds, our daughter as a newborn, six month old, one year old, and now the extended family has truly been a gift. To know Madeline is to know a genuine heart, a creative eye, our biggest cheerleader, a relatable mama, and truly an incredible friend.”
TAYLOR | FROM BRIDE TO MOM OF 3
“Madeline has photographed me for over twelve years. I have seen her from the beginning of her journey as a photographer and how she has perfected her craft. There truly isn’t a picture on my wall that she hasn’t taken. While being incredibly talented, she is kind, sweet, hilarious, and always professional. She can handle crying newborns, rowdy groomsmen, and dads who think they are too funny for family pictures. I have had the honor of her capturing our engagement, wedding, maternity, newborn, family, and Christmas photos. It has been amazing to have her photograph our life, but also watch her capture the people we love and their lives.”
i'm no mindreader, but i can guess what you're thinking
i'm no mindreader, but i can guess
what you're thinking
SO YOU DO IT
ALL THEN, MADS?!"
(If you mean barely survive some days, then yes, I do, in fact, do it all.)
And I suppose I do cover a lot of photography bases as a Minnesota photographer, too-- not for the sake of ‘doing it all,’ though.
You see, I want to be there when the two of you settle on forever together. I want to witness you bring a whole human into the world and then navigate how to keep said tiny person alive, even though you barely know how to keep yourself alive (she says all too knowingly). I want to support you when you’re the poster child for sleep deprivation and trying to remember when the last time you took a shower was. And then I want to hold your baby before our shoot starts so that you can take one-- long and uninterrupted. I want to marvel right along with you when you kept not only the first one alive, but the next four, too.
I ‘do it all’-- through the wilderness and back again-- because I can’t imagine a world where I don’t.
& the milestone
the mess
UPCOMING KINFOLK SESSIONS
JANUARY 18
William O'Brien State Park
St. Croix, MN
JANUARY 20
Kinfolk Studio
St. Paul, MN
BOOK NOW
