November 21st was a go-jus day in Grand Rapids. I’ve been traveling back and forth to shoot weddings with my partners, Flashback Photography, for the last few months. I had the privilege – because that’s really what it is – to be a part of the Verberg’s day. Beautiful day for a beautiful bride! Marcy & Dennis, you did one heck of a job and threw an awesome party to celebrate the new couple. Stacy and Justin – you guys are so stinkin’ fun and what an amazing couple you make!!! Thank you so much for letting me and my partners in crime, Pam and Marta {Flashback Photography} play such an important role in your day. We had a blast! Congrats!!!

Here’s just a small sampling of the day for you to enjoy!

I finally got some time alone with one of my favorite little ladies. Miss Hailey!!! She’s three and completely adorable. And truth be told, she’s my niece. We don’t get to see each other as often as Aunt A would like – she lives in another state – but when we do it’s fan-tab-ulous. That’s fancy for great. She’s a big Fancy Nancy fan. She does have one flaw though… a serious M&M addiction. There should be a 12-stepper for toddlers addicted to chocolate. I may or may not have bribed her to get this shot…you’ll never know. She’s sworn to secrecy!

I just got a new toy…slide shows!!! Love these. They are so fun to put together and the results are fabu. Take a peek.

First – WELCOME TO THE NEW SITE DESIGN!!!! Updated and fresh for your viewing pleasure! I’m kinda loving it, so it might stick for a while.

So I’ve been thinking and thinking. And thinking some more. I was going to go out, slap down the trusty Visa and get myself some big “fancy” studio equipment. Then convince my hubby to add a studio room in the house, and do more “studio” stuff. Then I thought some more….why?!?! So what if I don’t have a brick and mortar studio. I’d go stir crazy if I could only use a limited amount of space and couldn’t vary up my props/backdrops constantly. I mean you can only use the same backdrop MAYBE twice per school for seniors or for kids coming back year after year. I really don’t think you want images like everyone else. Or do you? I pride myself on finding locations that mean something to my clients – you like something and I’m all about getting creative. How much does an old backdrop or that same old chair that everyone else sat in really me to you?

As for the “fancy” studio equipment – well I have my fancy camera, my super awesome lenses, and my rockin’ reflector. The sun is the BEST light source. You just can’t get any better. Plus in honor of our planet and not using an energy sucking light source, like studio lights, I’m green. Like Kermit…ribbit.

So moral of the story – I will not be renting/purchasing any fancy studio equipment. I like my big old sun. I will not be renting/purchasing a brick and mortar store front anytime soon, just not my style. I like being out in the open with limitless possibilities and a big ol’ heap of creativity. Photography is an art and I’m not down with paint by numbers.

Sound good – sound different than what your used to? It should, cause it is. Be different, stand out from the crowd, choose what suits you.  Call me, we’ll chit-chat about what the possibilities are for your family. But hey, if your thing is sitting on a chair in front of a backdrop, well, you got the wrong number!

BTW – I’m exploring my Twilight side…you like?!?!

Alyssa is so much fun! I love that she brought so many fun and different things to wear for her session. She had ca-razy cool shoes and jewlery. Ah-maz-ing. Makes my job soooo much easier to have a gorgeous girl standing in front of me. Way to rock it girl! Here’s a sneak of some of my favorites…

HERE to see the rest {event code: 69784-Alyssa}

So in a mad dash to get out of the door – off to shoot a wedding in Michigan THEN off to Chicago for a seminar – I’m gonna post some super sneek peeks for some lovely ladies! Meet Jessica, Molly, and Leah. Happy senior year girls!!!

OMG. That’s all I have to say. The photography gods are smiling down. This is a GREAT opportunity to get some of the latest info in the biz. I can’t wait! The list of speakers is nothing short of ah-mazing…Edward Zemba, David Ziser, Rod Evans, Kevin Kutoba, Tim & Beverly Walden, Jen Hillenga, Lori Nordstrom, Kia Bondurant – that just one day’s list! .                     

IT’S.  FREE. PEOPLE!!!

Of course if you miss it, you can purchase the whole thing as MP3 downloads with PDF guides. Awesome. Who else is signing up?!?!

I’ll be listening right along with you!!!

Miss Nicole! She was so fun. We went to the park and then hit the streets and alleys of downtown Winamac. Too much fun! Enjoy her gallery HERE – just enter your email address and the code “69784-Nicole” to check ‘em out.

So sorry!!! I’ve been on yet another busy binge. Seems like I get nothing accomplished, yet time goes by so quickly. Grrr. Well, stay tuned. I’ve got a TON of sessions to get up and rolling. Now back to work! LOL

This is Makayla. She’s 13. Strange age to photograph you think?!?! Nope. Parents always ask when it’s good to have their kids photos taken. My response – “When is it NOT a good time to have them taken?!?!” We are so programed to think that  the schools take care of those precious years of images  from ages 5 to 17 and only visit the pros when it comes time for senior portraits. Unless the whole family is involved – we ALL have that horribly over posed image of us piled around our moms and dads showing off our “cheese faces”…but anyways. Why settle for lack-luster school photos?!? You know you DON’T have to buy them right?

So here’s a Sweet “13″ session we had for Miss Makayla. We had so much fun with different outfits and some great locations. You don’t get this with the school photos folks….check out her gallery HERE {enter your own valid email address to get in & the event code: 69784-Makayla}

BTW – Thank you so much for all the well wishes during the last few weeks! It means so much to have so many of you cheering me on. The recovery process seems much more pleasant when encouraging words come your way. Oh and the design stuff is coming along…slowly. I’m having technical difficulties that need to be worked out, but please keep checking back. They will debut soon and hopefully won’t disappoint!