Let me show you what natural beauty looks like- teen grunge style.

Teen Fashion Photoshoot straight out of a magazine spread.

Aspiring young model matures with edgy session.

   Jillian is the epitome of natural beauty with a unique twist. I don’t know what it is, but before her session I secretly stalked her on facebook, as probably all photographers do, and I instantly feel in love with her look. She’s 14 and the perfect mixture of an innocent yet mature look that looks effortless yet dramatic.
   Jealous!
   We had planned on her bringing an oversized shirt for the studio and a white dress for outside.
The studio look showcased just her. I didn't want anything to take away from her beauty. This is when I fell back in love with simplistic yet dramatic studio portraits. The 2nd look was just something free and light. (Secret- it was SUPER cold the day we shot so we actually photographed the white dress look with her shoes on and sweat pants around her ankles, and in between shots she would pull them back up and put her coat on to warm up. Yes, we got tricks!) 
   As a total wild card Jillian brought an extra look- trendy sunglasses, ripped white washed jeans, and vans. Her long, uncurled hair blew in the wind as we did a little sun worshiper session right in the side yard of the studio.
   Her serious looks were to die for but for the last shot of the day I got one huge, playful, real laugh from her on camera and we called it a day.
   When she and her mom came back for her viewing I found out they would be using the images for her modeling portfolio and I got SO excited. She took her previously portfolio to Chicago and they told her she would have to come back when her look wasn’t so young. Watch out Chicago... Jillian will be back and you will be eating your words. This is bold, beautiful, and her young spirit brings this pure emotion to her edgy, mature portraits.

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Watch how beautiful and effortless a shoot really is. Stunning portraits don't have to be difficult to create, just simply show up.

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View our full Beauty Gallery!

If you like this edgy look, check out Samantha's Senior Session!

For more unique sessions check out Jessika's Senior Photoshoot!

Her body is NOT normal.

A "Normal" Body

That's so weird. 

Have you ever really thought about what this word means? Normal.

I think when a lot of people think of the word normal, what definition they actually have attached to the word is the definition of the word true. 

When we say things are normal like, “her body is normal” what the majority of people are thinking now, thanks to standards, media, and our obsession for perfection is…

"Her body is the reality of how we should all look. My body is not."

In order for the woman on that magazine cover you see to encompass the reality of beauty you wish to withhold yourself to, that beauty can not be idealistic, going by the definition of reality.

So I ask you to ask yourself- are the beauty standards you hold yourself to normal? Are they true in the Universe? Are they reality?

Last definition, I promise.

If you find yourself unrealistically aiming for perfection, get ready for your brain to hurt-

Full circle thought- All you want is to be normal, like her, but you're conforming to a standard of beauty that doesn't even exist in the realm of reality. It's idealistic. You're conforming to a "normal" that will never be. Which means, all along, YOU were already normal! YOUR body, not the one you see on the magazine cover that's fake, YOUR body was normal, and all this time you were too busy trying so god damn hard to make it normal, because that's what we all want, right?! to be "normal!?, that you became WEIRD!? Which probably scares the shit of out of you because the world tells you the last thing you want to be is weird! And now, that's exactly where you're at. 

It is at this moment when your brain has a melt down. WHAT is NORMAL!? 
Your idea of normal needs to be shifted. What you THINK is typical and usual probably isn't. So you're aiming for something that true women aren't, which is hard to live up to. 

I honestly HATE conforming. I HATE thinking I'm expected or typical. I honestly may even go as far to say that I hate being classified as normal. It's so boring. But that should make you think...

What have you been conforming to this whole time? And what type of "normal" does it make you in all reality? 

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Click here to read more of my thoughts on our bodies and how we portray our beauty

And here are my views on the beauty standards towards women

Here I talk about how pant size is just a number you should cut out of the conversation!

St Clair High School Senior Photoshoot

Golden Senior Session at Sunset

Running Free and Beautiful in Lexington, MI

   The first time I photographed Katelyn she was whipping her long curls at sunset, running on the beach in a white undress, and splashing like a young, free spirit.
   The second time I photographed Katelyn she was kicking and punching through pieces of wood and high kicking what easily could have been a tall man's throat.

   Talk about girls being made of sugar AND spice. Dang.

   Katelyn's session was also the ONLY session that year that had to be rescheduled because of rain. THREE times! And I'm not talking cute rain, I'm talking down pour and we lost power- rain. And we STILL ended up shooting in the rain (I secretly think she's unknowingly doing rain dances in her sleep) but it worked out beautifully.  

   She even showed me and my assistant how to chop through boards, which of course makes you feel like a bad-ass. And any day ending in you feeling like a bad-ass is a good day in my book.

   This part of the session that I want to show off, seeing how free she is in it, it makes me unbearably excited for summer. Knee deep in Lake Huron, sand all over our gear, chasing the sun, and everything has that glow. Running barefoot off into the sunset, wildflowers in her hair- we had so much fun with you, Katelyn.

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30 seconds in and that sun with that hair and beautiful face, I swoon. See how effortlessly stunning a session can be.

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Check out our full Senior Gallery!

Love the golden sun in your hair look? Check out Amanda's Senior Session!

For more beauty beach shoots check out Nathalie's Senior Photoshoot!
 

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A photoshoot with icebergs

Native vibes in the middle of winter

Photography on the frozen shores of Lake Huron

   It was below freezing, winds over 20 mph, and I decided to take a drive to the beach. Something just pulled me there.
   If you find yourself in Michigan in the winter it's worth it to drive to the shores of Lake Huron (by Port Huron, we're on the East Side of the state) and check out the beach. You never know what you'll find. Open water, flat ice, old snow and sand mixed together, frozen pieces floating down with the current, little ice caves, or huge "icebergs" from where the waves just keep crashing up on shore, freezing into these huge mounds. Every year is different and unique.
   Our version of icebergs and icecaps are what I found that day. The little video above shows you what I stumbled upon.
   I parked my jeep and headed towards the beach. The wind hitting my face was more than cold, it was almost as if it was forcing me to close my eyes while it slapped me across the face. I could see the wind also making huge waves that were hitting the ice so hard they were flying up over the tops of them, at least 15+ feet in the air. I knew I didn't want to stay long, but I knew I HAD to come back. You can't see natural beauty like that and let it go unnoticed.

   A few days later my assistants and I piled back in the jeep and headed back to the beach. With all my camera gear strapped to my back the girls also had an overwhelming amount a fur. We decided we wanted to all be wearing vintage fur coats for the shoot.
   Less than 2 minutes there we start exploring the area and Taylor falls in. One wrong step and she's up to her knee in water. She's done for. One thing you should know about the frozen shores of our beaches- they are unpredictable. They might look like they've been frozen for months but mother nature can cause miracles overnight.
   Taylor takes off to warm her toes and Elores and I stay out to get a few shots.
   This glamorous vision of expensive fur coats in front of this ice quickly turned to something more organic, more native, almost tribal. Elores started to take on this wild, mountain woman feel and we just ran with that. Take a look.

   We did swap places for a second, Elores getting some shots of me (that I edited back in the studio later) before we ran back to the Jeep. I ripped off my coats (yes it was so cold I was wearing 2) down to my tank and wrapped myself up in the blanket, which was actually incredibly warm, and I just lived in that moment, in the sunshine and cool air, while she snapped a few photos.

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Check out our full Beauty Gallery!

If you like this winter feel, check out Taylor's Winter Beauty Session!

For another gorgeous shoot in the snow check out Aubrey's Senior Shoot!