Last fall I met Matt and Kim,
who were expecting their first child in December.
Immediately I felt so welcomed into their home, and into their lives in
a tiny way. We had never met before then, but I had such a lovely time talking with them during their maternity session, and I looked forward to their child's birth, anxiously awaiting news to hear if they had a girl or a boy,
and what name they chose!
Yes I love taking newborn photos...
but I think somewhere along the way I started to think of them as friends,
not just clients,
and the pictures I'd get to take were just a bonus ;).

So it was an honor to be able to meet their little girl Falon,
at their home, at just 1 week old!
Sidenote - Falon Vale - such a lovely, unique name!
It just sounds so pretty, and certainly suits the owner.

Matt and Kim had just settled back in at home,
and were willing to let me visit them so I could capture these images
as soon after her birth as possible.




This crocheted blanket was a gift from Matt's mother,
made for someone else in the family, who passed it over to Matt & Kim.
Falon's grandma is watching over her from Heaven now.
What a treasure...



















Matt, Kim, & Falon,
I really do appreciate you choosing me to take these photos
during such a special, life-changing time.
Your daughter is going to be so loved, so happy in a peaceful home,
where art and literature (and really cool movies) are celebrated.
I see her growing up to be a pretty awesome kid!
For now, however, enjoy your darling little baby girl, every moment.
Even at 4:00 AM.

Last month I had an at-home session,
I remember that it was the first big snowy weekend of the season...
in fact we got several inches and it made for an amazing
winter wonderland!

Scott, Stacy, and I spent most of the time indoors,
taking pictures of their adorable son Zac,
and enjoying the warmth of their lovely home.
I even got to drink some nice tea (thank you!)...
Zac was such a good boy and barely fussed at all!














We braved the cold and snow for some quick family photos
and even a few of their dog Wrigley
(he's part of the family too),
who obviously loved running around out there in the snow!
It was also so nice of Stacy to lend me a pair of boots to wear outside,
because the snow was about a foot deep!
Luckily we have about the same size feet! ;)






I'm so glad I was able to meet you all this winter.
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season,
and lots of fun with your adorable little boy...
Thank you again!

Last month I met Erin and Keith,
along with their two kids Isaac and Sofia!
I am so happy to finally get a chance
to share some of my favorites on the blog...

I love their expressions :)
They were great at smiling at the camera,
but I did my best to catch them being themselves...
I had to be quick though!

This board kept them occupied for a little while...

...it quickly turned into a game, kind of racing around
and running and giggling...
no rules really, just having fun!

Sofia and Isaac are from Guatemala and
they brought along a couple items
to represent their culture,
something their parents are continuing to celebrate
and teach them about...

All of you were such a joy to work with!
Your family is beautiful :).
Have a wonderful Christmas
and best wishes for 2010!

Last month I got to meet another
wonderful family through a mutual friend,
and I really enjoyed that late fall afternoon taking photos of them
and their adorable boys Nick and Levi!

The sun was setting already - but it made for some gorgeous light...

Nick was busy exploring and talked my ear off,
while Levi was a little shy for a while...

There's a smile, even with a little teardrop! ;)
Big brother can make him laugh!

You all were so much fun -
I remember hanging out at that playground
and not wanting to leave!
It was great to meet you, and I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

We moved into our current home in the fall of 2007.
We met some of our neighbors right away, but it wasn't until the following spring and summer,
when people started coming outside, going for walks, and enjoying the
warm weather, that we met Alissa and Mike.
They only live a few houses down from us,
and as it turned out, Alissa and I were both due to have a baby
within a few days of each other! I remember running into them on
a late night walk last fall. We both had the same idea... wanting to get things moving.
I had Henry the next day... a week and a half early.
Several days after that, Elleana came along too...fashionably late!

And just like that, her first year flew by! Seems like when you can't wait
for something to happen, time moves in slow motion...
but when you want to hold onto every moment, it goes by way too quickly!
Now she is this gorgeous little girl, toddling around, giggling, exploring her world.

