Heather Bender Photography

12/02/2025

I am so thankful for the continued support of my clients. I look forward to seeing my "regulars" each year and working with new people. I had a great time capturing each and every one of you this year, thank you!! It's fun to see the progression of photos from the greens of summer to the beautiful fall colors and finally the winter landscape of the past few shoots.

05/28/2024

Hello Friends,
I hope you are all doing well and enjoyed a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. I know May is crazy with the end of the school year but I wanted to get this out to you so you can plan accordingly if you are interested in photos. Due to a very busy fall with lots of fun travel plans on the calendar I will be unable to book any sessions after August 29th this year. June, July and August are amazing months for photos with warm temps, and beautiful golden light!! I am sorry I won't be available this fall but hope to connect with you this summer.

Please check out my website for more details

Portrait photographer based in Stillwater, MN featuring families, kids, newborns, and seniors.

02/04/2024

I had the pleasure of working with these amazing humans this past year for their senior photos!! Thank you all for entrusting me to capture these milestone moments in your lives, I am honored. Here's to the class of 2024!

05/25/2023

Hello Friends! FINALLY..........The green backdrops, warm temps and beautiful golden hour sunsets are a perfect recipe for a photoshoot. My camera and I are ready if you are!! I am booking senior and family photos for the summer or fall and am ready to get you on my calendar. Send me an email or text and we can get it scheduled. Please check out my website https://heatherbenderphotography.com/
for more details and let's work together soon to create some amazing photos!!!

Portrait photographer based in Stillwater, MN featuring families, kids, newborns, and seniors.

08/12/2022

It's mini session season and I'm here for you! I'm offering late August and October St. Croix River sessions and a Tree Farm session in November.

The St. Croix River session is located at the Boom Site beach just North of Stillwater along highway 95. This location has it all: beach, water, trees, beautiful rocks, natural sitting poses and awesome light anytime (see example photos below)! The cost is $200.00 for 15-20 minutes of shooting. You will get 20-30 digital images with copyright release so you can update your frames or use for holiday cards.

Summer Beach session on Sunday, August 28th with times of
6:40, 7:00, 7:20, and 7:40

Fall Beach session on Sunday, October 9th with times of
3:40, 4:20, 5:00, 5:20, 5:40, 6:00, and 6:20

**Please note that the river height is always fluctuating due to rainfall amounts so in the unlikely event that the beach is unusable this fall I have a backup natural background setting in mind.

The Tree Farm session is located at the beautiful Krueger Tree Farm in Lake Elmo (see example photos below). The cost is $210.00 for 15-20 minutes of shooting. You will get 20-30 digital images with copyright release.

Winter Tree Farm session at Krueger Tree Farm on Sunday, November 13th with times of
3:00, 3:20, 3:40, 4:20, and 4:40

If you are interested please email me at [email protected], check out my website https://heatherbenderphotography.com/ or just simply respond to this post and I will get you marked down for the date and time you prefer.

04/16/2022

I have been holding off posting this until we had some nicer weather so it would be easier to envision a warm outdoor photo session but I'm changing my tactic and posting it now to hopefully bring about some consistent warmth soon! I had a busy year last year and am excited to start filling up the spring, summer and beyond with photoshoots. I will be scheduling sessions on Sunday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings around dusk (times will vary depending on the month). If you know of any current Juniors or families looking for photos feel free to pass my name along and if you could give this post a share that would be awesome! Here is the link to my website: https://heatherbenderphotography.com/

09/04/2021

Let me know if you would like to book a family session for this fall, my calendar is starting to fill up!! Check out my website for more information or email me at [email protected].

Portrait photographer based in Stillwater, MN featuring families, kids, newborns, and seniors.

08/20/2021

Meet Sydney ~ Eastview class of 2022!! Sydney came out to Stillwater for her shoot. We planned her locations and she nailed her outfit selections at each spot. We timed our stops based on what the sun was doing and got the perfect golden hour light in the field at the end. I've always wanted to incorporate an ice cream cone stop at Leo's and she a great sport despite a rapidly melting cone. She was awesome to work with, has a beautiful smile and did great in front of the camera. We had a blast! Thanks for a fun shoot Sydney and have a great senior year!! Fun fact: Sydney's mom is an RHS alum:-)

08/18/2021

Meet Sophie ~ Richfield HS Class of 2022!! Sophie's vision for her senior photos was "garden" and her location choice of the Como Zoo Conservatory sure did deliver. I remember visiting as a child but hadn't been back in years and I fell in love with the location. We had a beautiful evening of golden hour light streaming through the glass of the Conservatory and Sophie rocked it! Fun fact: I worked with Sophie's dad as a Peer Leader for 3 years. Have a great senior year Sophie!!