documentary style wedding photography

Yes, It Is Possible To Get Married During The Pandemic In Minneapolis And St. Paul Minnesota by Bradley Hanson

In March of 2020, I was about to photograph a wedding in Negril, Jamaica. At that time, the Covid-19 pandemic was clearly snowballing to the point that flights began to be restricted. Those clients eloped in their living room in Vermont, while the rest of my clients began looking for alternative dates for 2021. Almost all of the 2020 weddings either canceled or rescheduled their weddings for mid 2021 and it was clear that 2020 would be not only a year we’d never forget, but a rocky road for restaurants, small businesses and the self-employed like artists and craftsmen.

I just received this review on Google:

“Planning a wedding during a pandemic is definitely difficult. Having vendors who do their best to make your life easier, like Bradley did, becomes top priority. From start to finish, I cannot express how much we appreciated Bradley and his quick wit and talents. During our engagement photoshoot it became evident that he was willing to go the extra mile to make sure the photos reflected our personalities and our relationship as a whole, venturing to a nearby park so we could include our passion of canoeing. He was such a sport about any of our crazy ideas. I never had to worry about communication or updates from Bradley, he was very proactive. Knowing how busy our wedding day would be, he knew to ask ahead of time what photos were a priority to us. His eye for a great shot was the icing on the cake!

On top of his obvious skill behind a camera came what I would argue is even more important than that: his ability to make everyone feel comfortable in front of the camera. Not everyone enjoys getting their picture taken, but you would never guess that from the interactions our small guest list had with him. Everyone enjoyed having Bradley around, he was a fantastic addition to our small family gathering. We are so appreciative of Bradley and his capturing our day so perfectly. With a quick photo turnaround we were able to relive the day sooner than we had even anticipated! I could not recommend Bradley highly enough. You cannot go wrong with this very talented photographer!” - Elizabeth and Thad

The current rules for weddings in Minnesota, as of this writing, are much less restrictive than they were even a month ago. During the current Polar Vortex, no one is getting married outside here, so we will ignore those rules, but for indoor weddings that are serving food and drinks, the only limitation is that masks and social distancing are required, and the number of guests is limited to 50% capacity.

If you want to follow me on Instagram, I have two accounts: @bradleyhanson is my personal one, all square images from my iPhone since 2008. @bradleyhansonphotography is my professional portfolio, a mix of weddings, family and portraits, as well as black and white and color landscape images. If you are still reading this far, you’ve already figured out how to find my website…

I am a Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading. To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right above this paragraph).

Holiday Trip To Amsterdam, Rome and Naples by Bradley Hanson

Happy New Year!

Our son, Oliver is 6 and is obsessed with natural disasters like earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis and volcanoes. Of particular interest to him was the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius on the city of Pompeii in year 79. We love travel and decided to spend the holiday season traveling to Italy, focusing on Rome but spending a day in Amsterdam on the way. People seem to like to go to warmer spots in the winter, but Italy has been on our list for a while and we found a Black Friday deal we couldn’t pass. My wife also found tickets for a day tour of Pompeii with some time in nearby Naples.

Once we purchased tickets for the trip, we excitedly prepared by getting a couple travel books about Rome (Rick Steves book is the best), as well as watching Rick Steves 3 Rome episodes on PBS and watching as many documentaries about Rome and Pompeii as we could. We even watched Gladiator.

We arrived in Rome on Christmas day, which was, as expected, unusually quiet for the city. After a great dinner in our neighborhood with homemade pasta carbonara, a heavenly Italian red wine, a Neopolitan pizza and a perfect tiramisu, we found a huge neighborhood playground and Oliver immediately starting making friends. You can see a frame from this moment at the very last image below.

The weather was lovely and mild. The highs were in the upper 50s, but somehow with the sun and the euphoria that accompanies exotic new locations, it felt more like 70. The timing was perfect as we had been watching the weather in the weeks leading up to the trip and arrived just after a week of straight rain.

It was immediately apparent was that the light in Rome was unusually lovely. Like Los Angeles, but even softer. There is an amber haze that seems to flatter everything and mysteriously, there was no harsh noon light. It always looked like the sun was low in the sky like morning sunrise or evening sunset. We saw the sun every day and this pattern of beautiful light remained throughout the trip.