Elle, I love that I've gotten to watch you grow over the past year,
and I had so much fun taking these photos,
thank you for being so good during our session!
Alissa and Mike, your family is beautiful, and I am just so glad that we
have such wonderful neighbors and friends.
Have fun with that little cutie!

This is Caeden, and he just turned 2 last month!
Here's the thing about two year olds:
You aren't going to get them to pose!
In my book, that's a good thing.
Their expressions are honest,
and their actions are uninhibited...
so it is a perfect time to capture a child's emerging personality.

This little guy is just as sweet and curious as they come.
I'm guessing there's a mischievous streak in him, like any toddler,
but he seemed to have a gentleness...

Notice the red sucker in his hand -
it made its way into many pictures... but it kept him happy!

That's a laughing grin!!! :)

Caeden (and Mike and Liesel) it was
wonderful to see you,
and I had a lot of fun on our walk through the woods.
You guys are an adorable family! :)
Thanks again!

This family session was at Spring Grove Park,
where Troy and Libbi were married, which makes is even more special...
and Troy was one of my favorite teachers in high school...
AND they have two gorgeous children - Max and Maddi -
who were all over the place discovering frogs and bugs...



With a science teacher for a mom and a history teacher for a dad,
these kids are already super smarties and I even learned a couple new things!
This is Max with his "demonstrator stick" showing his dad life in the creek...




I love this - girly girl with a caterpillar!








Some more family came by after a little while...



Maddi is so beautiful, contemplative, and brilliant - and only 7!



...and Max is equally sharp, silly, and outspoken. I really love it when
I can capture the kids' personalities like this.
He was actually examining the shutter through my lens,
and explaining what the mechanism looks like!




With their grandma :)



I hope you enjoy this little preview... I enjoyed the session so much,
and it was great seeing you all!

Last week I went out to Holland for a session to
photograph a six month old, as well as the rest of the family -
parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and her cousin!
They were all so friendly and fun. :)

With the client's permission, I brought along a GRCC student,
Ashley, who is interested in learning more about photography so she could see what goes on at a "typical" session....
although every session is so different.
Of course she took photos too!

So, this is 6 month old Alida!



Alida's grandparents live in Holland and have access to a semi-private beach
within walking distance! WOOOO-HOOOO!
It was amazingly beautiful. This was her first time in the sand,
and she loved it! I think this girl is definitely going to be a beach bum.



Well, maybe she loved it a little too much.
Of course, 6 month olds put everything in their mouth!
Sand, not an exception.



In an era of Photoshop, I have to tell you, the sky really was that blue!
They brought along this giant colorful umbrella... so fun!



Family :) Kim and John with their little girl.




Mike and Rebecca with their daughter Adelaide:



Ryan and Julie -
She said she gets piggy-back rides all the time from him... cute :)



The guys!



The girls :)



Back at the house, we took some more pictures and Alida got a new dress on.








Since Adelaide was a good sport with all these photos, she got a popsicle when we were all done.
I thought I was done taking pictures, but c'mon... :) I love these.




Thanks again everyone for having me out to photograph your family...
I had a great time, and I hope you enjoy your preview!

Last weekend I had a session, and was bumming when
Saturday turned into a rainy, dreary day. I just wanted nice weather
for this family session outdoors! Luckily by late afternoon the clouds broke
and the sun even came out a little bit.

Of course the park was pretty squishy and the pond was a bit high,
but at least we were able to be out there and get some family photos!




Bill and Mary recently celebrated their 30th anniversary!
Here's to many more years of happiness and health...
Congratulations!



I know the next one is not much of a "pose", but in the short time I was
with this group of people, I got a glimpse of their different personalities.
I think that shows through in this image, and that's why I love it.
I think I let them believe I was just adjusting settings
so they were just being themselves...



Some younger cousins came along for the session, so I had to get some
photos of the kids being kids - looking for piranhas...



Look at that look! What a beautiful girl. LOVE this:



I'm not sure what he was telling her at the moment...



Mom and her daughters. I think they are all so pretty.
[PS: I wish I had curly hair!]



All the guys - being good sports with this water shot!
See, I told you the pond was high!



This is Bandit! Good doggie :) I'm glad they brought him along!



