Lauren and Cody love the outdoors so we chose Viestenz Smith Mountain Park for their engagement photos. The Big Thompson River was flowing fast and made a great backdrop for photos. We also made a stop at the Loveland Feed and Grain in the warm late afternoon light. I love it's rustic flavor. I'm looking forward to their wedding at their grandparents home in Evergreen in August.

We photographed Elizabeth and Ryan's Wedding at The Chateau at Fox Meadows in Broomfield. What a great venue and exquisite weather to boot! Elizabeth had every detail carefully planned and everything came off without a hitch. They left ample time to capture all the emotion and romance that added to their splendid event. Elizabeth and Ryan are fellow Purdue alumni and came out from Indianapolis for their wedding near the Colorado Mountains. Their catering was done by Hearts Desire Catering and A Music Plus was the DJ. The cake was done by Nancy Best Cake Design and the flowers were by Statice Floral. Congratulations Elizabeth and Ryan.

Megan and I shot Beck & Aaron's wedding on 5/22 and really enjoyed being with them on their special day. The ceremony was a 1st Presbyterian Church in Cheyenne and the reception was at the garden room in Loveland.  The planning was impeccable and they were such accommodating hosts. They left plenty of time for us to get some amazing shots. Their catering was done by All Occasions Catering from Fort Collins and the flowers were by Underwood Flowers. Their DJ was DJ Johnny Cruz and their limo came from Summit Limousine. Becky & Aaron will be coming to the studio tonight to debut their wedding photos with their family and friends. Here are some photos to get them in the mood for the big show tonight.

We brought Dylan to an out of the way spot along the Spring Creek in Fort Collins for his senior photos. We talked and joked with Dylan and his dad and made it a great experience. Considering he answered our pre-session questionnaire that he'd "rather eat dirt" than have his photograph taken, I think we surprised him with how fun we could make our session and we have some great photos to prove it.

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Highschool Senior

Jeffrey wanted his senior photos taken at one of his favorite places, Ferrari - Maserati - Bentley - Lotus of Denver. Mark Dismuke was extremely accommodating and made Jeffrey's visit one to remember. Jeffrey chose his favorite automobiles for his photos and we spent several hours exploring and admiring the amazing machines. Although the Maseratis and Ferraris were exciting, Jeffrey's favorite was actually one of the Bentleys. Pure elegance.  Now its off to college to start working on a downpayment on one of his own.

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Sandie had picked out some fun "urban" downtown Fort Collins locations for her senior portrait session. We found a mix of graffiti, back alley painted walls and old porches all within the same block.  Sandie was a pleasure to photograph with a variety of expressions as the session progressed and a nice mix of clothing styles. She got plenty of her favorite looks in her photos and plenty for mom to frame as well. We took care of getting her photo directly to the yearbook well before the deadline. We liked one of her photos so well it ended up on our 2011 senior advertising. Thanks for a great session Sandie.

Siri and Al had a small wedding and I was honored to take their first photos as man and wife! Here is a sampling!

We photographed Meg's senior portraits at the Colorado State University Annual Flower Trial Gardens near the CSU Center for the Arts and the old Fort Collins High School. She seemed really at ease in the beautiful gardens surrounded by her favorite colors.

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Jenna chose Viestenz Smith Mountain Park and the CSU Annual Flower Trial Garden for her senior photos. The weather was just right for playing in the Big Thompson River and exploring the huge rocks on its banks.  The CSU flower garden was in full bloom so we had lots of color options to complement her styles. We kept on photographing until the sun was long past setting and savored the last rays of deep orange light.

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We had a great time taking Ashley to our favorite sites all around Northern Colorado for her senior portraits. Ashley especially wanted a mountain backdrop for her portraits so she and her parents came all the way from Omaha for us to photograph her. Ashley's portrait session spanned 2 days and we visited locations such as the Loveland Feed and Grain building, Viestenz-Smith Park, CSU Experimental Gardens and Horsetooth reservoir.

Here is her video:

We had beautiful weather in Littleton for Nicole and Billy's wedding. Their ceremony was at Light of the World Catholic Church and the reception overlooking the foothills at Terrace Gardens.  The flowers from Palmer Flowers in Fort Collins were beautiful as was the cake from Cakes Amore. Before the reception we slipped away for a few minutes to South Valley Park for some romantic photos. The rocks, lake and tall grasses made for some amazing photos of this highly photogenic couple.

