A Gift of Memories through a Photoshoot

They are not just another cancer story

In the home Lifestyle Photography -
Black and White Collection

   I walked into John and Wendy's home to find 2 sweet kids playing on a huge sectional couch. Wendy had their home spotless and decorated with things that don't scream "department store" but "this is who my family is."

   My local hospital had gotten us in touch... I have a kind lady on the inside that will pass my info onto cancer patients who she feels as though could use a photoshoot as a way to express themselves, or preserve a moment and then we gift them with that- the shoot, the images, all of it. John was the second gentleman this year she's gotten me in contact with who had terminal cancer.

   His wife Wendy was willing to sneak away from home for an hour of so for a good cup of coffee and to tell me about who they are as a family and how she imagined them being captured for one of the last times. Wendy used to work at The Time Herald so she's no stranger to photography. I was instantly excited for her to have a chance to be in front of the camera with her family. And her requests were simple- capture us doing every day things we love to do together. The tradition that was top on her list was getting John tucking the kids into bed, like he always does- immortalizing those moments that are pure and so simple.

   The day of I took a back seat as this family of 4 bonded over board games, baking cookies, or simply cuddling on the couch together.

   We ended the shoot with John tucking the kids into bed. At this moment, with the camera protecting me, creating a barrier between real life and photography, it sunk in that someday soon these kids wouldn't have their Dad there and I had to remind myself- this isn't your time to break down, Autumn. You are here to do a job for this family, you have a gift you want to give them and you need to make yourself numb right now, and so I did.  

   I watched as Wendy had this carefree way of making this serious man in front of the camera laugh so easily and lower his guard as they talked about their first date. I saw how much he enjoyed talking dolls with his daughter and listening to his son read. Surrounding them were picture books of their own photographs showing family vacations and fun times. That home was filled with air clouded with love.

   Less than two weeks later John unexpectedly passed away, but his memory surely lives on, strongly, as the husband who supported his wife in her dreams, and the Dad who smelled stinky toes and flexed his Superman muscles.   

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Check out our Full Family Gallery!

Check out all the love in The Werner Families Photoshoot!

To see another Memorable Shoot we gifted check out Mark's Blog!

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The Easiest yet most Alluring Boudoir Session you'll ever do!

If you're under the impression that I am a little sexpot then we've clearly never met in person.
I enjoy combat boots, beer, and goofy behavior. I feel foreign in heels, I freak out when my dress is too short, and you can constantly see my underwear lines through my yoga pants because I just really hate thongs.

I am not your typical boudoir client.

But.

Boudoir intrigues me. The emotion keeps me coming back for more.
The way dark shadows and sultry highlights play on the skin. The way curves, muscles, bones, and the human body as a whole looks when properly photographed. The way motion and expression can evoke a feeling. THAT'S what I'm obsessed with.

A couple of years ago I asked women to give society the middle finger, where I wrote a blog and did a few self portraits that you can see here about beauty standards of today.

This is my updated version of that with a twist.

And if I can do this, then damn it, you can too.

But there's something you need to know about this shoot.

First off- half of these images you see here I'm in a big, ugly sweater and pj pants. Yes. Go back and look. You can see the high neck of the sweater in some of the shots.
The second half I'm just in a tank that was under my sweater, which you can also see in some of the shots.
And yes, I shot it all selfie style, sitting Indian style on my sunroom floor with a book shelf in the background.

So if your brain is stuck on lingerie, elaborate beds, and being naked for boudoir- you need to realize it's not about how much of you that you bare to the camera.

It's about the light, the emotion, it's about you in the simplest form. That's what sexy is.

Give me 1 room, 1 girl, 1 window and not even 1 hour or 1 outfit and I will evoke something out of you that you didn't even know you had hiding in you to begin with. Or maybe you did and you were just too scared to let it out. 

This is your opportunity to let it out.

Beauty. Rawness. That edge you feel when you look into the bathroom mirror and begin to sing and dance in your underwear, after a shower, with wet hair into your hairbrush to your favorite song like you're in a music video starring you. 

Yeah. That moment. Let's capture it and make it yours. Make it Natural. Make it beautiful.
 

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For those of you who are still unconvinced that this isn't possible for you.... here's a selfie less 1 minute after my "shoot" with myself.
Same spot, same hair, same clothes.
Different expression, different light, different angle.
It's seriously this easy.

I know what looks good, I know what to ask you to do. I know the angles, I know light.
I specialize in making women of all ages look and feel amazing. Let me worry about that part and you just worry about showing up for yourself.

I don't need you to be anything you aren't.
I just need you to be present in this life you're living and allow me to capture that for you.

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Contact me here to book your own beauty or boudoir shoot, or just to simply ask questions and chat about the process!

See more Beauty / Boudoir Galleries here.

See what other personal projects I've done here.