The other cute married couple!



Seriously. Gorgeous.




Mom and Dad with their kids...

It was great working with this family - so much personality and humor...
and they were willing to go along with my ideas - even if it involved getting their feet wet.
Of course you couldn't keep the younger kids out of the water!
I'm so glad that rain stopped and we were able to make this happen.
You guys are fabulous people, and I hope you enjoyed your weekend all being together!
Thanks again!

A little explanation:
Taking photos of a family with twin four-year-old boys is exciting,
a little crazy, and challenging to say the least...
but so much fun! :) What a blessing. I love these kids.

Last week I took pictures for my sister- and brother-in-law.
I definitely never would assume that family
or even friends should hire me as a photographer,
but I will admit that it is fun to take pictures of people that I know well
and already have a relationship with.




Although their two boys are twins and have many of the same interests,
they have had such different personalities from the start.
I might be able to see this more than someone who doesn't know them,
but I really see their uniqueness coming through in these images, which I love.








What's in there? We were at the Celery Flats in Portage,
and this is Stuart Manor, a historic building at the park.




My previous post had one of my favorite photos from this session, of the two kids by the tracks (this one is a bit different).
The boys are crazy about all things train-related, so it seemed fitting!
We were safe of course, but the boys were on the lookout for a train...
they really didn't want to walk on the actual tracks at all!



Thank you Julie and Steve for having me photograph your family.
I'd love to do it again sometime!

Today I had a session with my sister- and brother-in-law, and their twin sons Garrett and Ian. I wanted to post one of my favorites before the weekend! My nephews are so adorable, and they are turning FOUR next month! I can hardly believe it. More to come!

This is Cooper, and he is turning 1 on Friday!
We had a great session in Holland a few days ago,
and I had a lot of fun trying to catch this little guy's amazing
blue eyes, and all his different expressions!




Perhaps my favorite:







Okay - so he had a variety of expressions, some happy, some not so happy, some that just said "who is this strange lady with a camera?" but apparently me laying on the ground behind the bench was a sure way to get a smile out of him! Whatever it takes!








With his beautiful mama!
I love these colors - the hot pink scarf, with the black, blue and green.





This was toward the end of our little adventure.
Cooper was not interested in sitting still, but I wanted to try this
kind of shot with his parents standing behind him.
Keeping the camera aimed on their son resulted in a little bit
of a skewed portrait, but I love it so much more!
He's quick, that's for sure!



I put my camera away, but immediately got it back out
and whipped the cap off to catch a couple more with his daddy.
That's how it always goes!



I have so many more images that I am very excited to
share with his parents, but had to narrow it down a little.
Thank you so much for choosing me to capture this stage
in your son's life. He is absolutely precious!
Happy 1st Birthday Cooper!!!

Earlier this week we went to Tunnel Park with some friends and their two boys.
Actually we're connected in a couple different ways -
my husband Ron teaches at the same high school where Mike taught.
Mike went to Hope College, and we have some mutual friends from there,
and I worked at the high school for a couple years and got to know him during that time.
His wife, Jenn, is also a wonderful photographer,
and you can check out her work on her website.

So, a little while ago we planned a trip to the beach. A couple sprinkles threatened, but it turned into a nice night and we had fun chasing the kids around with our cameras.

Our kids got along really well, and yes I got some pictures of ours too... but this post will keep the focus on their adorable family - the two boys were so fun :)








Liam - 2 years old - is such a sweet boy. I love his curls!
He's a cuddler... :)





Footprints!





Who needs swim trunks? Sam wasn't at all afraid of jumping in the lake (and then the sand... and then the lake... and then the sand...) with all his clothes on! Hilarious!



This boy reminds me of Peter Pan in this picture...
He seems to have a spirit to match.



Let's do it again sometime!
We had so much fun hanging out with you guys. :)

Last week I posted a preview photo from a family session at the park....

It was a perfect afternoon, and this is a beautiful family.
Emma and Jacob were adorable little kids, and their mom and dad were so nice
and relaxed. I love sessions like this. The session was actually a birthday gift to Krista (the mom) from family.
That's a first for me, being part of a gift for someone! I very much appreciate my friend Amy for giving me the opportunity :).
That is a huge compliment.

