Rain or Shine we make it work!

I had so much fun with the "D" family last Sunday!  We had scheduled their session way back in the summer so we were all hoping for great weather  to photograph outdoors with the beautiful fall colors.  Did we get that great weather....well, not so much. It was complete downpour rain all that morning and there was no sign of clearing, but the "D" family was up for anything and let me just do my thing.  We were just going to make it work and capture some great family images one way or another! We started by photographing inside their home (thank you for letting me totally rearrange your furniture :) and I would peek outside periodically...nope, still raining.  So we moved to another beautiful location in their home...another quick peek...still raining, but only a slight mist this time.  Things were looking up :)  By the time we finished inside, it was chilly outside, but the sun was peeking through and they were up for giving it a try outdoors. I am so glad it worked out....I LOVE these outdoor images! 

The kids were fabulous!  It was not warm outside and things were obviously a little wet, but they were troupers :)  
"D" family I hope you like your sneak peek!  I will be in touch when all of your images are on the web and ready to view!  

It's my First Birthday!

Wow! Where does a year go? It literally feels like just a few weeks ago I photographed little Max at 4 months old and now he is an adorable one year old! This has been such a fun photographic journey for me. Mom,  thank you for allowing me to be such a special part of this past year! I have enjoyed every minute! (check out my blog from October 2008 & June 2009 to see how much Max has grown). 

Max and big brother Jack were here for the session.  Both of the boys did great!  We played, checked out the toys, had snacks and just hung out...oh and we took a few pictures too! I had a blast hanging with mom too! 

I just love the look in his eyes!   And Max looks so adorable in his little jeans jacket :)

Such a cute little smile :)
And big brother even got in on the action. Jack did such a great job...love the eyes!!

Mom, thanks so much for bringing in the boys!  I enjoyed our "coffee talk" too!  I will be sending you the link for the other images up on-line so you can check them out.  Enjoy :)

Holiday Cards 2009

One of my favorite things about fall...cider & donuts!  It makes me happy just thinking about it :) Fall is here!  Even my girls are excited about fall...they got out the rakes & decided they wanted to make a pile of leaves to jump into yesterday.  They were all fired up for their "big" pile only to be disappointed when their pile was only as big as 3 sand pails  full:(  This was a "little" smaller than they expected. 

Now that fall is here, it is time to start thinking about holiday cards.  If you are interested in photographing outdoors there is not much time left.  Typically, the beautiful leaves are gone by the 2nd or 3rd week in October.  My weekend sessions are full, however, there is still room during the weekdays.  Give me a call to schedule your appointment!

If you mention this blog post you will receive 10% off your holiday card order :) 

  

Courtney

Another fantastic senior session with oh so many beautiful images to choose from! Courtney was a blast to photograph...and let me tell you she can work the camera :) She would pose, I would snap, she would give me a little smile, I would snap...I felt like I was a photographer on America's Next Top Model...I loved it!! We spent the first part of Courtney's session at the studio playing with a variety of backgrounds and outfits.  And just for fun I asked her mom to make her laugh by saying something really silly...we captured some great expressions.  These types of candid images are some of my favorites.  The mom's usually love them too because it really seems to capture their daughters' natural spirit. 

Once we were finished in the studio, we headed outdoors.  We could not have asked for better weather!  Beautiful backlit sunshine on her hair, her sweet smile and I am camera ready then WHACK!  had to get that  mosquito before it got me.  Oh those crazy mosquitos!  We all suffer for the art!  Hopefully, Courtney came out of there relatively unharmed :)  

Here are a few...really this is only a few...I went a litte LOCO with the pictures...but man did I have fun... of my favorite images from Courtney's session!

I love this image :) I am so glad we decided to photograph with this cool yellow top. 

Thanks so much to Courtney & her mom for a fantastic day of photographing!  I am so excited for you to see all of the images from Courtney's session.  I will be in touch when they are on the web & ready to view!  Melissa

50th Wedding Anniversary

As we all know, it has been quite cool this summer in Mid-Michigan.  Really, just a few HOT weeks from June until now.  I was so excited when I received an e-mail from one of my clients to photograph her family picture (I photographed her daughters' senior pictures last summer...so fun!!).  This family session had been planned since the spring...it was the day that worked best to coordinate all 15 family members to meet here in town.  Photographing outdoors was our plan. All summer we were hoping for no rain that day, but we had our back-up plan just in case.

The day of the session arrived. No rain...that was good, but WOW it was seriously one of the hottest and stickiest days of the summer.  Go figure :)  Still everyone was happy & relaxed and I was so excited to be a  part of such a special photograph.  Richard & June will be celebrating 50 years of marriage this winter!  

We captured some beautiful images during their session!  I am honored that I was able to play a small part in creating beautiful images during such a special time in their family.  This is one of the many things I love about photography.   

Thank you so much to the entire family!  It was wonderful to see the A-R Family again and to meet so many of you for the first time. And congratulations to Richard & June on their upcoming 50th Wedding Anniversary!  Melissa

Julie

This was another fabulously fun session!  After talking only with Julie via e-mail I finally met Julie & her mom last week.  Wonderful people :) I was so honored to be chosen to photograph such an important milestone in Julie's life.  Julie is friends with a high school senior that I photographed last year...so that was really cool too! 

Julie looked amazing for her session and she was so fun to photograph!  Sorry a few of the crazy "balancing acts" :) I hope you had as much fun as I did! We started the session at the studio and then moved outside to one of my favorite spots in town.  

Julie, I can hardly wait for you to see all of the beautiful images we captured at your session! For now, I wanted to give you a sneak peek of just a few of my favorite images from your session.  No really, these are only a few...the blog only lets me add 5 per blog...I could have added way more...I had a hard time narrowing down my favorites.  

Check these out!  These images speaks for themselves...GORGEOUS!!  

There is also another image similar to the one above where Julie is smiling...it was so hard to choose which one to post.  They are both beautiful!

Love this image....great sandals :)

And the eyes....amazing!

Thank you to Julie & her mom for an incredible afternoon of photographing!  I will be finishing up all of the images and I will be in touch as soon as they are ready to view on the web!  Melissa

Josh

So much FUN!  That is really the only way I can describe this session :) I hope Josh had as  much fun as I did. He was a blast to photograph! Josh was up for anything I wanted to try and had some great ideas of his own too! We photographed in the studio & then went to a few of my favorite locations to capture some great outdoor images.  Here are just a few of my favorites!

So just for fun, I tried this new 70's retro photo look :) I love it!

And a BIG thank you to Josh for acting as my "assistant".  If it were not for my "assistant"  I would have walked away without a piece of equipment..or two :) Yikes!  You know, I get on a roll and well...so thank you:) I will be in touch when all of your images are on the web & ready to view.  Melissa