MORE THAN A MINNEAPOLIS PHOTOGRAPHER
AT THE END OF THE DAY, THIS ISN'T ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY AT ALL
(Bet you didn’t think I’d say that.)
If this was a resume, I’d tell you that I’ve been a self-taught Minneapolis photographer for sixteen years, that my team and I have captured well over 150 weddings in our day, or that I serve somewhere around 100 families a year.
Sure, I’ve spent nearly two decades studying angles and flash and composition and all of the things that make a good photo great. But as someone far more interested in capturing photographs that cause an instant well of tears to spring in your eyes, or that make you burst out in childlike laughter without quite knowing why, I’ve learned that photography is so much more about the art of living.
There’s art in how your dad’s calloused hand feels when he wipes the escaped tears from your cheeks during your first look. There’s art in how grandma’s worn and weathered hand feels when she clasps yours in hers, after seeing you come back down the aisle, now a wife. There's art in his knowing squeeze of your hand, as you internally battle the hard parts of all of your family being in one place, or none of them being there at all. And there’s art in how those chubby toddler hands feel when they grasp your cheeks a little too tightly.
THERE'S ART
IN ALL OF IT,
& IT DESERVES TO BE DOCUMENTED, REMEMBERED, AND KEPT SAFE THROUGH PHOTOS THAT SAY,
"I LIVED, AND I LIVED WITH EVERYTHING I HAD IN ME."
MAKE ART TOGETHER
just in case you missed the memo
hi there, i'm mads!
I’m an anxious Enneagram 6 married to a fun-loving Ennegream 7 named Brett. Together, we have a little boy named Banks, named for the banks of the St. Croix River where much of our story as a couple took place. I have zero control when it comes to dark chocolate and Harry Potter, and I love to take a quiet moment to myself in the sauna with a good book.
I’m an anxious Enneagram 6 married to a fun-loving Ennegream 7 named Brett. Together, we have a little boy named Banks, named for the banks of the St. Croix River where much of our story as a couple took place. I have zero control when it comes to dark chocolate and Harry Potter, and I love to take a quiet moment to myself in the sauna with a good book.
If my relationships with my “past” clients (also still my clients to this day) are any indication, you’ll have the next ten years to learn more about me and my hidden talent of creating intense relay races for every life occasion, but for the sake of time, I think it’s important that you know this:
If my relationships with my “past” clients (also still my clients, to this day) are any indication, you’ll have the next ten years to learn more about me and my hidden talent of creating intense relay races for every life occasion, but for the sake of time, I think it’s important that you know this:
I THINK WE’RE ALL A LITTLE BIT BROKEN, AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES ALL OF OUR STORIES SO WORTH TELLING.
// i'll be the banks
to your river
TRUST THAT YOU WILL BE SEEN
(AND THAT I WILL SHOW YOU HOW TO BE SEEN)
Working with me is a guarantee that you will be witnessed for absolutely everything that you are, whether that be a slightly disheveled dad of five, a bride worried that the magic of her day will get lost in the details, or a brand new mama who feels a bit like she has lost her sense of self.
Through my signature approach as a photographer who thrives on gentle direction, I will create an environment where you are safe to bring all of your mess and mayhem, and where we will create art of it, together.
MINNEAPOLIS PHOTOGRAPHER
A BIT MORE ABOUT
THE MADNESS BEHIND THE MADS
// NO. 1
// NO. 2
// NO. 3
// NO. 4
I bring a cribbage board everywhere I go. You never know when you’ll need to kick your husband’s butt in cribbage, you know?
While my drink of choice is an old-fashioned or whiskey on the rocks, I will never say no to a gin and tonic with extra limes.
I don’t cook, at all. If my gourmet chef husband didn’t cook for me, I would live on bread and butter.
I’ve seen One Tree Hill and Parenthood at least five times each, and I plan on watching both of them at least five times more. There’s nothing like a good comfort show.
I bring a cribbage board everywhere I go. You never know when you’ll need to kick your husband’s butt in cribbage, you know?
While my drink of choice is an old-fashioned or whiskey on the rocks, I will never say no to a gin and tonic with extra limes.
I don’t cook, at all. If my gourmet chef husband didn’t cook for me, I would live on bread and butter.
