Wedding photographer allegedly secretly filmed bride

A Pine City wedding photographer is accused of filming a bride while she was undressed.

A court document lays out allegations of invasion of privacy against Mitchell Ringness.

The investigation began when an acquaintance turned in a USB stick to Cloquet police in April that allegedly belonged to Ringness and contained a video of a bride undressing and other material depicting sexual behavior.

The complaint states the video was shot from a low angle in a bridal suite during a wedding in Albert Lea in October 2020. The complaint also states that after the bride finished changing, someone in the room “got Mitchell.” Ringness then entered the room with a camera and began shooting the bride's “first look” photos.

Investigators confirmed that Ringness had been hired by the couple to photograph the wedding.

The victim told investigators that she neither knew about the “hidden camera” nor consented to the video recording of her.

WDIO reached out to Ringness for comment but did not receive a response.

Ringness's first appearance in Freeborn District Court is scheduled for September 5.