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A His and Hers Engagment Session

An outdoor engagement session-

from the forest to the city streets

   Meet Marisa and Craig- the most adorable couple that have nothing in common.
   Ok, that’s a total lie. But if you ask them strictly how they feel about the outdoors, well, then, it’s partially true. haha
   As we all know, relationships are about sacrifices and getting outside of our comfort zones, or for Marisa getting outside, like really outside....  Craig loves the outdoors. He’s happy in the woods. Actually- if he had his way we would have photographed this whole thing outdoors in the middle of winter, but... time wouldn’t allow us to do that, since we are photographing their wedding in a few short months! Marisa, who told us the woods was NOT her thing, trusted me though when I told her it would be worth the struggle to get some amazing shots... while also making her future hubby pretty happy.
   He was pretty impressed with her as she trudged through tall, picky grass, laid with bugs, and sat down right in the middle of the dirty woods. So when we switched things up and went downtown, Marisa was in her element and we looked for Craig to found that common ground. Spinning around the city streets in her dress and dancing, Craig held her hand the whole way.
   Their chemistry together is adorable. They connect on a level where it doesn’t matter if their interests clash... because they have everything else to offer each other, like love, respect, friendship, and a bond I know is unbreakable and meant to be.
   Learn from them. Love each other. Accept others differences and tightly embrace what brings you together.

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Want to see all of our love birds? check out the full love gallery...

If you like the Downtown look check out Cory & Erica's Engagement session!

Want us to travel to you? Here is Troy & Blair's engagement session we did in Savannah Georgia

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Take a look at their video too... they are simply the cutest together!

We create our own "Through the Looking Glass" moments

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Watch the video to see an AJBC fairytale unfold- 

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Photographer- AJBC Photography
Poem- Autumn Carufel
Assistant 1- Taylor Walsh
Assistant 2- Jake Carufel
Model- Lauren Cross
Wardrobe and Props- Lauren Cross Designs

Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit Michigan

(Below: Poem written out, followed by individual portraits found in the above film.)

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There is a truth in this world that I refuse to believe. 

The truth that everything has to be exactly as it seems.

Because, you see, I am a dreamer, and I am a collector. 

I am a believer and I am a fairytale wrecker.

But not in the way that you probably think I am.
I don’t sit down and destroy books of fiction. 

I sit down and give those books vision.

I open the pages and give them eyes.
I open suitcases and watch as hopes come alive. 

Because when I was a kid I was told fairytales aren’t real.

You can’t blame my parents, it’s just how the rest of the world feels.

But me, I knew different.

Me, I knew more. 

Me I knew wanting something that was impossible was just through a hidden door. 

A door I would find eventually in my life.

Where plays and toys and make believe...

Would slowly show itself to me.

But as something new. Something real.
Something I could touch
and something I could feel. 

And no I’m not too old to feel this way. 

I say you’re too old, for taking my dreams away.

So go back to a time where all you wanted was to be free.

And start realizing your head is the only thing that makes it so it can’t be.

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Photographer- AJBC Photography
Poem- Autumn Carufel
Assistant 1- Taylor Walsh
Assistant 2- Jake Carufel
Model- Lauren Cross
Wardrobe and Props- Lauren Cross Designs

Belle Isle Conservatory, Detroit Michigan

The back story:

2 years ago I posted on facebook that I wanted to do a creative shoot. That's how I met Lauren. She said she might be interested so I quickly stalked her on facebook. Her look was unique and gorgeous, so I knew she would fit the part. But then I started realizing she was also an artist, a maker, and a collector. We had similar loves for old and grungy things, so we decided to meet. I drove to her house in Marysville where she showed me room after room after room full of beautifully old and rough pretties! 
And then she took me to the back corner of the basement to show me The Door, and an idea was born. We spent the next hour developing the story- a girl playing make believe finds a door, enters it, and then finds herself transported in to this land where her daydreams are now her reality. 
I think I secretly live through my photography, because that's all I want out of life- magic, all the time. 
We kept in touch, passing back and forth ideas and photos. My schedule FINALLY allowed for me to fit the shoot in! My husband Jake, my assistant Taylor, and myself drove to Marysville where Lauren allowed us to gather up her precious treasures and take them to our first location. The sun was shining, the weather was perfect, and right away I KNEW, I just knew, this was going to be one of my favorite things I had ever shot. 
We filmed, photographed, laughed, and left with plans to meet again a week later, when we would haul the heavy antique door down the road, down a hill at 8 am, balance it on the roots of an old tree sticking out above the water, and then drive to Detroit. 
Because we had photographed at what looked to be a more modern conservatory for our "make believe in real life" scene  I wanted to go to a much older, much more original concept of a conservatory for our "entering the fairytale world" scene, and so it came that we traveled an hour + together to The Belle Isle Conservatory in Detroit. Belle Isle is beautiful and not only was it a wonderful place to end our shoot and tell our story perfectly, it allowed us a day to just enjoy something new and unique together, which is becoming more and more important to me with every shoot I do. 
It used to be just about the photos for me, because that was what I was taught portrait photography was. Now it's about the whole experience. Because if not for the experience, then for what?
Afterwards we shopped in Ferndale and got some tasty sushi and quietly drove back home after a long and creative day. 
It took me another year to sort through it all, find the time, and get to a place where I could properly put it all together. 
Our video we filmed is still not done, but I am ecstatic to release these images accompanied by a poem I wrote for it. 
And to think, it all started with an old door.  

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If you loved the Concept of "The Door" then you should also check out "The Pillow and The Pond" and The Burning Shack- they are some of my favorite projects to date!

Check out the full beauty gallery here

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