The next day we spent at the Colosseum, also walking around nearby neighborhoods. We had the best gelato we’ve ever had (tip: avoid the bright artificial colors and make sure it’s not whipped with air as it often is in the US) and some of the best espresso, pasta, pizza and wine in Rome and Naples.

Oliver is also a Lego addict and a great builder, so it was a happy find to see “I Love Lego” exhibit at Palazzo Bonaparte, one of the many art museums in Rome.

We tried one of the “hop on/hop off” bus tours, which was a painless way to get around the city and get one’s bearings, but we still walked an average of 8-9 miles a day. We checked out the Pantheon, the Vatican, the ruins of the Roman Forum, and countless other sites. While all major European cities are old and have a rich history, Rome is unique in the sheer scale and volume of it’s 2000+ year old sites, a remaining byproduct of a former empire that covered Europe and part of Asia and northern Africa.

The bus tour to Pompeii is 3 hours each way, with stops in the middle to stretch and get a snack and a local espresso. The tour guide on the bus, Valentina, was truly amazing and the other guide once we got to Pompeii, Giuseppe, was hilarious. Oliver was gathering “treasures” during the tour, finding old stones, actual pieces of ancient terra-cotta pottery and some of the 2000 year old volcanic ash from the Vesuvius eruption. Oliver showed his finds to the tour guide, who referred, sweetly, to Oliver as “the bambino” and confirmed that he did actually find a piece of terra cotta pottery. The tour guide comedically and strategically made the Pompeiian brothels kid-friendly an even told a few funny jokes for people paying attention. He would often punctuate his sentences with “Okey dokey artichokey.”

On the way back to Rome, we stopped in Naples for an hour or so. Naples is definitely a much denser city and requires greater fortitude and strong elbows to brave the heavier crowds. From the edge of town, Mt. Vesuvius is visible (you’ll see a color photo of this below).

I highly recommend both Rome and Amsterdam. Naples was good (and I do recommend Pompeii tour), but I’ve heard Florence or Venice might be a better pairing with Rome. PS. Wear comfortable shoes that are already broken in. It was a wonderful trip. I would have loved to spend more time in Amsterdam, but we were grateful for every minute.

In the spirit of traveling light, I brought one camera with one lens.

If you want to follow me on Instagram, I have two accounts: @bradleyhanson is my personal one, all square images from my iPhone since 2008. @bradleyhansonphotography is my professional portfolio, a mix of weddings, family and portraits, as well as black and white and color landscape images. If you are still reading this far, you’ve already figured out how to find my website…

Click the first image (or any) to view it at full size, which will also allow you to scroll through the entire gallery with the full frame, un-cropped images.

I am a Minneapolis, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading. To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right above this paragraph).

Holly And Kyle's Northern Minnesota Lake Wedding At Maddens Resort On Gull Lake In Brainerd, MN by Bradley Hanson

Holly grew up in California and Kyle came from Alexandria, MN. Kyle and Holly spent the first three years of their relationship traveling long distances to see each other. When they first started dating, Kyle lived in Finland and Holly lived in Denver. Within a year, Holly had moved to San Francisco and Kyle to Salt Lake City. Eventually, Kyle ended up moving to Sacramento for work. Holly jumped at the chance to live with him, but that meant a 7+ hour per day commute for her, in order to chase her man and her career. As a result, they learned to cherish each moment together like it might be their last and to make adventures and excursions a constant theme in the life they very deliberately built together.

It was easily one of the strongest bonds I've ever witnessed and a wonderful day all around.

The entire wedding took place at Madden’s Resort on beautiful Gull Lake on one of the ideal summer days on a hot and humid day that cooled down nicely in the evening for a perfect sunset on the lake.

