Jared came all the way from Indianapolis to see me last weekend. (OK, he wasn’t here just to see me… his dad ran the Grand Rapids marathon and they were visiting friends.) But, I felt very honored that his mom and dad wanted to make sure they got Jared’s portrait done while they were here! Jared was so fun, he was full of smiles for me! (After he got his bag of cookies!) So, thank you for letting me be part of your busy weekend here in Grand Rapids! Here are a few of my favorites in Black and white!

I have known Megan for about 12 years. So, I was very excited when she asked me to photograph her wedding with Tom! We had a beautiful day at the park. I love this time of year. It was a little drafty though… right Tom? We started at the park, and ended up at my home studio. Thanks Megan and Tom for a fun afternoon, and thanks for some good laughs! I can’t wait to do your wedding next September!

I am so excited about my new Christmas cards this year. Here is another favorite of mine.
You can view the entire collection HERE!

We had such a hard time scheduling Cassie’s senior session. She originally wanted the beach. She runs Cross Country, so she was busy! Her schedule and my schedule just did not click together. We changed her appointment a couple times. Then, the day we were supposed to go to the beach, it rained! So, we ended up rescheduling, and going to Spring Grove Park. We were so glad we did. The color was absolutely gorgeous. I can’t believe the difference a few days made in the color. Cassie was so glad that it worked out this way, and I am too. Her orange sweater matched the leaves perfectly!

Thanks Cassie for a beautiful afternoon!

I did some volunteer work for an organization called Michigan Heart Gallery. It is an organization that asks professional photographers to photograph children who need to be adopted. They have a big gallery where prospective parents come to view the pictures. They say that their chances of being adopted are greater when they have professional pictures taken. So, I went to Holland to meet these children and take their picture a few weeks ago. We had a great time, capturing some great images! Here are a few of my favorite!

My phone isn’t working! So, the best way to get a hold of me is to email me through my website!

Friday I had three outdoor sessions scheduled…. Kari Was the first one. (By the way… not too many people spell their name like me, so that was fun! Thanks for having a cool name Kari!) We were supposed to meet at the park on Friday morning. I looked at the radar, and there was no rain in site. I got in the car and started driving to the park, and it started raining! Well, Kari came all the way from Fremont, so we were still going to try and make this work. I called her and told her to come over and we would still start with the indoor session, then we would see if we could go outside. Well after the indoor session, I looked outside, and it was clearing up. We decided to try and go to the park. On the way there, these were my thoughts… “I think it is going to be fine… oh, it is raining again, this isn’t going to work… oh, now it is clearing up again, it’s not raining! Oh, this won’t work, it is raining again…” Well, we took about 4 images at the park, and it started to down pour! Sorry Kari! (We did get some great inside stuff anyway….)

Last week I did Allison’s senior session. It was a beautiful day at Spring Grove park. The park was crawling with Photographers again! I think that is very common this time of year. But, we found some great spots, and got some great images. Thank you for your patience Allison!

Here are a couple from the indoor session that followed the outdoor session!

It was a great night at the park on Wednesday night! The park was full of photographers! The VandenBerg family came for family portraits. It was still a little damp from the rain we had on Tuesday… which made for the ground to be a little muddy. Good thing for Photoshop, because I think I am going to have to Photoshop Kennedy’s knees! Here are my favorites!

It was Evan’s birthday on Tuesday, and I was privileged enough to have a sliver in his special day! His mom and dad brought him over for a session for his birthday. Even was a wonderful little boy. He didn’t fuss much at all. I love to catch children’s natural expressions while they play. I did get some of him smiling too… but I think these are precious when they show his personality! One thing that I thought was very special… The stuffed animal in the portrait below is “Duet”. (Short for Deuteronomy.) When Evan was born, his mom and dad took pictures of Evan with Duet, so they could compare his size and see how he was growing! So, of course they wanted Duet in a few of Evan’s portraits! I thought that was a great idea!

Thanks Eric and Betsy for sharing Evan with me on his birthday, doing what I love to do!