Today we had the pleasure of photographing Cody, a Fort Collins High School senior. Cody chose some of our favorite locations for his session, old town Fort Collins and in the rocks overlooking Horsetooth Reservoir. Cody has a very natural smile and warmed up to the camera very quickly. With Sharon handling our remote lighting we photographed well past sunset for some truly unforgettable images. Thanks to Cody and Tina for permitting us to capture such unique memories.

Here is the video of just a few of the photos:

I was invited by the Chicago Coalition for the homeless to photograph their fundraising event Decks and the City which was a night of Art, Fashion, Dance & Chance. There were local artist painting on premisis, local DJ, a great fashion show and lots of fun gambling for prizes! It was such an honor ot be a part of such a wonderful event and I hope to continue to work with them in the future, they support a population who often gets lost and forgotten. If you want to know more about what they do check out their website http://www.chicagohomeless.org/ here is a collage of the images from the night.

Sandberg Photography is made up of myself (Megan Hazel) and my father (Ken Sandberg). We formed this company when we were both living in Colorado. Due to my husbands work I have had to relocate to Chicago, IL. This is a great step forward in our business as we wanted to expand and now Sandberg Photography is in two states. We photograph weddings, high school seniors, and other portraits in both places. The quality of our services and products will stay the same. We look forward to building up this new business! Go Cubs!

Sometimes the personal touches make the best parts of a wedding! Lindsey and DJ felt it was important to include their extra family members in their wedding day festivities therefore their two beautiful dogs were the ring bearers. As they were finishing up their vows in the gazebo at the Tapestry House their friend, carefully holding the 2 dogs, loses his grip of their youngest Dog who jumps at the chance to join the fun running into the gazebo. DJ later said he wouldn't want it any other way. Every wedding is different and has it's own unexpected events which make it an even more perfect day! Congratulations Lindsey and DJ on a day of fun and unexpected events. 

We always like to spend some time together with the bride and groom before before the wedding which is why we enjoy the engagement sessions so much. Nicole and Billy are getting married this August and we got to spend a relaxing afternoon walking around the CSU Campus and around downtown. They were great subjects and as the afternoon went on they were able to relax and just have fun.

Gina and Scott love the outdoors and they love to be different! Their wedding was well planned, they actually were getting married in Colorado and then having a second reception in Tacoma, WA the next Week. The wedding was held at Saint Vincent DePaul Parish and then reception was held nearby at the Denver Botanic Gardens. The goal of the day was to bike with all their friends and family to the reception, yes bride in wedding dress and all. Well they were really flexible as just before the guests began to arrive the rain poured, the hail came and the thunder boomed. While it was unique, just as the bride and groom were announced the thunder welcomed the new couple, the bike ride and stop to slide down the inflatable slide at the local fair was cancelled. The couple still played out in the rain enjoying the unexpected change! It was such a fun and special day, Gina and Scott thanks for inviting us be a part of it.

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We are here at the WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International ) conference in Vegas getting geared up for another year in photography. Each year I think I am sure I will have heard or learned it all, but there are new energetic speakers and lots of good advice to make our work better! Can't wait to bring back the information to work into our workflow!

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Even though this beautiful Wedding at Tapestry House had to be held indoors, everyone was excited and having a great time. One things tha really helped this bride and groom remain relaxed and calm were great bridesmaids and groomsmen willing ot have fun and keep the bride and goorm laughing the whole time!

When it comes to Senior pictures, many guys just aren't as comfortable with the process and for many of them they would rather take a snap shot and use that then spend an hour or 2 taking photographs. Mike was no exception, his Mom called us for help because she really wanted photographs and didn't know how to get him excited about it. As we talked on the phone, I suggested that someone who is close to Mike come with him instead of her to help support him. On the day of the shoot, Mike's girlfriend came with him and she helped him relax and even joined him for a photo. Whether a male or female, it is definitely something to consider, sending someone to come along who will help to encourage relaxation and laughter. Here is the video from that day!