If you want to follow me on Instagram, I have two accounts: @bradleyhanson is my personal one, all square images from my iPhone since 2008. @bradleyhansonphotography is my professional portfolio, a mix of weddings, family and portraits, as well as black and white and color landscape images. If you are still reading this far, you’ve already figured out how to find my website…

I am a Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota based wedding photographer, specializing in documentary style weddings and Indian/Hindu weddings all over the world. To see more of my wedding work, click the wedding galleries under the portfolio heading. To inquire about my rates and availability, call me at 206-393-8292, email me at bradley@bradleyhanson.com or fill out the contact form (click the “contact” link on the top right above this paragraph). If you are planning a wedding at Maddens Resort, I’d love to photograph your wedding as it is a perfect venue and the quintessential Minnesota lake resort.

Brittany And Ted's Backyard Wedding On The Mississippi River In Northeast Minneapolis by Bradley Hanson

Brittany and Ted got married at film director Phil Harder’s Minneapolis Air BNB on the Mississippi River in Northeast Minneapolis, next door to The Sample Room. They did everything themselves and the rustic setting was augmented by golden sunset off the Mississippi River.

To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail.

Shruti And Erik’s Majestic Washington DC Wedding At The Andrew Mellon Auditorium by Bradley Hanson

I’ve had a series of Indian/Hindu weddings this spring, so I wanted to get a few of them posted.

The day after the Mehndi at the bride’s parents house, Shruti and Erik got married at the majestic Andrew W Mellon Auditorium in Washington DC. As is typical of Indian and Hindu weddings, it was a 3-day event. It rained the entire time except for an hour before the ceremony. It did convert to a little mist during the Baraat, but resumed again during the ceremony. Unfortunately, the bride was feeling a bit under the weather, occasionally sneaking hits of some cough syrup during the day. You’d never know from her energy level, though…

I’ve photographed over 25 Indian weddings and this was probably my favorite Baraat (the processional with the groom on a white horse) of all of them. It began in the beautiful but wet alley of the historic Mellon Auditorium. The old stone building amplified the sound of the music, the drummers and the family and friends clapping in time. Erik, on horseback, really got into it and his gigantic smile was reflected by those around him. One never knows what is coming during the Baraat, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a very stylish couple on coordinated bicycles, watching the whole thing in the alley.

To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail. I have extensive experience with Indian weddings in Minneapolis, Seattle and even in India.

Downtown Minneapolis Snowy Wedding In The Historic Lumber Exchange Building by Bradley Hanson

Illyas walks out on the roof of the Lumber Exchange Building as the snowstorm begins on March 9, 2019.

I’ve been photographing weddings for 20 years now. I’ve personally been to 600 of them. Yeah, I know. It’s gone by quickly since April 1999. Anyway, 13 years of that was in Seattle, the last 7 here in Minneapolis. As someone who grew up in Minneapolis, the feeling is often that there is snow on the ground 6 months of the year. It can start as early as October and it can happen as late is May. We don’t get the kind of heavy snow we used to get all winter when I was a kid, but we are getting wild extremes. This year, we had a bone dry December, then February was 40 inches of snow rather than the average of 7.

Snow gets old when you grow up with it, but it still has a magical quality to me, particularly the first snow of the year. There is a quiet and peacefulness that happens both from the visual minimalism and the sound deadening of the snow itself. It literally absorbs sound and the combination enhances the beauty.

When Anna and Illyas hired me to photograph portraits for them, it was a relatively humid day. They had just gotten a sweet little dog named Louie who didn’t want to be away from them during our time together.

Fast forward to a week ago. The wedding day, March 9th, came quickly and meteorologists forecasted a late winter storm of 8-10” in the Twin Cities. I was excited because I could finally take photographs of a bride and groom in the snow. Well, the serious part of the storm ended up hitting the part of the state south of Minneapolis and while we ended up with more like 5 inches of snow, it was beautiful: large, heavy and dense snow that fell slowly and accumulated quickly.

In a brief moment after the wedding ceremony, Anna, Illyas and I went to the roof of the historic Lumber Exchange Building to take a few photographs it was the opportunity I’ve been waiting for. I rarely use flash, but with snow it highlights every flake on its way to the ground.

I’ll be adding images to this blog post in a few weeks.

To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail.

