Underwater Summer Beauty

An Underwater Photography Session

A beauty session shot 4 feet under water in a pool

The way hair slowly twirls and fights time.
The way the sun rays break through the surface of the water to dance on the skin.
This is the magic that underwater photography brings. 

Take that visual journey with me.

These images reflect the softer side of underwater photography and the absolute beauty I am slowly becoming obsessed with.
Part 2 where images transition from color to black and white show a darker side of my experience, something with more grit, something that feels less peaceful and more like a photograph you found hidden in your grandmas attic and wonder- who were those people?

I can’t end this story without talking about all the HILARIOUS times we had while trying to accomplish this session.
First- it’s a hot, sticky, summer day and I have 15+ yards of fabric for each girl to drape all over herself, almost resembling a horrible 90s prom dress that I PROMISE them will look fabulous once floating in the water- fingers crossed.
We pin, pull, and tuck, and then head out to the pool.
I’ve rented an underwater camera, and despite all the negative things I’ve read about shooting in a pool, I’m confident we’ll still get something beautiful. Instantly... I find out every article I had read was so so so right. The chlorine causes a foggy mess when more than 3 feet away from your subject and what you are left with is either failure, or breaking personal space boundaries. I decided to invade personal space.
The girls who were brave enough to trust me with this vision were amazing, amazing models. Not only did they fight with unruly fabric, they also went under water and attempted to keep calm, open their eyes, and vogue in order for me to get the shot.
My assistant was in the back keeping the tulle in line, cleaning the pool of beetles and being the moral support I needed when it felt like things were maybe going to be a waste of time.
I was fighting with a fogged up, uncomfortable snorkel mask about every 10 seconds, swimming practically on top of my models. Iif I wanted to be below the model I had to release all my air and sit at the bottom of the pool for as long as I could while they fought and floated back and forth for as long as they could. My hair... well, we won’t go there but that was something else. haha
And then just the typical pool things- water in your mouth, water in your nose, chlorine in your eyes. Underwater Photography is a whole new animal.
But the whole vibe of the day honestly kept this project together. We had 4 young women all bobbing in a pool together, no makeup, hair a mess, horrible fashion sense, and it felt freeing. So I thank them for that!

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Love the feel of this shoot? Check out Audrey's Artistic Pillow & The Pond Photoshoot

Beauty & Water go so well together, check out Mackenzie's senior photoshoot on Lake Huron

View The full Beauty Gallery and Senior Gallery

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Watch the BTS video so you can see for yourself! Its hilarious and sums up the day- summer, pool. beauty, lots of laughs.

Spring Maternity Session on Lake Huron

A Spring Beach Session in Lexington, Michigan

A Maternity session with the whole family

    Amazing how a bump can turn in to a baby. How you see a woman one minute and a mom the next.
   Kelly and Nick came to me later in Kelly’s pregnancy for a maternity session. It was Spring in Michigan, so we had to pretend like it was a warm day on the beach when in fact, it wasn’t! It was windy and cool. Fooled ya!
   Shortly after this Kelly gave birth to an adorable little boy and it took her a bit to get back in the studio to view everything. The change of the seasons had also changed them from a couple in to a family. I can’t imagine what it felt like for her to come back and see herself as this totally different person! She had evolved so much in just a few short weeks!
   Those changes are what makes up an amazing story- this is theirs:

Oh, and P.S. You HAVE to see how SWEET Kelly's FIRST baby is... her itty bitty pup. Take a look.

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Check out the full family gallery

To see another beautiful maternity session check out Bridget & Careena's shoot

See the beauty of birth through a fine art maternity session with Larisha

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Sisters celebrate First Communion together at St. Ronalds

We drove 45 mins from the studio and pulled in to an empty church parking lot.
I quietly entered to find a woman who told me to make myself at home.
There was one other man in the entire church and he was sitting in a pew sketching out a painting of his grandchildren. How ironic that we were both at church to create art.
Then in walks these two little cuties. Dressed like young, beautiful, innocent little brides. I was photographing the celebration of their First Communion.
It was a very emotional time for mom, which made the whole experience really special for me. I love capturing these moments for people- the ones they fear they will forget even the slightest detail of- how their curls fell, what gloves they wore, and the bond these sisters share at this exact moment. The photos are rich with history too- great grandmas bible, grandmas gifted rosaries, moms veil.
I've only photographed in a church twice (not counting weddings) and the light is pure magic. There is literally little glowing sparkles of beauty in every image.
After that we went out to a tiny strip of grass off the side of the parking lot and played in the dandelions. It was an opportunity for the girls to let loose a bit, yell, dance, and play.
Take a look at what we caught-

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To see more adorable sibling sessions check out the Burnettes Family!

View the full family gallery!

Check out more summer family fun with Kristina and kids

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Check out the behind the scenes video of us shooting in this beautiful and then the girls dancing in a field of dandelions!

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!