I’ve seen One Tree Hill and Parenthood at least five times each, and I plan on watching both of them at least five times more. There’s nothing like a good comfort show.
// NO. 1
// NO. 2
// NO. 3
// NO. 4
I bring a cribbage board everywhere I go. You never know when you’ll need to kick your husband’s butt in cribbage, you know?
While my drink of choice is an old-fashioned or whiskey on the rocks, I will never say no to a gin and tonic with extra limes.
I don’t cook, at all. If my gourmet chef husband didn’t cook for me, I would live on bread and butter.
I’ve seen One Tree Hill and Parenthood at least five times each, and I plan on watching both of them at least five times more. There’s nothing like a good comfort show.
// NO. 1
// NO. 2
// NO. 3
// NO. 4
I bring a cribbage board everywhere I go. You never know when you’ll need to kick your husband’s butt in cribbage, you know?
While my drink of choice is an old-fashioned or whiskey on the rocks, I will never say no to a gin and tonic with extra limes.
I don’t cook, at all. If my gourmet chef husband didn’t cook for me, I would live on bread and butter.
I’ve seen One Tree Hill and Parenthood at least five times each, and I plan on watching both of them at least five times more. There’s nothing like a good comfort show.
// NO. 1
// NO. 2
// NO. 3
// NO. 4
KIND WORDS FROM
STORIED
FOLK
karissa | mama of two +
repeat kinfolk veteran
“Every year for my birthday, I ask my husband for the same thing: pictures with Mads Lizotte!
Time and time again, I am amazed at her ability to capture our family in such a beautiful and genuine way. Even when we’ve given her less than ideal situations (Screaming toddlers? Check. Asking for a newborn session in a half move-in house? Check.). she somehow delivers photos that look and feel like the best version of us. Her talent and kindness are unmatched. I have never regretted the investment and will continue to come back to her for family pictures again and again.”
BROOKE + SHAWN | BRIDE + GROOM
“You’re a rare gem! We love working with you for how you make people feel... and the way you become a friend during the process. Being comfortable during a session can be hard, but you guide people to be authentic. It’s always the best investment when you’re behind the camera!”
KIND WORDS FROM
STORIED
FOLK
ALEX | WIFE + MAMA OF TWO
“Well, it’s no surprise that you’ve done it AGAIN. Thank you for capturing this crazy stage so beautifully. Your are so dang talented and somehow take wind and heat and crabby children and make it look gorgeous. We just love you so dang much!”
karissa | mama of two + kinfolk veteran
“Every year for my birthday, I ask my husband for the same thing: pictures with Mads Lizotte! Time and time again, I am amazed at her ability to capture our family in such a beautiful and genuine way. Even when we’ve given her less than ideal situations (Screaming toddlers? Check. Asking for a newborn session in a half moved-in house? Check.), she somehow delivers photos that look and feel like the best version of us. Her talent and kindness are unmatched. I have never regretted the investment and will continue to come back to her for family pictures again and again.”
BROOKE + SHAWN | BRIDE + GROOM
“You’re a rare gem! We love working with you for how you make people feel... and the way you become a friend during the process. Being comfortable during a session can be hard, but you guide people to be authentic. It’s always the best investment when you’re behind the camera!”
WHAT I WANT YOU TO KNOW, DEEP IN YOUR BONES
By working with me as your Minneapolis photographer, you will gain a safe space to be yourself, baggage and bruises and all.
I always welcome the realities of being a human. There is no such thing as TMI where I’m concerned, and your chaotic schedule or scattered pregnancy brain or messy family dynamics all belong here.
While I will revisit every photo I take and do minimal touchups where necessary, I will never manufacture a moment on the computer.
Mark my words, my superpower is bringing even the most camera shy groom, grumpy dad, or quiet kiddo out of their shell.
You will gain a crazy-haired forever friend named Mads in me, and I will never leave your corner.
I WANT TO SEE MAGIC WHERE YOU SEE IT
I want to step into your world and see what makes your life yours: the way no one can understand how much of a relief it is for you to come home from a family hike to a finished crockpot meal, how your fiance has a way of making the world keep spinning on its axis, how you delight in an impromptu walk through Target. I want to know it, so that I can create photographs you can feel from it.
SHOW ME YOUR MAGIC
