This has been a slower than normal October, so last weekend I posted on Facebook asking if any of my friends wanted photos before the leaves fall off the trees. Luckily, the Bopp family responded and we got their pictures scheduled the same day at the beautiful campus of Aquinas College in Grand Rapids. I love taking pictures there and hadn’t had the chance in a long time, so when they suggested the location I immediately agteed Here are some of my favorites of the Bopp family :)
Fall colors have peaked here in west Michigan and Elissa planned a beautiful evening for a photo session with her three kids! I love walking around Grand Ravines and luckily it was not busy so the kids could run (literally) and not be in anyone’s way. Though the boys didn’t have any interest in holding still or being in pictures with their mom, I had fun capturing their personalities and seeing how excited they were to explore the trails at park :) Here are some of my favorites!
Fall photo season wouldn’t be complete until I saw the Johnston family whose pictures I’ve been taking annually since they only had one kid :) Luckily, we had unseasonably warm weather at the start of November and even though the leaves were gone from the trees it was fun exploring more of their property and finding new spots to take pictures. Claire, Andy, their kids and parents are experts at this by now which makes the photos so quick and easy. This year we even did a few inside with their new cat, a very unique sphynx. Here are some of my favorites!
Some of these faces might look familiar and that’s because I’ve done family pictures for one family several times and senior pictures for two of the girls. The day after I took Brooklyn’s senior pictures, I met up with her extended family at Hager Park for round two of photography! It was so great to see four generations of a family all together and I’m grateful for this opportunity to capture a beautiful fall day with them.
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 :)
Another returning family, the Aupperlee’s have added a baby since I last saw them in 2019 and it was so fun catching up with them again! The day we chose for photos was raining on and off but they didn’t let that get in the way of walking around Hager Park in Jenison looking for fall colors. The kids explored the woods and it was so cute watching how the little sisters wanted to do everything big brother did :) Here are some of my favorites from their photo session!
Another group of familiar faces to feature this fall- I love photographing every fall are the Johnston/ Foley family every year and seeing how the kids have grown (and meeting the new kids that have been born).! Claire and Andy live on a beautiful dirt road and have a great yard that makes for lots of great background for pictures. The kids are old enough this year to respond well to bribery (or young enough for it not to matter) and because of that we got the pictures done in record time! Here are some of my favorites :)
I’ve been photographing Chris and Sarah longer then most of my other “regular” fall families. These two were my neighbors during their engagement and early marriage and I am so grateful I’ve been able to keep in touch with them over the years and document their growing family. Along with Emma and Joshua, they will be adding a baby sister into their family in just one more month, plus they just moved into a new house. So much to celebrate and I’m glad I was able to document this moment for them :)
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!
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 :)
I love taking pictures downtown Grand Rapids and I’m glad the Ensink family gave me this opportunity. We seized the opportunity of the last warm weekend this fall and walked along the river looking for spots in the shade (who knew it could be so sunny in November in Michigan). Though the kids were loosing interest after just a few pictures, they rallied and I think we ended up with some good ones. Here are some of my favorites!
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 :)
I’ve gotten to photograph Jess and Jason multiple times, their engagement, wedding, and family pictures when their first daughter was younger so I was excited when they wanted pictures now that they are a family of four! We met at Hager Park on a beautiful fall evening and it was such a fun time catching up, meeting baby Julianna who was born just before the start of the pandemic, and exploring with three year old Josie, who wanted to hold my hand while walking the trails! The leaves were at their peak color and we found so many great spots to take pictures. Here are some of my favorites from their session.
The Grand Ravines are such a pretty spot for pictures in the fall so I’m glad the Wiersma family chose this location! Plus, it was a beautiful fall day for walking around a park (which I did after the session ended). Despite the pandemic, it’s so nice being able to take pictures of families gathered together this fall. Here are some of my favorite photos from their session!
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!
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.
Last Sunday we were obsessively checking the weather to see if the rain would stop in time for this family session and lucky for us it not only stopped raining but the sun even came out and warmed things up. I have taken photos of the Still family for many years and had a great time adding their extended family to the annual fall photo session. We met at Bysterveld Park which was a location none of us had been before and I’m so glad we discovered this great location. I will definitely suggest it to families in the future because they had awesome fall color and lots of trails to explore. Here are some of my favorite photos of the Still/ Vandyke family!
Sometimes last minute scheduling works out great, Niki reached out to me last weekend and we scheduled her family photos for Tuesday! We ended up picking the only day this week that it has not rained and we had a great time exploring Provin Trails! I love this park and definitely need to make a point to photograph there more often, especially in the fall. Here are some of my favorites from the Niki, Nick and their two adorable boys :)
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!
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!
