Photographer

Meet ellen

Storyteller

 

 

Ellen Gustafson is

A Minneapolis-based photographer approaching a decade of experience capturing life’s most cherished moments.

With a passion for nostalgia and an eclectic personality, Ellen prides herself on her ability to work with clients from diverse backgrounds, crafting unique and breathtaking images that tell their stories. Over the course of her career, she has taken hundreds of thousands of photos, documenting over 150 weddings, and countless portrait sessions documenting life’s milestones and important moments.

 
 
 
 
 

Ellen’s journey Into photography began

with her fascination for memories and the emotions they evoke. She honed her craft and developed her distinctive style that combines modern and natural elements, resulting in images that are both timeless and cinematic. As a highly skilled photographer, Ellen often takes on destination projects, allowing her to capture human connection in an array of locations telling unforgettable visual stories for her clients.

Thoughtful,

honest,

nostalgic

 

My approach

Future Nostalgia

Working with me means more than just having your photos taken;

it's an immersive, personalized experience that revolves around you and your unique story. I create warm, easy relationships with my clients, making you feel comfortable and intimately connected throughout the entire process.

I’m dedicated to capturing the authentic, candid moments that make your story special. The most powerful images come from genuine, personal interactions and I’m always striving to support an energy that allows for those moments to unfold naturally.

We’ll take the time to get to know each other, understanding your vision and preferences, enabling me to capture the essence of who you are and what you cherish most. My commitment to collaboration and attention to detail will be seen at every turn.

Each time you look back on your photos for years to come you’ll be transported to that time in your life and remember how it felt. Your photos will tell your story of how it was and invoke an ever changing emotion, imploring you to romanticize your life.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Words from those who’ve had the experience:

Reviews
From Clare, Bride

“We are so thrilled. You are incredible. I teared a lot looking at these photos—it helped me go back to the most joyful moments of the day. I am still so blown away by your work. My favorite comment from my bridesmaid was “these photos are exactly how I remember your wedding.” That is everything we could have asked for and more. You are incredible”

From Kate, Bride

“Our gallery turned out beautifully, we can’t thank you enough for putting so much love into these shots; it comes across so strongly in what you do and we are so honored to be captured that way. We also can’t thank you enough for putting so much love into us. Seriously. We have felt so heard by you throughout this and it has put us so much more at ease.”

From Katie, Bride

“These are truly wonderful, Ellen. You have such an eye for this... it brought tears to our eyes reliving that magical day! You were able to capture the essence of the day, the feeling of love that was there, and so many moments that we will treasure forever. We cannot express our gratitude enough. Thank you! What you have shared is such a great taste of the experience and we are thrilled. Thanks again for your professionalism and talent!”

From Jameson, Groom

“We'd spent an incredibly long time crafting every aspect of that wedding. Confident in the outcome- being as though it was articulated through our distinct voices. To see you take the ball and run with your distinct voice is absurd in the absolute best way possible. You cleaved through every chapter and picked up the moments in ways I've never seen before in wedding pictures. Almost with a patience - at times skipping punch lines and instead focusing on the split second aftermath of it. The result is a pool of real. These are incredibly human - joy and catharsis. AND YOU WERE SUCH A GOOD HANG.”

From Olivia, Bride

“It was amazing to see the perspective of our wedding from eyes that weren’t ours, and it almost felt like I got to attend it as a close family friend or sibling to see what you saw. What a unique opportunity! I especially love the photos of us walking back down the aisle, newly married, because I have never felt that many feelings at the same time before, and I had no idea how my facial muscles would present them. Now I do, and all the beautiful complexity is there!”

From Kirby, Mom/Family

“I just had to reach out and let you know that I got our photos and I’m truly at a loss for words. I cried! You are incredibly talented. The way you captured her personality and the close-ups of her little baby toes and hands are just…I will treasure these forever. They’re all SO GOOD, I love them all. I want to wallpaper my house with them.”

From MacKenzie, Mom/Family

“OH MY GAWD I JUST TEARED UP LOOKING AT THOSE. You are a master at capturing such sweet moments. Some of the smiles and eyes/looks in this gallery are so tender and also breaking my heart because my babies will never be in this age/stage again. Agh. Thank you thank you thank you, Ellen”

 

 

The Importance

of printing your photos. . .

My earliest memory of falling in love with the power of photography was holding an actual photograph in my hand. There’s truly nothing like sitting around with your loved ones, flipping through albums, passing photographs around and hearing each person’s unique memory come alive through story.

I can of course list the benefits of the convenience of digital images but in the end there’s something that feels incomplete when you don’t have the tangible object in front of you to amplify the feeling tied to the photo. Printed photos and albums are the final step in the photographic process, because without these, what was it all for?

Each gallery includes a personalized print shop available to you at any time. It’s never too late to bring your memories off the screen and turn them into heirlooms. I’ll get the process started by including a number of prints selected by me to your session. From there, I’ll be ecstatic to help design your albums, print collections and more.

 a little collection of my own

Printed memories

 

To see more photos and what I’ve been up to lately, follow along on instagram.