Hey, it's Makayla. I'm a Duluth, MN and Saint Paul, MN based wedding photojournalist.

I can see the magic in everything.

In my decade of photographing weddings, I've always come back to this: the people and the relationships are the real story. And that story is best told by letting it tell itself.

This blog is full of the stories I've seen, the things I've learned along the way, and my best advice for creating a marriage celebration driven by being present and true to you.

Pour a coffee, a matcha, a tea. Stay awhile. Linger.

M

It's so great
to meet you.

Welcome to the stories.

WHO IS THE AUTUMN DOG STUDIO?

THOUGHT-PROVOKING CONVERSATION STARTERS

When I do yearly recaps, they usually end up being stories of what I experienced that year. Also how I grew, what I wish was different or how I’m preparing for next year. They rarely actually involve images. Rather than take that personal approach this year, I feel that 2020 needs a recap. A recap […]

Life Stories, Marriage Stories, Personal

February 13, 2021

2020 Recap: Life and Love and Dogs

2020 recap

Who is The Autumn Dog Studio, and where did it all begin? Read the origin story, and learn the details about what drives TAD to be different.

For Photographers, Personal

November 27, 2020

Where It All Started

Every year, TAD asks its couples: do you have any causes or organizations you’re passionate about? The responses often include animals/dogs, of course, but a wide range of answers are given. TAD uses these answers to made donations to organizations that my couples and clients care about. From January 2019 to June 2020, donations have […]

Personal

August 14, 2020

Giving Back

COVID-19 Preparedness Plan for The Autumn Dog Studio The Autumn Dog Studio is committed to providing safe and healthy interactions for all our workers and clients. To ensure this, we have developed the following COVID-19 Preparedness Plan in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our goal is to mitigate the potential for transmission of COVID-19 in […]

Personal

May 13, 2020

COVID-19 Preparedness Plan

Here we are, at another culmination of a year. It’s weird being in the wedding industry – your work days are scheduled literal years in advance, and though 2020 is just now here, I’ve been writing dates as /20 for basically all of 2019. So it kind of feels like I’m already living in it. […]

Life Stories, Marriage Stories, Personal

December 31, 2019

2019 Recap: The Best is Yet to Come

It’s that time of the year where everyone is posting their 2018 yearly recaps. Their favorite images. Their Instagram top 9. There were a lot of things and dreams that came true for me this year that didn’t have so much to do with my favorite images, but my favorite experiences. And that’s what this […]

Life Stories, Marriage Stories, Personal

December 31, 2018

2018 Recap: Things I’m Glad I Didn’t Know