Foster the Family 5K

Foster the Family is a new organization in Grand Rapids which provides physical and emotional support within the fist 24 hours of foster care placement to both parents and children as they adapt (sometimes with little notice) to changes in living arrangements. A few weeks ago they had a 5K fundraiser and I got to photograph the day! It was fun seeing other community organizations such as the humane society and the zoo show up to entertain the kids along with inflatable slides and games. I can’t wait to follow along and see how Foster the Family continues to grow and impact more people in Grand Rapids the next few years :)

Beverage Family 2021

I’ve been photographing Karen and Doug since their wedding in 2011. I was lucky enough to take photos of both their kids as newborns and have done family photos for them every year since. However, we weren’t sure it would work out this fall with many scheduling conflicts, but at the last minute on a beautiful October Sunday I headed to their beautiful yard and continued the tradition ofl fall family photos. I love the way they continue to honor their sweet daughter Alice who died in December 2019 by having the unicorn stuffed animal in all the pictures! Here are some of my favorites from their session :)

Sophie- 3 months old

My niece Sophie is growing so much and I was happy that my brother and sister in law wanted to document her 3 month milestone with a photo session. A couple weeks ago, we met at Spring Grove Park and though the fall colors weren’t very vibrant yet, we still found some good scenery. Sophie was so good the whole time and didn’t fuss at all when I stuck the camera in her face :) I can’t wait to watch her grow and take more photos of this sweet girl in the future!

Tonya's and Mike Maternity Photos

From the moment my sister in law announced she was pregnant we began to plan her maternity photo shoot, but west michigan weather did not cooperate and her sunset on the beach ended up being unseasonably cold and cloudy! They toughed it out though and we had a great on the shore of Lake Michigan in South Haven, Tonya even walked into the freezing cold water at the end. We got so many great photos and because of the cold there were hardly any other people didn’t have to worry about crowds of people. I can’t wait to meet my first niece next month - congratulations Mike and Tonya!

Baby Ian - 6 months old

My friends Mary and Aaron decided when their son was born that they wanted to document his growth this first year with a photo session every 3 months. It has been so fun to capture their jouney from pregnancy, to newborn, to three months and now 6 months! This time, Ian was in a better mood then last time I saw him for his 3 month photos, but he still didn’t give me or his parents many smiles! The most fun part of this session for me was when we went outside and Ian got to experience snow for the first time. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day.

Ricardo Family

Two weeks ago it was an unseasonably warm November day and I had so much fun walking around Millennium Park with the Ricardo Family! They are officially my last family session of the fall and I’m so glad our last minute scheduling worked out and I got to meet their two adorable girls. Plus, Millennium Park is one of my favorite places to do photos so I was happy for a chance to go there. Here are some of my favorites :)

Voorheis Family

I was back at the beautiful Hager Park a couple weeks ago for another family session! Mike, Michelle, and Olive live about a mile from me and I see them often, but this fall we realized they haven’t had family pictures since Olive was a baby. I was so happy for the chance to photograph these friends of mine while the fall colors were still at their peak. Here are some of my favorites from their session :)

Klein Family 2020

A few years ago I was able to photograph the Klein family at their family apple orchard and I loved those photos so I was excited when Angie reached out to me about doing family pictures for them again this year now that their family has grown! It was a beautiful fall day and though the kids were more interested in eating apples then taking pictures I still think we got some great ones. Here are some of my favorites!

Millet Family

The cloudy morning last Saturday was perfect for taking photos at a location that has very little shade, John Collins Park! It was my first time taking pictures at this park, though I have visited it many times, and I was happy to have such great subjects as the Millet’s along with grandma Maggie and aunt Whitney :) This session was a Christmas gift to the family and they picked such a beautiful day to finally redeem it. Here are some of my favorites from the session.

Johnston Family 2020

Though this year has been a strange one, but taking family photos of the Johnston’s is something I’ve done every fall for many years so it was nice to have a “normal” thing on my schedule! I first met them when their oldest was just a baby and its been a joy to watch their family grow over the years. Claire and Andy live on a beautiful street that makes a great location for pictures and its such a fun tradition to see the same people photographed in the same spot each year. The kids all did a great job and we finished in record time and everyone (even me) got a doughnut at the end to celebrate. Here are some of my favorites from their session a couple weeks ago!

