The Top 20

Top-20The Top 20 Reasons to Love Michael and Joannie Anderson.

(A semi-humorous look at stuff that should be important to you; but you might not know it yet)

20. It’s Definitely Not Our First Rodeo

19. Feel The Love

Oh yeah, we’ve won some awards too! Brides and grooms have voted us:

  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2022
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2021
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2020
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2019
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2018
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2017
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2016
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2015
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2014
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2013
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2011
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2009
  • The Knot “Best of Weddings” 2008
  • Wedding Wire Couples’ Choice 2020
  • Wedding Wire Couples’ Choice 2019
  • Wedding Wire Couples’ Choice 2018
  • WeddingWire Couples’ Choice 2017
  • Wedding Wire Couples’ Choice 2016

Selected as one of “The Best Wedding Photographers in Minneapolis” in 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 & 2016 by Expertise.

Selected as one of the 10 Best Wedding Photographers in St. Paul, Minnesota by WeddingRule.

Joannie & I were inducted into The Knot “Best of Weddings” Hall of Fame in 2015. In the words of The Knot; “They are simply the best-of-the-best.”

And back in 2013, we were selected as an Elite Member of “Best Of Wedding Photography.” An invitation-only group of the world’s finest wedding photographers. We are truly thrilled to be included in that kind of company.

18. Extra Baggage

We’ve been active members of:

  • Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI)
  • Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
  • Kelby One (formerly the National Association of Photoshop Professionals)

Over the years, we have also invested in many week-long photography courses at the Mid-America Institute of Professional Photography (MAIPP) at the University of Northern Iowa.

17. Practice Makes Perfect

Through the years we’ve studied with the Masters of Wedding and Portrait Photography as well as the world’s finest Photoshop® experts. The list includes:

Ben Shirk, John Hartman, Bruce, and the late Sue Hudson, Hanson Fong, Mike Colón, Denis Craft, Clay Blackmore, Denis Reggie, the late Don Blair, Angela Carson, the late Monte Zucker, Bambi Cantrell, Ed Pierce, Gary Fong, Eddie Tapp, and Scott Kelby.

And that’s just for starters. Go ahead, look ’em up; these guys and gals are good!

16. Share The Love

Michael has been asked to teach fellow photographers about weddings and portraits too!

15. We’re On A “Need To Know Basis”

  • Michael is an expert retouching artist and Photoshop® specialist.
  • He was a beta tester of Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Photoshop CS6.

14. All You Need Is Love

Michael and Joannie donate their time and talents, gift certificates, and prints to all kinds of great causes including:

Need help with something dear to your heart? We’re just a phone call away.

13. A Call For Back-Up

Unlike many photographers you will encounter these days, we don’t show up at your wedding with a camera or two and a flash. Joannie & I bring an entire portable studio with us! We always carry backup camera bodies, flashes, pro-lenses, softboxes & much, much more!

Below is a partial list of what we have available to use at your wedding: click the following link to see the whole extensive list of Anderson’s Wedding Photography Equipment.

Of our many lenses, 5 are Canon “L” Series and one is from Tamron’s SP professional lenses- the really good stuff.

12. We Need More Back-Up Please!

  • Your wedding & portrait images will be securely stored on at least three hard drives within hours after your wedding.
  • Weddings will be on five hard drives, usually within 48 hours of your wedding.
  • At least two of which are locked up in our huge safe.
  • You just can’t be too careful.

11. Picky, Picky, Picky

It’s all about making you look good. It’s a win-win situation; ‘cuz it makes us look good too!

  • We enhance every single image for every single print and every single Storybook album we create.

We’re talking wrinkle reduction, dark circles under eyes, flyaway hair, “opening” eyes, reducing or removing distractions, and sometimes even moving or removing people from the image altogether.

It isn’t easy and it takes lots of time. But isn’t that why you hire a professional in the first place?

10. Grandma Says: “If You’re Not Going To Do It Right – Don’t Do It At All”!

We utilize “real” studio lighting with large softboxes for formal and group portraits.

  • This means flattering lighting for your portraits.
    • Yes, we’re talking about at your wedding!
    • If it’s not windy, we’ll use our large softboxes outdoors on location too!

We employ multiple strobes (up to 6 units) for a wedding reception and dance photography.

  • This creates “three-dimensional” lighting!
  • No “pitch-black” backgrounds at your reception and dance.

Amazing, photographers using light. Who’d a thunk it?

9. When Only The Best Will Do

Photoshop® is a remarkable software program, however, “garbage in, means garbage out.”

  • All of your images are created in Camera RAW format.
  • We capture in Adobe RGB color space for exceptional image quality.

8. Show The Love

We design our own Wedding and Portrait Storybooks from scratch without using templates. Why should your Wedding Storybook be like someone else’s?

7. The “Wow Factor”!

All of this means nothing if the end product is junk. Our incredible Storybooks come from a made in the USA company called Finao®.

  • They’re simply the best there is. ‘Nough said.

6. Image Is Everything

Speaking of which, we don’t print ours, we’re photographers, not a lab. We use Full Color Lab in Dallas, Texas. They’re amazing. Period.

5. Got Style?

We typically use a combination of styles for creating your images. We tweak it to your personality along with your requests and chosen locations, and of course, the weather plays into it, and finally, we sprinkle it with our creative vision.

  • At weddings, we like to use a mix of traditional, classically posed images, contemporary, photojournalistic; indoors & outdoors; candid; funky lenses; grunge, or anything else we can come up with along the way!
  • In the summer of 2016, we began “light painting” at nighttime at our weddings too!
  • As long as it’s legal and we’ve got the time, we’ll give it a whirl.

4. Handle With Care

Your images and your wedding day are as important to us as they are to you!

3. Experience “The Experience”

We’re a “Husband and Wife Wedding Photography Team”. Each of us creates images using our own unique vision and style.

  • We really truly believe that your wedding day should be an experience you’ll never forget. And we strive to make it just that.
  • At the end of the day, the two of us will have exceeded your expectations.

We won’t have it any other way. Oh, and by the way, we’re pretty fun to be with too!

2. Love, Love, Love

I really love being with my best friend at your wedding! Awards and all that stuff are great, but we just love photographing weddings together!

1. Family Is Everything

To us, it’s all about family. Our daughters, Jen and Michelle are two of the brightest, and sweetest people you’ll ever meet (just like their mother).

  • Talk about love; both of them have chosen careers that help other people!
  • Jen is a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse at Children’s Hospital.
  • Jen’s husband, Ben, helps many people get relief from their back pain in the operating room.
  • Michelle is a licensed Elementary School Teacher, elementary school coach, and adult program supervisor at a local school district and received her Principal’s License in the spring of 2016. She now works for the University of Minnesota.
  • Michelle’s husband, Ben, is a mechanical engineer.

Joannie and I are extremely proud of all of their accomplishments and have enjoyed sharing our lives together with them. We love you guys!

And now we have grandkids! Riley, her brother Ryder, and now their cousin Adam, and his little brother Ethan! These kids have brought so much fun and love into our family since they each arrived on the scene. We have the privilege of hanging out with them almost every Monday!

We know what you’re saying; Joannie and Michael, you’re too young to be grandparents! Of course, we are, but we wouldn’t trade it for all the world!

“The Top 20” – ©2022 Michael Anderson Photography.