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!
Leo wanted senior pictures that would be unique and different from the other seniors at school, so it was decided that taking them during art prize would be really unique since the exhibits are time limited. Leo’s mom accompanied us on the photo session downtown Grand Rapids and she asked for a few pictures with her oldest child who she described as growing up alongside her. There was a threat of rain the evening we scheduled pictures, but luckily it stayed dry long enough to get these pictures done. Have a great senior year Leo!
At the end of “sunflower season” I discovered a great field near my house at Bremer Produce (which was free) and immediately began searching for someone to do a photo session there! My friends had been trying to think of unique locations for family pictures this year and this seemed like a great option. The trick to getting a four year old and two year old to focus for a picture session is snacks and these two definitely enjoyed the cookies their mom brought along! Here are some of my favorites from their session :)
Just a couple months ago I was taking maternity pictures for Mary and now baby Grace is here! She was born at the end of August and I was able to meet her on Labor Day just a week later. Big brother Ian gave her lots of kisses and even wanted to try using my camera to take some photos. Of course I also got to hold her for a few minutes at the end of the session :) Here are some of my favorites of 7 day old Grace and her family!
When I asked if anyone would be interested in a mini photo session at the Hudsonville fair this year, Jess was the first one to respond yes! I last saw her and her husband Jeff in March 2020 right before Covid lock down when I took their maternity photos downtown Grand Rapiuds. It was so fun to meet their daughter Addie who was born just a few days after that photo session and also surreal to realize it has been 3 years! We managed to find a few spots at the fairgrounds that were not crowded to take pictures, and at the end they let Addie try an elephant ear (which she licked all the sugar off then asked for more)! Here are some of my favorites of the VanOss family!
A couple weeks ago I met up with Gayle and Josh downtown Holland to take pictures ahead of their wedding. I have seen them in the past while doing family photos with Gayle’s sister, but it was great meeting more of the family. I loved the way they incorporated their two kids into the day and that Josh’s mom was the officiant. Plus the weather was great and Josh and Gayle are easy going and fun to work with! They claimed to not be photogenic, but I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves :)
One of the families I get to photograph every year are the Aniszko’s! It’s been a joy to document their engagement, wedding, dog, birth of their son and now pregnancy with their daughter. After rescheduling three times we ended up doing this photo session at the end of June in their backyard. Despite the poor air quality and tight timeline Mary, Aaron, 3 year old Ian (and even the dog) were good sports and we managed to get some cute pictures! Here are some of my favorites :)
I got a request for a last minute extended photo session at the beach with the Bopp family a couple weeks ago and I’m so glad I could make it happen for them! The beach is a special place for their family to gather from close and far and despite all the stairs to get down to the water, the kids were full of energy and excited to show me the tipi they had made out of sticks earlier in the day. My favorite pictures are the candid ones of them jumping and running, but the group pictures also turned out well!
Back in 2019 I met this family at Keagan and Nicholas’ intimate wedding and it was fun to see how they have grown since then! After a week of cooler summer weather the day we chose for family photos was sunny and humid. No one complained though as we sought out what little shade we could find at Millennium Park. My favorite moment of this session was when the entire family started singing in order to get the babies to smile, not every kid’s attention can be gained that easily and I love that they all knew the trick :)
My niece turns 2 at the end of this month and when my sister in law asked if I’d take some family photos for them to display at her birthday party I was happy to! We ended up doing two photo sessions a week apart due to cold weather the first time and wanting to capture memories at our new family cottage the second time. Sophie didn’t like the idea of sitting still or being held so most of the pictures are her running around, like a 2 year old would :) Here are some of my favorites!
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 :)
Part 2 of Kalala’s modeling portraits was rescheduled multiple times due to rain and cold weather, but we finally found a day that worked while the spring flowers were still in bloom! She did great despite the cold and crowds. We kept it simpler this time and did not do outfit changes or location changes and I’m glad she will have multiple options to use for her future modeling and acting portfolios :)
I know two girls on the Hudsonville varsity lacrosse team, but due to our cold rainy spring weather the last month I have not been motivated to attend any of their games. Last Wednesday I finally made it though and had a lot of fun learning about a sport I know very little about, plus they won the game! I could tell their team works hard and has fun together because the people on the sideline had a bubble gun that they would spray on teammates as they came off the field. Full disclosure, I am not a sports photographer and I had the wrong settings on my lens for half the game, but I did get a few good shots that I wanted to share!
The weather has been less than ideal for springtime photos in west Michigan that last few weeks, and after rescheduling 3 times I finally met up with Germaine. Though it’s not as common as high school graduation, I love the idea of taking pictures to commemorate college graduation. Germaine will be getting a degree in computer science from Calvin University this weekend and managed to find time between exams for a photo session. She braved the cold and walked around campus with heels on, but smiled through it all. This was both of our first attempts at getting champagne to spray for photos and luckily it worked out. Congratulations and good luck with whatever comes next Germaine!
My friend Rachael and her husband Alex have been through a lot of ups and downs on their journey to have a baby and Delaney was born via surrogate just 11 days before I met her and took these photos :) She was not very happy that we kept disrupting her nap to change positions for photos, but luckily her parents were able to comfort Delaney each time she started to cry. Plus, after a diaper change and bottle we even managed to take some pictures with the dog, Rosie, and outside on their front porch. I have learned so much about advocacy and surrogacy laws in Michigan from watching Rachael and Alex and am proud that they are using their voice and their story to create positive change for others!
Last week I got to catch up with Kalala who I used to babysit (yes I feel old seeing her as a teenager) because she needed pictures for her modeling and acting portfolio! Because we live in Michigan where it snows in March we came up with some creative indoor locations. I’m grateful that local hotels let us take pictures in their lobby and that Grand Rapids has a sky walk connecting many locations. We had fun exploring the JW Mariott and Amway Grand Hotel and trying out different outfits for different modeling looks. Here are some of my favorites from our Monday morning photo session!
Beatrice is spending her senior year as a foreign exchange student here in West Michigan. She was brave enough to trek through the snow at Hager Park to get to the locations I had in mind for pictures since the parking lot was not plowed all the way! We were lucky to have a sunny day, but it was still cold though you’d never guess looking at Beatrice since she has a natural smile and warmth. Here are some of my favorites from her session :)
Last week I went to a really fun event put on by Professionals of Grand Rapids to support an organization that is close to my heart, Arts in Motion which provides art, music, and dance classes for individuals with disabilities. This was such a fun night with live music by the Oxymorons Band , dancing, drumming, a silent auction, and even an Elvis impersonator showing off his skills all to raise money and awareness for Arts in Motion. I’ve always wanted to photograph an event at Meijer Gardens and I know some of the dancers, so when I was asked to document this “winter soiree” it was an easy yes! Here are some of my favorite pictures :)
The Klein family started off the new year with updated pictures of their kids! It’s crazy how much they have grown since I last saw them for photos in December 2021. They did such a great job dealing with the cold and we had fun walking around downtown Rockford looking for good locations (and looking at dogs walking by). This year also included pictures of the kids with a great aunt who was visiting from out of state, thanks so much for letting me capture memories of these ages/stages of your family :)