DePotty Family in Quarantine

For my second front porch mini session I met up with a family I had just photographed last December. Amy and Bryan have been friends of mine for a couple years and it’s been so fun watching their family grow from one, to two, to now three little boys. We had beautiful weather last week and I loved getting to incorporate the encouraging window signs they made at the start of the stay home order into their family photos :) Here are some of my favorites!

Baker Family in Quarantine

Now that the restrictions on photography have been lifted in Michigan I began offering “front porch sessions” for families who have been quarantined together in their homes the past two months. The first family to jump at the opportunity to capture this strange time of their lives was the Baker family who I’ve photographed several times over the years! It was fun catching up with them and hearing stories of how they are passing their time at home. Here are some of my favorite photos from their session :)

Jess and Jeff Maternity Photos

Before Michigan issued the stay at home order I was able to do a fun maternity session with Jessica and Jeff downtown Grand Rapids. It was such a strange thing seeing downtown so empty on a beautiful sunny weekend but it allowed us to walk around to some of my favorite photo spots. At the time they thought it would be a few more weeks until their baby girls arrival, but she had other plans and was born just a few days after we took these pictures! Sending much love to Jessica and Jeff and all other families with newborn babies in the time of COVID-19!

Baby Joshua

Two weeks ago I got to meet 10 day old baby Joshua. He was such a calm little guy and didn’t seem phased at all with me moving him around to take photos :) Joshua was born at the end of February and weighed close to 12 pounds making him look almost as big as his 3 year old sister! Here are some of my favorites from their in home session.

Mary and Aaron Maternity Photos

I’ve gotten to photograph my friends Mary and Aaron many times over the years so I was excited to meet up with them again and grateful for their flexibility when our first choice in location was under construction and we had to find a last minute alternative! I can’t wait for them to welcome a little boy in just a few short months and we had a beautiful, sunny winter day to take photos at Riverside Park downtown Grand Rapids! Although their dog, Toby, did not feel like cooperating we still got some great pictures, here are my favorites :)

Johnston/ Foley Family 2019

When I think about returning clients for family photos this group are the ones I think of first because they are the ones I’ve been taking pictures of the longest (who are not family/friends) and I’m grateful that each fall I get to document how their family has grown! As with any fall session in west Michigan we never can predict what the weather will be and this year it was cold but luckily not raining or snowing yet. Here of some of my favorites from their session!

Still Family

Another return of familiar faces this fall with the Still family! Chris and Sarah are good friends of mine and it’s been so great photographing their growing family throughout the years. Two year old Emma was not super excited about taking pictures but she is excited to be a big sister in February :) This was my second time photographing at Hager Park this year and the trails had some great fall color that we were able to capture! Here are some of my favorites.

Kuiper Family

Last Saturday was such a beautiful day downtown Grand Rapids and I had so much fun walking around to all my favorite spots in the city with the Kuiper family! Janet and Matt’s girls Maki and Jayse were so sweet and when I offered them opportunities to pick backgrounds or poses for the family they both chose several spots that they saw and liked :) Take a look at some of my favorites from their session!

Aupperlee Family

Last week on a beautiful fall evening I got to catch up with the Aupperlee family at Hagar Park to take their pictures. This was my third time taking pictures of this family and I was amazed at how much the kids have grown! They did a great job putting up with me when all they really wanted to do was play on the awesome playground at the park. Here are some of my favorites from the session!

Rozema Family

October has always been the busiest month for family photos and one thing I love about it is getting to see how families have grown since I last took their pictures! Starting off the month is Melissa and Rob who I first met back in 2014 when I took their engagement photos and later would photograph their wedding and Melissa’s second pregnancy. It was lots of fun wandering around Millennium Park with their kids and though Collin did not want to stand still and preferred to look for frogs or other animals we still got some good pictures. Here are my favorites :)