Baby Delaney

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!

Klein Kids 2023

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 :)

Hounakey Family 2022

Winter can be a tricky time for family pictures, but I’m grateful for hotels with beautifully decorated lobbies and families who are up for anything :) I met the Hounakey’s for the first time last December and we had lots of fun, so this year I was excited to do holiday photos for them again! The JW Marriott downtown Grand Rapids has an iconic staircase that I’ve used as a backdrop for photos during the day before, but I didn’t realize they lit it up blue at night and this just added to the festive look. Plus the Christmas trees were so pretty. Here are some of my favorites from the Hounakey family last Saturday!

Johnston Family 2022

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!

4 generations - Johnston Family

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.

Still Family 2022

Fall family photo season is officially beginning with the Still family! I’ve photographed Chris and Sarah so much over the years and it’s always a joy to see how their family has grown. This year Chris’s parents and sister joined for an extended family session and the kids had fun showing me their garden and the horses next door!. My favorite part of this session was after the group pictures were done watching the kids
(and adults) in the garden picking vegetables and smelling flowers :)

Sophie's first birthday

At the end of June, my niece Sophie turned one! My sister in law set up a cute photo backdrop in their home and decorated for a mermaid themed birthday party. Sophie was in a good mood and eager to show off her new skills of pointing and waving to everyone at the party. She loved eating her cake and looking at all the gifts she was given. Unfortunately, the day we took family pictures Sophie had not slept well and was very attached to her mom. We managed to get a few smiles when she saw dogs or other kids walking by and she loved the few bites of ice cream she was given! Here are my favorite pictures of Sophie from the two photo shoots :)

Ian's 2 year old photos

It was so fun seeing how much Ian has grown since I took his pictures a year ago! He is definitely a toddler now, and in typical toddler fashion had his own agenda for this photo shoot his mom had carefully designed :) Ian enjoyed looking at all the Pooh stuffed animals but wanted to carry them around rather then sit still with them. He was very uninterested in taking photos with his parents but we did manage to get a few smiles! Here are some of my favorites of the new 2 year old.

Jesudas Family 2022

Due to Covid and distance, it had been a year since I visited my old college roommate and her family! When I finally had the chance to fly down to Tennessee for a week last month I made a point to bring my camera and schedule a time to take photos between playing with the big kids and holding the new baby :) I always tell parents that family pictures are a reflection of your kid at this age and there is no need to make them sit still and smile perfectly. Here are some of my favorites!

Baby Myra

I have been photographing Chris and Sarah since their engagement many years ago and it’s such a joy to see their family continue to grow. Baby Myra was about a month old when I went to their house for a mini session to document the family of 5! Big brother Joshua and big sister Emma were so sweet with their baby sister and just wanted to keep touching Myra. Here are some of my favorites from the session- we even got the dog, Ruby in some pictures :)

Klein kids 2021

In the past I have photographed the Klein family in the fall so I was excited when they chose to mix it up and do winter/ Christmas photos this year! I have always thought downtown Rockford does a great job decorating for the holidays and am glad I finally had a reason to take pictures there. The focus was just on photos of the kids rather then the whole family this time and though it was cold they toughed it out (and were bribed with candy) for almost an hour for this photo shoot :) I would definitely recommend this location next Christmas to anyone looking for some family pictures! Here are some of my favorites of the Klein kids.

Hounakey Family

Last weekend I met the Hounakey family at the Downtown Market greenhouse. They came home to Grand Rapids from Chicago and Washington DC for the holidays and I love that they made a point to schedule family pictures when everyone was together! The giant Christmas tree and all the twinkling lights among the greenery made for a beautiful backdrop. Plus, this family was not at all shy in front of the camera which made the session fun for all of us. Here are some of my favorite photos!

Aupperlee Family 2021

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!

Johnston/ Foley family 2021

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 :)

Still Family 2021

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 :)

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!

Baby Sophie

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.

Koopman Family

I had been trying to schedule this family for a long time and am so glad we finally picked a day and got some photos taken for them! Alyssa is expecting baby #3 later this summer so it was a great time to capture the stage of life the “big” kids are in. She knew of an old school house near a field and I was more then happy to discover a new location for family photos. I know it can be challenging to get young kids to sit still for pictures so I always tell families to let them run and play while I capture them and because of that I think we got some great pictures. Here are my favorites :)

Ensink Family

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!

DeJager Family 2020

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.