About Us

Mac & V is a visual content studio that gives brands stopping power through photography. We create all-encompassing visual campaigns that capture the personality of a brand and inspire audiences to take action so that prospects become customers. 

Founded in 2019 and based in Council Bluffs, Iowa, we are a close-knit team of imaginative creatives with an eye for detail and a passion for strategy, organization, and results. Mac & V is the ethos of two award-winning commercial photographers who believe imagery that connects with audiences on an emotional level is even stronger when combined with great video, copy, and other creative elements.

Once upon a time, Machaela Clark and Vivian Kvam dreamed of becoming fine art photographers. As classmates at photo school, they were drawn to photography that created an immediate reaction or sensation. Photos that also had a visual impact that was hard to shake. Photos that stay with you. 

They found more commonality in the darkroom. Students were taught to shoot on film first, digital second. That gave Mac and V an appreciation for technique; the science behind what goes into making a photo its most compelling, whether it’s shaping light or color rendition. With only 36 exposures in a roll, they found, a great photographer is thoughtful and with every single shot.

A few years after graduation, Mac and V connected again while working for a local media company. After a few years, they had each moved on to other jobs, and each were shooting weddings on the side. Both stood strong as individual creatives, photographers, and business people, but they liked how their work style complemented each other. In short, Mac & V missed working together. 

They started helping each other shoot weddings. Mac began shooting full-time, having launched Morrissey Photo. V was helping her but still doing creative and project management work elsewhere. Ultimately, the two realized to really do this thing – to make it happen – they needed to take a leap. They launched their sister company Tandem Works in 2019 and then rebranded Morrissey Photo to Mac & V in 2020. Mac & V launched The Tandem Works in September 2019 and rebranded into Mac & V in 2021. 

For Mac & V, commercial photography is the ability to draw the same emotions as fine art photography – perhaps even stronger. They understand that brands need compelling visuals to drive their messaging home with consumers. A great photo can drive action. It can turn a company into a brand into an icon. What’s more, it’s often enhanced when paired with memorable video, dynamic copy, and unique design. 

As our Council Bluffs photo studio and creative agency evolves, one thing stays the same: Mac & V are all about creating photography that turns into something. Something great that brings results. 

And, something that just might rival fine art. 

Let’s talk.

Machaela Clark

Co-Founder and Photographer

Machaela is a photographer and a creative connector with the ability to bring ideas and people together, to turn visions into reality. She is great at connecting the dots between creative ideas and strategic plans. With a humorous flavor and creativity, she collaborates with an open mind; bringing quality, value and a high ROI to every project. 

Machaela is a true storyteller at heart with passion for the community and the people in it – she knows everybody.  From various boards and commissions, to the many organizations she’s worked with, her collaborative spirit, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills offer partners and projects great value.

Vivian Kvam

Co-Founder and photographer

Vivian is a photographer and a creative leader with the ability to conceptualize a vision and manage like a boss. With ninja-like skills for keeping meetings short and productive, Vivian manages projects from start to finish with enthusiasm and organization. Not only is she a champ at putting together and creating a blueprint strategy, she’s fun to work with. 

Vivian has worked for big brands like Crayola, We-TV, The Discovery Channel and Taco Bell. She’s also helped scrappy startups and nonprofits find their unique voice. Vivian draws upon her past experiences to enhance and strengthen her skills, offering value to a wide range of partners and projects.

When she’s not killing it at work, Vivian is often found running, watering her 38 plants or taking her teardrop camper (named Novo) on a hiking or camping adventure. This proud whisker mama to three cats knows how to milk a cow and maintains that noodles go on top of mashed potatoes – not beside them.

Jacey Kallsen

Marketing Intern

Jacey is a part-time social media content specialist and student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, majoring in Marketing with a minor in Women’s and Gender Studies. Not only is Jacey – who started with us as an intern – a creative with a passion for all things digital, she is an expert on college-style survival in today’s world.

Maggie O’Brien

Copywriter 

Maggie is copywriter obsessed with helping companies increase their brand awareness through really great storytelling. She is a former award-winning online and print journalist, having written for the Associated Press, The Des Moines Register, and the Omaha-World Herald. After leaving the chaos of the news business in 2016 to pursue copywriting and other creative work, Maggie is skilled at writing website copy, blogs, and other content that is SEO-friendly, results-driven, and fun to read.

Becky Winhalm

Data Specialist and Video Editor

As a photo assistant, Becky wears a lot of hats, from project manager to video editor and helping make shoots run more smoothly and efficiently. A graduate of University of Nebraska—Omaha with a bachelor's degree in broadcast new media, Becky has worked both in a creative agency setting and as a video production freelancer. When she's not working, Becky is hanging with her husband, Matt, her son, Phillip, and Floral, the family dog.

Emmerson Freeman

Photographer Mac & V Families

Emmerson is the oldest of seven children, so she is really, really good at babysitting. She also is an excellent family photographer who loves to capture human emotion in clients of all ages. Emmerson, a senior at Abraham Lincoln High School, is helping out with family photography and learning social media. She also is gaining experience in commercial and other areas of professional photography. After graduation, Emmerson plans to study photography at Metropolitan Community College.