In the almost six and a half years of being in business, my clients and family have seen me in the most precarious of positions while capturing photographs. I've crawled on a freshly planted farmer's field, climbed a tree for some wedding ring shots and I have at least a witness or two that watched me climb rickety scaffolding in high heels over a construction job site! 

There is one thing I can say without question, I am abnormally fearless behind a camera. Ever since I can remember, I have been afraid of heights. It has been something that I've struggled with; however, if you put a camera around my neck all of a sudden I have these super abilities and I am able to get close to the edge and not even think twice about it. When behind a camera and lens, I am totally oblivious to what is happening around me, especially behind me. Due to being extremely focused on my subject (s), over the years, I've had some of my clients take a few behind the scene shots of me and I can tell you with all honestly, I was completely unaware. Yes, and maybe for the lack of better judgement, I thought I'd share with all of you. 

I hope these photographs that my clients took bring you joy. I know that while I looked through them, it brought me a flood of my memories. That is the beauty of photographs and why I enjoy my career so much. I believe that the photographs I have captured are actually memories that will last a lifetime and beyond.

May the rest of your January be full of love, laughter and captured memories!

♥️

Betsy 🐝
www.betsybeephotography.com

A great big thank you to Denise Christenson, Leah Busse, Sarah Pickett and Tara Ferkinhoff for these behind the scenes photographs!


Denise Christenson LeahBusse SarahPickett Tara Ferkinhoff

Besides a bag of that sugary heart goodness, happiness for me is also clicking the shutter! So, this year I've decided to offer "Bee Mine" Valentine Mini Sessions! I truly think we all need to spread happiness and love right now and what a fun way to make that happen! I am excited to see all the gushy Valentine's Day cards and social media posts with cutie smiling faces!  I've also heard that Valentine's Day cards are starting to become all the rage again!  I know a few of my friends and clients send Valentine's Day cards instead of Christmas cards. As a mom, I understand this idea so well! It's super hard to pack everything in at the Holidays! 

Before I wrap this all up, I thought I should quickly write a little bit about this year's Valentine setup and the inspiration behind it all. Right before Christmas, I was walking around in TJ Maxx and happened upon these gorgeous heart pillows! I was in heaven. They were all in red and burgundy with touches of gold on a backdrop of cream. I was so excited that I called my studio mate, Renee Clasen of 10 Little Chickens Photography fame, and we both were super elated about the colors and idea! I went home with the pillows and thought about what else I needed to spruce the studio up a bit for these minis and decided to be ...  crafty. I went to work and made some rag heart wreaths and garland to match. But, don't think I forgot about pink! I love pink and welcome all touches of pink in your outfits for these Bee Mine Valentine Mini sessions! I feel this year's colors, textures and fabrics really give these Bee Mine mini sessions a fun, happy and classic look that your family will enjoy for years to come!

Bee Mine Valentine Family and Children's Mini Session spots are now open! Check out my booking page here for prices, more information and available times! 

May your Valentine's Day be full of love, laughter and captured memories!

♥️

Betsy 🐝
www.betsybeephotography.com

The new year brings new possibilities, adventures, happiness and so does that beautiful moment when you find out you are about to have a baby! Whether this is your first baby or your a seasoned Momma waiting for your new arrival, this blog post is for you! 

At my studio, I have this little corner I lovingly call my "Newborn Nook." In this little nook, there is a darling distressed and chalk painted hutch that holds all the coziest blankets, soft colored backdrops, pretty posing pillows and much more. On the wall next to the milky colored hutch is a ladder filled with soft and stretchy wraps in almost every color to swaddle your sweet little baby. On the side of the hutch and also the shelf next to the hutch is adorable baby headbands and tiebacks. Many that you are able to see in the pictures are my own personal creations! I love to make things that are unique and different.

Another item in my Newborn Nook area, is a posing pillow and newborn stand to create dreamy and sweet little portraits of your baby. My newborn stand is also unique, it is something my husband made and designed himself. This sturdy stand has many great features, one of which is that it is able to be turned or moved, without disrupting baby, to be able to capture the best light for your baby's perfect portraits. Natural light is best and typically my studio is full of warm and beautiful light; however, sometimes a bit of help is needed when it is cloudy or dark outside. I do have a nice lighting setup to help during those times.

Because I always strive to be a bit different and aim for more natural and simplistic posing, I do have charming little baby beds with a variety of cute bedspreads, blankets and rugs. Besides the baby beds, I do have an adorable baby papasan chair and I'm currently working with a local crochet artisan to create a dreamy baby couch! Texture is always a good idea to add in portraits and we can use flowers, sprigs of garland, wooly stars, hearts or anything that we dream up! Truly, the possibilities are endless! 

Finally, as I said above, I love to be unique and different. I like to achieve this by planning out ideas and creating setups that are fun, sweet and on the adventurous side. I am always happy to work your ideas into your newborn session. Your thoughts and inspiration are always welcome! In fact, when ideas are shared it is exciting for me! I encourage bringing your own items to enhance your session experience. I appreciate and treasure the opportunity to work together to create the most lovely portraits that you will lovingly cherish for years to come!

To learn more details about my newborn sessions, pricing and availability, please click here or feel free to connect with me by phone at 701.238.5602. I'm happy to receive a call or text from you!

May your new year be full of love, laughter and captured memories!

♥️

Betsy 🐝
www.betsybeephotography.com

Newborn Nook

1. Christmas - Celebrating our Savior's birth, and of course family, presents and food! 

2. Birthday - Our puppy, Cooper, was born on December 26, 2020! We were excited to celebrate this special milestone for our fur baby!

3. Anniversary - My husband and are celebrating #13 on December 29, 2020!

4. New Year - A new year means new possibilities and adventures!

As I have been reflecting on 2020, I have been reminded of all the wonderful blessings that have been given to me. One humungous blessing has been my clients and their willingness to stick with me through this crazy year. I wasn't sure what to expect as we all navigated through 2020, but I knew that I had to keep capturing memories! Because of my huge desire and stick-to-it-iveness, I decided to really take the leap and create both Christmas Family and Children Mini Session setups!  I was a bit intimidated, as it was my first time offering both, but as always my clients didn't disappoint. They certainly brought their "A" games and I was able to capture the true essence and lovely spirit of each family as a unit as well as their fun-loving kiddos. With every giggle and click, I was reminded of why I've worked so hard to keep capturing memories. 

One more final thought, I wanted to be sure to let everyone know that I honestly can't take the credit for the cutie buffalo plaid setup! The idea came from one of my friends and clients, Jessica. She was ready for Christmas way before I was (and honestly most people ♥️)! She brought her kiddos to my studio in early October and I warned her that I hadn't even thought about Christmas! She told me not to worry and that she had some adorable props to bring. During the session she unwrapped the cutest little tree setup and ornaments and you guessed it, they were all in black and white buffalo plaid! To keep it interesting, her kiddos were in the most adorable black and white with red striped plaid pajamas! Jessica had told me her daughter had thought of decorating the tree for their Christmas Children's Mini Session and that is how everything in the studio ended up being black and white buffalo plaid. 

Even though, this year was far from fun and there were a lot of yucky parts, I will always remember 2020 as the year to keep capturing memories. It will also be the year I fell more in love with buffalo plaid!

May your new year be full of love, laughter and captured memories!

♥️

Betsy 🐝
www.betsybeephotography.com

2020 Christmas Mini Sessions