urban exploring- a port huron senior session

Every great session forms from a story. It's how your session is built.
Except this one. This one starts out with a quick phone call and the rest is history.
Meet John, the typical guy who is forced in to this Senior Picture business by his mom. Never mind the fact John looks like he’s about to walk off and start his Calvin Klein career any day now, he just wasn’t interested.

So mom calls me and says no need to meet to chat, I trust you, he’ll probably let us do 2 outfits, that’s it, let’s do this as soon as possible, I'll wait to hear from you on location.
So I have no story to go off of, and my creativity sprouts from stories, until I hear- ok, thanks, see you soon, oh, and by the way, my son and his friends like to explore abandoned buildings.
And THAT is where this session finally starts.

NONE of us want to go and do something we’re not in to, so it’s my top priority to make sure this session it’s laid back, it’s fun, it’s cool, and it speaks to him. 

So abandoned buildings speaks to him… hmm… ok. Well, I’ve also spent some time in some pretty sketchy places, so I felt like I could understand that language.

I decided to take them here- an over grown railroad track that curves between 2 abandoned buildings on the back side of downtown that comes complete with weird doors that lead to god only knows where and even weirder noises that make you question why you’re there, and still not leaving.
We had a blast. I don't know if mom ever stopped smiling as she watched her son take his first steps in to adulthood, and me and my assistant couldn't get enough of their laid back personalities while we took a session with hardly no planning and watched it grow in to such an awesome collection. Every turn brought something new, a new color, a new backdrop, new light, and new reasons for us to still not understand why this guy looking like a model didn’t want to do this in the first place! 

See his final story as a high school senior here :

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Check out our Full Senior Gallery!

If you like this edgy urban look check out Nik's Senior Session!

For more senior guy fashion check out Troy's Senior Shoot!

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Vintage Glam Barn Wedding

   This wedding is way back from 2012. Way back then, I didn’t even have a blog, so it really didn’t get the beautiful coverage it deserved, so I’m breathing new life into it and re-telling the story for all of you. Plus it’s one of our most popular weddings we’ve ever done. SO many brides have came to us saying, “Oh yeah, you shot Steven and Caitlyn’s wedding, I loved their photos.” So now you can see what all the buzz is about.
   I can see why so many people fell in love with this wedding. It was gorgeous. All the details were planned out perfectly. It had just the right amount of country, rustic, vintage, and glam all rolled in to one.
   There were handmade bottles of wine, custom beer mugs, sparkly lights, burlap, and love, so so so much love in the air.
   It was a HOT June day and their church was tiny! But the whole family and very close friends packed in for an intimate and emotional ceremony. Right afterwards Dad had lined up for a bucket truck to come for me to hop into, lift myself up, and photograph EVERYONE in a HUGE heart about 40 feet below. I hate the word epic, but… that’s pretty epic.
   We took the whole bridal party over to Goodells Park and grabbed some shots just as the sun was coming down. Again, perfection.
   The reception was just as emotional and over flowing with love as the ceremony, from the speeches, to the first dances. The rest of the night stayed warm, and things got pretty sweaty. We spared you those images. haha But what we did show you looks straight out of the pages of a magazine. 

Port Huron , Michigan Wedding Photographer

Photographing my Grandfather as he truly is

I want to share with you what I think, to date, may be my favorite image I have EVER taken. Let me tell you why. 

Last Sunday my husband and I had to do a commercial shoot for a rope manufacturer. We decided my grandparent's wide spread sycamore would be perfect for the job so we headed out to their place. 
We set up our ropes and got up in the tree. About 20 minutes in to the process I see my grandpa walking down the driveway and I gave him a wave. 
We continued to move around and shoot. A few minutes later I look down and I see this- my grandpa lounging under a large pine tree, in the middle of all the dried needles that had fallen, hands behind his head, watching us. I immediately stopped working and moved the camera to him and took a couple of frames.
I've never been able to capture my grandpa in his true element before. He takes horrible pictures. His grin is always ridiculous and we always laugh about it. 
But he's truly one of the most amazing men I know. 
To start, he's 87 years old. 
87 years old and still walking outside on a brisk day to lay under a tree. 
I really don't feel like I need to say much more. 
We got home and I browsed through everything I got that day. 
Out of all the shots we planned, swinging from branches at great heights, images that would make us money and get us published, none of them compared to the one I got of my grandpa. I saw it and was instantly filled with joy and pride. 
That awesome man, looking like a total bad ass in the photo was my grandpa, and I now had a moment that I could look at forever that truly reflected him and his whole life in one photo. 
 

A family session in London Ontario- pure happiness and true love

A look at family, happiness, and love through photographs.

A Family session shot in
London, Ontario Canada

   When I look through these images the first word that pops in to my head is innocence. Pure Innocence. The joy we see in the beautiful world around us because we are unknowing of anything we should fear.
   I envy children and their way of seeing the world.
   But if you look through these images, you’ll see Mom and Dad have that same look in their eyes, but it’s when they are looking at their daughter.   
   Oh, the magic of family, of happiness, and of true love.

London, Ontario, Canada Family Photographer

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Check out our full Family Gallery!

For another shoot In London Ontario, check out Megan's Family Session!

For more fun in the sun family time check out Linsay's photoshoot!