Alabaster Photos

08/30/2026

Saturday, November 7. Write it down.

That's the last session date I can photograph and still get holiday cards into your hands in time to mail them.

It isn't a sales tactic, it's arithmetic. Session, then your gallery, then printing, then the evening you sit at the kitchen table addressing envelopes with a glass of wine and the good pen. All of that has to fit before the second week of December. November 7 is where it stops fitting.

If cards are part of your Christmas, book before the calendar decides for you.

Booking link is in my bio, or just send me a message. I'll tell you honestly what's left.

08/29/2026

Fall here is four weekends long. That's it.

Peak colour along the St. Croix runs about September 26 to October 18. Some years it's a little early, some years a little late, but it's never long.

Four weekends. I photograph one family a day, so nobody's rushed, so the light is the light I actually want, so your two-year-old gets to be a two-year-old about it.

I didn't make that number up to hurry anyone. I'm just the one holding the calendar.

If your family is in a fall photo this year, now is when that gets decided.

08/28/2026

I am Mandie.

I photograph newborns and the families they've just arrived into, out of a studio on South Knowles in New Richmond.

I have kids of my own. I've had a photo session with a six-day-old as a new mom, and I know exactly what it costs a person to get out of the house that week. It's why I photograph one family a day. Not three. We stop when the baby needs stopping; we feed, we wait, and there's nobody behind you in the schedule.

I'm certified in newborn photography safety, which mostly means I know how to keep a baby warm, supported, and asleep — and that I'll never put yours in a position that is dangerous.

Things I am not: fast, rigid, or interested in a session where everyone performs.

Things I am: patient, fairly chatty, and completely unbothered by a toddler having a toddler's opinion about being photographed. I have never once had a session ruined by a baby being a baby.

If you're expecting this winter — come say hello. I'd love to meet you.

08/28/2026

I could fit three families into a Saturday. I don't.

Here's what happens when you stack sessions: the first family gets a photographer who's watching the clock, the second gets one who's already tired, and the third gets whatever light is left.

One family a day means when your youngest melts down twenty minutes in, and he might, we sit on the grass and wait it out. Nobody behind us. Nothing to hurry toward. That's usually when the good frames happen anyway.

It does mean I have fewer spots than most. That's the trade, and I'd make it again.

Four fall weekends. One family a day. September 26 through October 18.

08/27/2026

The single best thing you can do before a fall session: pick one person's outfit first.

Not everyone's. One.

Usually mom, because she's the hardest on herself in the photos and the most likely to be dressed last. Pick something she feels good sitting down in, then build everyone else around those colours. Three shades, loosely. Nobody matching exactly.

Skip: bright white, big logos, anything brand new that nobody's comfortable in yet.

Bring: a jacket. It's colder by the water than you think, and every year someone finds that out on camera.

That's it. That's the whole prep. I handle the rest.

Four weekends this fall, September 26 to October 18. And November 7 is the last session date for holiday cards.

08/26/2026

You've been meaning to do this for three years.

I know, because you tell me. Every October, in the same slightly apologetic voice. Last year got away from you. The year before, someone had a cold. And every year the kids are a little older in the photos you didn't take.

I'm not saying that to make you feel bad. I'm saying it because the fix is one message, and it takes about forty seconds.

Four weekends this fall. September 26 to October 18. One family a day.

Send me a message, and I'll tell you what's actually open. If nothing works, we'll find something in the spring, and I'll hold it for you. Either way, you'll have stopped meaning to.

08/26/2026

Peak colour along the St. Croix runs about September 26 to October 18.

Peak colour along the St. Croix runs from about September 26 to October 18. school schedules ramping up, those might be even more scarce.

I photograph one family a day so nobody is rushed and everybody gets the good light — which means fall is roughly eight sessions, and then the leaves are down.

Start times shift with sunset and weather; I'll give you the best hour of the day I have.

The people who are home, no matter where you are. Let's keep them close. 🤍

08/16/2026

08/13/2026

Every story begins here. ✨

Long before the milestones, the first steps, the first day of school — it begins right here, in these first sleepy, impossibly small days.

I never get tired of this part of my job. Watching a family walk in still a little overwhelmed, still adjusting to this whole new world, and walking out with images that will mean even more to them in twenty years than they do today.

✨ Newborn sessions at Alabaster Photos:

Family & sibling images included
Full access to wraps, props & studio styling
All edited digital images, ready to treasure

If you're expecting, now's the time to get on the calendar — most families reserve during pregnancy so their date is ready the moment baby arrives.

📍 Alabaster Photos @ The Croix Studio | Downtown New Richmond, WI Serving Hudson, River Falls, Baldwin, Somerset, Stillwater & the St. Croix Valley

📱 DM or text to book your newborn session.