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!
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 :)
This is the summer of babies and I love it! So many of my friends are having second (or third) kids and my sister in law gave birth to my first niece. Sophie was born at the end of June and after a week long stay in the NICU, I finally was able to meet her on the 4th of July when she was 10 days old. She was very tolerant of me sticking a camera in her face which is great because I anticipate this will be the first of many times I’m taking her pictures :) Here are some of my favorites from her photo shoot last week.
I’m lucky enough to live just a mile from this family and get to spend time with them often (especially during the last year of COVID). I was so excited to meet their latest addition, baby Ivan and see how Olive was adjusting to being a big sister! He was just 11 days old and wide awake during the photo shoot (despite all attempts to get him to sleep), but we managed to get some great pictures anyway. Here are some of my favorites!
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!
Last week I met up with the Stoubs to take some updated family photos (last time i took their photos they didn’t have a dog) and I loved seeing the unique locations in Hudsonville they chose for pictures! I see this family regularly, but something about taking photos made me realize how grown up the “kids” suddenly are. With one having just finished high school and one starting her senior year of college I’m so glad we were able to schedule this photo shoot and commemorate the last time they were all living in the same house!
Even though I did a mini front porch session with this family back in May, now that it’s July they were ready for a longer session (away from their home, with the additional family members who don’t live together) and I was happy to oblige. Although the place we planned to do photos didn’t work out, we were lucky that right down the road was Crane’s Orchard which provided some great backgrounds. We even managed to get the two year old to hold still long enough to be in a few photos. Here are some of my favorites!
Last weekend I had the opportunity to do an extended family session with the Sommerfeld’s while they were enjoying a family vacation in Grand Haven. I had met them once before when I photographed their daughter and son in laws wedding a few years ago so it was great to reconnect. They chose a park away from the crowds and the bright sun of the beach which was the perfect choice for a holiday weekend in a beach town as it provided plenty of shade and we didn’t have to worry about other people in the background! I also loved seeing how the kids were having fun with their aunt, uncles, and grandparents, here are some of my favorite photos of them!
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!
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!
Earlier this summer I got to meet up with another extended family to take photos for them at a cottage they were renting on the beach in Grand Haven. The kids were so friendly and immediately greeted me when I arrived and even the baby was in a good mood during the photo session! I loved watching everyone run around on the beach barefoot and even the dog was in on the fun. Here are some of my favorites from the Feyer family.
Another repeat family is featured today. I photographed the Baker’s last year on a snowy day and this year the goal was to have “fall” photos but we had to push back their scheduled photo shoot by a week and ended up getting snow here in West Michigan in that time! Instead of taking pictures at a park we decided to go downtown Grand Rapids and found a really cool alleyway that I had never noticed before. Here are some of my favorites from their session.
Last Friday I had the privilege of meeting Mady and Nick and photographing their intimate courthouse wedding in South Haven (so intimate that I was asked to sign the marriage license as a witness). These two live out of state and wanted a cute lakeside town for their wedding which they were keeping secret from everyone. I love that they still wanted photos despite keeping the rest of the wedding small and am amazed that they managed to keep this wedding secret for months from everyone they know! Mady and Nick were so much fun and more then willing to brave the cold and the wind of southwest Michigan for some great photo spots - I just wish I could have seen the reactions of their friends and family when they surprised them with these pictures :) Here are some of my favorites from their wedding day.
I love taking photos of growing families and the Beverages are no exception! Karen and I have been friends for several years and I had the joy of photographing her and Doug's wedding as well as taking newborn photos of both their kids. Their yard makes a beautiful backdrop for fall photos and we were luckily able to schedule this shoot on a perfect fall evening. Here are some of my favorites!
I can not believe that Tristyn is a senior this year! I've known this boy since he was a baby and it's been a joy watching him grow up. Tristyn has never enjoyed having his photo taken and his mom started a tradition several years ago of me taking pictures of the kids instead of her buying school pictures. Taylor is now a junior in college, Tristyn a senior in high school and Ty a freshman in high school so I might have to stop calling them "kids" soon! He knew some great spots around Plainwell and it was worth going off the trail to get there. After exploring went back to their house for photos of the extended family. Take a look at some of my favorites from the day.
