Sweet Rachel

I had the pleasure of meeting little Miss Rachel today. What a sweetie! She was so cooperative and I couldn't get over her gorgeous mound of dark brown hair contrasting with her porcelain skin.

I did some quick edits of my favorites for mom and dad to see since I have a couple other sessions to edit before I get to the rest of theirs. Thank you for sharing a small part of your beautiful daughter's life with me. I hope you enjoy the images!

Button nose, perfect lips and such a cute chin!

Teeny, tiny baby toes.
The bond between a mother and child are so strong, even from very beginning. Rachel gaze was fixed on her mom.
It was a challenge for me to get her to take her eyes off her mom and look at me.

Such an adorable family.


Daddy's girl?
I just love this next series of three images!



Do you think this was a hint for me to get the big black camera away from her? I crack up when I look at this one.

The Shoes!

So if someone's pink toenails can be the focus of my pictures, it shouldn't surprise you that I dig cool shoes too! I loved Karen's shoes she wore with her second outfit today during our esession, so I had to post a few of them.


You can't post pictures of just shoes, right?

Karen + Nick

I had a great time today getting to know Karen and Nick a little better doing their e-session at Frances Park. Noontime and no clouds can make photography a bit of a challenge but I think we got some great shots. I am going to be busy most of the weekend so I wanted to get a few shots up for them to see. I haven't even downloaded all the images so I may post more later.

I hope you guys enjoy these!









Okay, so this one's probably not going in the newspaper announcement...but I LOVE it!

J&D as M&Ms

Okay, a million things to do and what do I do? Check out the blog of a photographer whose work I think is really cool named Bobbi.

Her post today was about this website where you can custom design your own M&M. I took the liberty of designing one for my husband and for me. I won't comment on my husband's except to say orange is his favorite color, but anyone who knows me will definitely identify with the ponytail, glasses, bags under the eyes and of course....Birkenstocks! I couldn't decide whether to add a stethoscope or a camera, but since the hubby was wearing his stethoscope, I opted for the camera.

Here's the hubby.
And here's me in case you wondered what I look like!

In case you want to waste some of your own time, all while having some fun, check it out at www.becomeanmm.com

Maybe if my "to do" list grows long enough, I will post my son's M&M even though you all know what he looks like!

The Buzz

Many thanks to my husband for having the courage to take our son to the barber. Even though scissors turned to clippers...he's still a cutie!

Staci and Jason

I knew I was in for a challenge when I asked Jason on a scale of 1 to 10, how much he was looking forward to the engagement shoot we were about to do, with 1 being "dreading" it. I think his answer was negative 10! I didn't take it personally and told him it was my goal at the end of his session to raise that rating to at least negative 3. I think we agreed at the end that we actually moved out of the negatives...thank goodness!

They were both very willing to try some of my crazy ideas, some of them worked and some didn't but I appreciated their wonderful attitudes. I am looking forward to their wedding this August! I promise no posing anywhere near restrooms on the wedding day guys!

Here are my favorites.


I think the shot below is the only smile I got out of Jason all day! I wish I could remember what I said so I could say it all day long on their wedding day. I love the look on Staci's face.


It was such a nice day after some really heavy rain earlier in the morning.


This was the first time I had met Jason and I am pretty sure when I laid down in the middle of the street, he wondered why Staci had picked me to photograph their wedding.




Aren't they cute together?


Thanks for being such good sports you guys!

Kristen & Clay

I had a wonderful time this past Saturday second shooting for Abby at Kristen and Clay's wedding in South Lyon, MI. Here's a second chance to check out her awesome work if you didn't click on her name already.... Abby Rose Photo. I would shoot with Abby any day of the week! Not only is she an awesome photographer but she is so fun and easy going. She makes second shooting a joy.

There's something I like about the lines of her dress in this one.

Can't you just see the admiration in the flower girl's eyes as she watches Kristen?

Can you blame her? Isn't she stunning?


The groomsmen and their gifts from Clay. I think the guy in the background was wondering why I asked them to put the albums in front of their faces.


I like how you can see Clay's face as Kristen and her dad head down the aisle.


Towards the end of the ceremony, Clay leaned in for the "you may kiss the bride" a little prematurely.
Look at his left hand...it screams "Can you blame me?"
Some portraits. The light was gorgeous! Who am I kidding, so were the bride and groom!

A few details.