Before the kids got too restless we went for some "traditional" group photos.
They're nice, and I like to get something like this, even if I have to take several shots to make it happen....



... however I personally love the ones where the focus is on each other, and not on me!



This is my favorite kind of family photo, actually....
it really shows a lot more what life is like with a toddler and a baby:
a little disorganized maybe, but beautiful nonetheless!





Reflecting...



I just love this expression. He was a so smiley and easy for me the whole time,
all his pictures are him grinning for the camera, or his mom and dad...
so this was something a little different - just a sweet, curious face!



All you other photogs (and parents!) out there know how tough it can be to get two little ones both looking in the same direction for a photo -
and yes I succeeded (with help from Mom and Dad)!
However, I liked this one, with Emma looking around at her little brother.





Another family portrait that isn't very traditional, but I love the scene.



My personal favorite of this little cutie:



She was so happy to be able to just run around and explore...
you know she's movin' fast down that hill!







This one was one of my favorites too...
I just got lucky and got the best expressions out of them!











Family sessions are wonderful because there are many different relationships
within the family to capture. Besides the whole group, I can include individuals, parent and child, siblings, husband and wife. It is really important to take the time and try to show these other facets of family life.

Thank you Kevin and Krista! I am so glad you are happy with your photos.
From the bottom of my heart, I hope you look back at these thirty years from now
and love them even more.

No, you can't see their faces, but you can definitely feel the connection between this two year old and her mommy. I wasn't setting out to get this type of picture, in fact this was toward the end of our session and the daughter was about done with me! I noticed her playing with her mother's ring, and realized that this was probably her little nervous habit. So cute!

Although the little girl was, by this point in the session, pretty tired of getting her photo taken, I thought it was a sweet moment, and I'm so thankful I was paying close enough attention to capture it. I won't lie, having a little toddler girl myself, this image seemed so familiar... maybe that's why it stood out to me. But it's them, they will know the ring, the hands, the clothing. It isn't generic, but it is universal.

More from this gorgeous family coming soon...

I met up with this family in Ludington for a session on the beach. The whole group was so nice and it was absolutely perfect weather. I had fun chasing the kids around and got some of the entire group as well! I posted one preview photo a little while ago, but there were so many more great images from the session that, even though it was a couple weeks ago now, I still wanted to share some on the blog!

The brothers-in-law, laughing at some kind of shenanigans going on. And a little blonde cutie in the dune grass, I love the trace of a smile...

    

One of my favorites... EVER!





There was a nice strong breeze, perfect for kite-flying, and they came prepared!

    

Brothers.... :)


and their little cousin....



And all four grandchildren with Grandma and Grandpa, flying the kite.



    

Normally I don't always love the images where someone is looking right at the camera, but this one is definitely an exception - like he's saying, "pretty good, huh!"
with kid brothers right behind him! Love it.



Summertime in Michigan is practically defined by the
beautiful beaches on the big lake. Isn't it easy to take it for granted?
It's practically a freshwater sea right here for us to enjoy, and it's beautiful all year,
but a summer afternoon is just perfection!

Thanks again for having me come out and photograph your beautiful family!

...for little girls...

You may have seen Ruby on a post here a few days ago, but I said I'd be posting more, so here they are!

Since Amber is an old friend from Hope College, I've been following her and her family throughout her pregnancy (and even before) through her very entertaining blog. I see glimpses of her siblings and her parents, as well as Ryan's family, and it's plain to see that Ruby is joining a remarkable group of people. I look forward to watching her grow in such a spiritually nurturing and positive environment.

They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If that is true, she's destined to be an amazing woman! I'm so glad that I was able to capture this momentous time in your lives. Have fun with your new little daughter!

Last weekend I met this family in Ludington, along with her sister and brother-in-law, their kids, and their parents. The kids played in the sand and water... they even brought kites! Everyone was so friendly and happy to act natural even with a photographer wandering around. Here's a preview with one of my favorites... More to come.