20 Reasons to “Love” Michael and Joannie Anderson

(A humorous look at stuff that should be important to you; but you might not know it yet.)

20. It’s Not Our First Rodeo
We’ve been creating wedding and portrait images together since 1986.
That’s long enough to know what a light meter is and how to use it.
We also know what film is (or was).

19. Extra Baggage
We are active members of:
Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI)
Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP)
Twin Cities Bridal Association (TCBA)
Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce.
We have also invested in many photography courses at Mid-America Institute of Professional Photography (MAIPP) at the University of Northern Iowa.

18. Practice Makes Perfect
Through the years we’ve studied with the Masters of Wedding and Portrait Photography as well as the world’s finest Photoshop® experts. The list includes:
Bruce & Sue Hudson, the late Monte Zucker, Hanson Fong, Mike Colón, Denis Craft, Clay Blackmore, Denis Reggie, the late Don Blair, Angela Carson, Bambi Cantrell, Ed Pierce, Gary Fong, Eddie Tapp and Scott Kelby. And that’s just for starters.
Go ahead, look ‘em up; these guys (and gals) are good!

17. Share The Love
Michael has been requested to speak to fellow photographers about weddings too!

16. Feel The Love
Oh yeah, we’ve won some awards too! Most recently, brides and grooms have voted us:
The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2008
The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2009
The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2011
2009 “Twin Cities Best Wedding & Portrait Studios”
2010 “Minnesota’s Best Wedding & Portrait Studios”

15. All You Need Is Love
Michael and Joannie donate their time and talents, gift certificates and prints to all kinds of great causes including:
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
The Harmon Killebrew Foundation
Ralph Reeder Food Shelf
Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce
As well as to schools, hospitals, churches and many other charitable causes in our community.
Need help for something dear to your heart? We’re just a phone call away.

14. We’re On A “Need To Know Basis”
Michael is expert retouching artist and Photoshop® specialist.
He was a beta tester for the current version of Adobe Photoshop® CS5.

13. Urgent Call For Back-Up!
We always carry back up cameras, flashes and pro-lenses. In fact, we currently all tote all these goodies and more on location with us:
4 Canon® camera bodies
6 flash units
8 unique lenses that range from 15mm fisheye to 320 mm
Of the eight, six are Canon “L” Series - the really good stuff.

12. We Need More Back-Up!
Your portraits will be on at least three hard drives right after your session.
Weddings will be on six hard drives within 24 hours of your wedding.
At least 4 of which are locked up in our huge safe.
You just can’t be too careful.

11. Grandma Says: “If You’re Not Going To Do It Right - Don’t Do It At All.”
We utilize “real” studio lighting with soft boxes for formal and group portraits.
This means flattering lighting for your portraits.
We’re talking about weddings too!
We employ multiple strobes for reception images.
This creates “three-dimensional” lighting!
No “pitch-black” backgrounds at your reception and dance.
Amazing, photographers using light. Who’d a thunk it?

10. Picky, Picky, Picky
It’s all about making you look good. It’s a win-win situation; ‘cuz it makes us look good too!
We retouch and enhance every single image for every single print and every single image in every single Storybook we create.
It isn’t easy and it takes time.
But isn’t that why you hire a professional in the first place?

9. When Only The Best Will Do
Photoshop® is a remarkable program, however “garbage in, means garbage out.”
All of your images are created in Camera RAW format.
We capture in Adobe RGB 98 color space for unsurpassed image quality.
Then, get this; we convert them all to DNG (Digital Negatives) so that:
They’ll NEVER become an outdated file that any computer cannot open.
NO “garbage in!”
NO jpegs!

8. Show The Love
We design our own Wedding and Portrait Storybooks from scratch without using any templates. Why should your Storybook be like someone else’s?

7. The “Wow Factor”
All of this means nothing if the end product is junk. Our incredible Storybooks come from Finao® and La-Vie®.
They’re just the best there is. ‘Nough said.

6. Image Is Everything
Speaking of which, we don’t print ours, we’re photographers not a lab.
We use Burrell Imaging in Crown Point, Indiana. They’re amazing. Period.

5. Got Style?
We typically use a combination of styles for creating your images. We tweak it to your personality along with your requests and locations, and of course the weather plays into it, and finally, we sprinkle it with our creative vision.
At weddings, we like to use a mix of traditional, classically posed images, along with contemporary; photojournalist; indoors & outdoors; candid; funky lenses; grunge or anything else we can come up with along the way!
As long as it’s legal, and we’ve got the time, we’ll give it a whirl.

4. Experience “The Experience”.
We’re a husband and wife “team.” Each of us creates images using our own unique vision and style.
We really truly believe that your wedding day should be an experience you’ll never forget.
We know at the end of the day the two of us will have exceeded your expectations.
We won’t have it any other way. Oh, by the way, we’re fun to be with too!

3. Handle With Care.
Your images and your wedding day are as important to us as they are to you!

2. Love, Love, Love.
I really love being with my best friend at your wedding! Awards and all that stuff are great, but we just love photographing weddings together!

1. Family Is Everything.
To us, it’s all about family. Our daughters, Jenny and Michelle are two of the brightest, and sweetest people you’ll ever meet. (And they’re really pretty too!)
Both of them have chosen careers that help people! Talk about love.
Jenny is a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse.
Michelle is a licensed Elementary School Teacher.

We’re extremely proud of their accomplishments and have enjoyed sharing our lives together with them. We love you girls!