FOR THE 5TH YEAR IN A ROW, I WAS A WINNER OF THE WEDDING WIRE COUPLES' CHOICE AWARD FOR 2019 by Bradley Hanson

This award is based on reviews from real clients from the 2018 weddings.

minneapolis wedding photographer wedding wire 2019 award

You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn through the links on the upper right.

To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail. My speciality is shooting family portraits in an unposed, natural style and wedding photojournalism. I photograph weddings as they happen rather than direct the action, which is often referred to as documentary style wedding photography. I’ve photographed weddings in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Seattle and many countries around the world.

To listen to the bi-weekly photography podcast I do with UK photographer Ian Weldon, visit https://www.outerfocuspodcast.com or search for Outerfocus on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

WPJA Wedding Photography Contest Winning Images by Bradley Hanson

As this will likely be my last blog post of 2018, I should end the year on a high note. These were three winning images in the WPJA (Wedding Photojournalist Association) wedding contest. It is open to photographers from all over the world, not just wedding photographers from Minneapolis.

There is some continuity between thematic elements in the photographs in that two of the three are backlit and all three contain scenes that were photographed entirely as found, rather than directing the action, which is my preferred method of working. The color scene was the bride and groom’s first dance, in the unusual twist of being outside at one of my favorite wedding venues near Minneapolis, the Camrose Hill Flower Farm in Stillwater, MN.

You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn through the links on the upper right.

To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail. My speciality is shooting family portraits in an unposed, natural style and wedding photojournalism. I photograph weddings as they happen rather than direct the action, which is often referred to as documentary style wedding photography. I’ve photographed weddings in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Seattle and many countries around the world.

To listen to the bi-weekly photography podcast I do with UK photographer Ian Weldon, visit https://www.outerfocuspodcast.com or search for Outerfocus on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.

My interview with "So You Want To Be A Photographer" photography podcast by Gina Milicia of Australia by Bradley Hanson

So You Want To Be A Photographer podcast with host Gina Milicia:

“There are wedding photographers – and then there is Bradley Hanson. 

In this episode, we chat with Bradley, who reveals the approach behind his image and the art of photography. He shares his thoughts on starting out and how he felt shooting his very first wedding, essential gear, setting expectations with clients, pleasing the client and pleasing yourself, muscle memory and shooting intuitively, and developing a unique style. This show is all about inspiring and learning from the best in the world – and with 19 years experience and 600 weddings Bradley has lots of great stuff to say in this interview.

I first discovered Bradley Hanson when I stumbled across the excellent photography podcast he co-hosts with UK photographer Ian Weldon called Outerfocus.

I love the way Bradley sees his images and talks about the art of photography. I find myself reading his blogs and wishing I had thought of that!

This show is all about inspiring and learning from the best in the world and with 19 years experience and 600 weddings Bradley has lots of great stuff to say in this interview.”

He shares his thoughts on:

  • Starting out and how he felt shooting his very first wedding

  • Gear

  • Setting expectations with clients

  • Pleasing the client and pleasing yourself

  • Muscle memory and shooting intuitively

  • Developing a unique style

In this podcast, we discuss my Minneapolis, MN based photography business, my photographic history and beginning with film and darkroom experience, how I work and how I developed my documentary, fly on the wall style, and my thoughts on the industry. We talk about wedding photojournalism, mirrorless cameras, my favorite lenses and focal lengths and the importance of setting expectations with clients.

“I learned early on that showcasing a portfolio of images that speak to me will attract the kind of clients who share the same visual aesthetic.”

Link to the podcast and show notes: https://ginamilicia.com/2018/08/ep-212/

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You can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, VSCO, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn through the links on the upper right.

To see more Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN portraits, wedding photography and weddings all over the world, visit my main portfolio on bradleyhanson.com or email me at info@bradleyhanson.com or call me at 206-393-8292 and we can discuss your wedding plans in detail. My speciality is shooting family portraits in an unposed, natural style and wedding photojournalism. I photograph weddings as they happen rather than direct the action, which is often referred to as documentary style wedding photography. I’ve photographed weddings in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Seattle and many countries around the world.

To listen to the bi-weekly photography podcast I do with UK photographer Ian Weldon, visit https://www.outerfocuspodcast.com or search for Outerfocus on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.