The first dance. I love all the kids watching at the edge of the dance floor. (p.s. those are not spots on my lens, those are the dj's lights)

Another sweet moment. Near the end of the father daughter dance, Kristen's dad had pre-recorded the most heartfelt message to her. All the weddings I attend have emotional moments but this one made me tear up more than most and I was not alone.


Let the dancing begin!



Here's my favorite shot of the day. Abby had Kristen and Clay in front of some gorgeous tall pine trees and the sun was peeking through. Good call Abby!

Congratulations Kristen and Clay! Can't wait to work with you again Abby!

Dear Dad

Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful father in the world...my dad! I could write a novel about all the things he has done for me, our family, his friends and even people he has never met, but well, I will probably tear up and not be able to type. So you'll have to take my word for it that he is the most generous, kind, caring, forgiving, loving (you get the point) father in the world and I am blessed enough to be able to call him dad. And my son can't even put into words how much he loooooves his papa!

My son also wanted to add his 2 cents about his own dad. He pretty much feels the same way about his dad that I feel about mine (see above) and he wanted to let him know how much he loves him...even if he is at work on Father's Day. With a little help from his secretary, he wanted to do something special for his day. Click on the title of this post to see what he came up with.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Mother's Day

Since tomorrow is Father's Day (in case you forgot, you can still run to the store today to pick up a card), I have declared today Mother's Day. Why? Because after having my own child, I realized everyday should be Mother's Day...or at least Parent's Day.

Actually, this post has to with my mom (and dad), not me. More on dad tomorrow. My son loves my mom and my mom is the reason I have made it through motherhood thus far (18 months down...18 years to go). She is so generous and giving and helpful in so many ways, not the least of which is regularly taking my son to her house to stay so that I can have a moment of sanity and today, photograph a wedding.

Thank you mom for all you do! (Thank you dad too!)




p.s. Don't ask what's up with my son's crazy hair. It's not that we don't want to cut it, but it is such an ordeal when we try to take him to the barber that we might let him grow it and put it in a ponytail.

Maaaaarvelous Macro

I had always heard wonderful things about the Canon macro lens I just purchased, but I couldn't bring myself to take the plunge before now since I already had a Canon lens with the exact same focal length, plus it is a faster prime, just no macro.

Well....I have no buyer's remorse in fact, I might only do macro photography from here on out. Might make weddings a bit of a challenge...but I sure will get some juicy ring shots!

Just a few test shots from my front yard. The lens did make me realize how shaky my hands are and that I need to practice holding my breath since I don't want to use a tripod. Oh and that the depth of field on this thing can be ultra shallow!

None of these images have been cropped in the slightest and they are even shaper in full resolution. Cool, eh?




Even the arch-nemesis of our lawn looks better in macro.

Yep, even a rock sitting on concrete looks kinda neat!

I've met my match

So I mistakenly thought that children's portrait photography was tough. Today I met my match attempting pet photography. Thank goodness it was for my brother and sister-in-law, who I hope will be happy with one or two cute individual shots of each of their dogs...or allow me to attempt a re-shoot.

Here's my favorites.

Meet Diesel

And his sister Lola
Doesn't it look like she is growling or smiling really big with her pearly whites? I love that little patch of white fur!
We had a wonderful time visiting with Diesel and Lola's parents and of course, my son was in heaven having two dogs just his size with which to play.

Of course he can also entertain himself by flossing between his toes with grass.


But he would rather play with someone else. My son loves his auntie (and his uncle too)!

And of course, dad's not a bad playmate either.

We love you guys! Thank you for hanging out with us today!

Just another day.

My son's favorite toys of the moment are his bugs and his bubble blowing lawn mower. Sorry no pictures of the mower, but these are the only bugs that I will ever say are cute. I hate bugs!


Once the excitement of the toys wears off...this is the face and attitude I pretty much get the rest of the day. Is he two yet?

Maybe you can't see the boogies cascading from his nose...but trust me they are there and were about to get smeared all over my shirt and pants. Gotta love motherhood!

Looking at his boogies. The only way he will let me wipe his nose is if I show him the boogies I get out of his nose.

Thank goodness the human jungle gym (aka dad) was home today. This is the attitude he gets from his son. (There's the mower in the background)




Even though dad is his favorite, can you tell I politely asked him to give his dad a kiss?


My boys under the ottoman.

Guess who?


Only because dad asked him to hang out with me.