I have been wanting to do a boudoir session for ages, but feel I need to be very selective of what direction I would want to go with that style, as well as who I would be willing to shoot that style with. I could not be happier that I got the chance to shoot my first boudoir session with a beautiful friend of mine, and fellow photographer, Koren. She happens to specialize in boudoir photography and has done “Little Black Book” shoots for almost the entire attendance of a group of mothers we know through Bible Study/MOMS group (heh). That said, I had such a good time, and through the laughter and fun, we managed to get some beautiful images to compile into a special book for her dear husband…

Of course, posting most of those here on my blog is not exactly something I am willing to do, nor do I think she would like me to do (even though she did look fabulous in ALL of them!) I did gather a few and wanted to share, to give you a glimpse at what a fun time was had!

I spent a rainy grey morning in a beautiful place with my dear friend Koren from Kaptured by Koren. Hammers and nails and levels, oh my!

Koren got a call a few weeks ago, and was asked if she would like to put some of her amazing work up at Pearl Med Spa. She so graciously mentioned my name as well! They apparently liked my work too, so I got invited to put my work up along side Koren!

What an exciting thing! Seeing my work from various sessions over the years, displayed on the walls of a business! WOW! It is a great feeling to know that I have been able to produce work that not only the customer at the moment can enjoy, but others can view and appreciate as well!

We were running short on time at the end, but I breezed through and grabbed a few shots of our work throughout the spa.

Korens and my work will be featured together at the spa for approximately a month. Be sure to “like” the Pearl MedSpa page for specials and information if you are in the area and want to check them out!

Washing the car with daddy never looked so good.

Even though the neighborhood kids are already wearing backpacks and the streets are quiet on the week days, the Summer sun has been sticking around (at least it says this week it will).. I love taking walks in the summer, when everybody is out having a good time, the weather is nice, the flowers are in bloom. Not long ago my two little ones decided to help daddy wash the car. Not something we do often around here so this was extra special fun!

I remember washing the family car when I was a kid, and as I got older and had my first car. It was very important to me to get every detail, ever nook and cranny needed to shine! I somehow always missed a spot, but I will never forget the joy it was to work on those cars.

It was such a reminder to me, as my kids joyfully helped their daddy clean his car- It reminded me of the carefree feeling I got from getting soaked in the process, covered in bubbles and loving every minute of it. If only cleaning your bedroom included getting soaked in bubbles and water (without mom yelling at you). If I could play in the sink while I did dishes, spraying the closest person in my way,  perhaps doing dishes would be as fun as washing a car..

I had the greatest pleasure of flying out to Michigan to celebrate my dear friends Michael and Mandy’s wedding. My husband was asked to be the best man, and I was honored to be their photographer.

Having known Michael for about 12 years now, he is basically my “guy best friend”. Watching him grow from a teenage kid into an honorable and responsible  man, I found so much joy in being able to be there for such a day.  I met Mandy a couple years ago when the two of them came out to visit us. She has so much joy for life, and for Jesus. I’m SO happy to see the two of them come together in their faith and love for each other…

Flying east means being in a time zone 3 hours later then what my body is used to, but somehow I woke up around 8am while I was there (that is 5am my time zone, which is WAY too early for me normally!) – I even managed to go to bed at a decent hour, even for my standards (those of you that know me, know that I am a night owl).

I LOVED photographing for these two.. The colors they chose for their wedding were perfect, and peacock feathers are pretty much my favorite. Mandy was such a stunning bride, and Michael was the perfect nervous groom.

For a peak at a few more, check out my facebook!

My dear sweet husband and I got the pleasure of visiting Michigan this past weekend. He was asked to be best man at one of our best friend Michael’s wedding, and I was asked to be their photographer! (yay!)

We got in on Thursday, late at night and quickly adjusted to the time zone. Up and about on Friday, we asked the bride-to-be what the “must see” things there were to do in the area. That is how we ended up at The Henry Ford Museum.  We walked around the grounds, and had a nice lunch there. It just happened to be free entrance day (thanks to Target for sponsoring the day).

This was our walk from their cafe area to their main museum area. I loved the windows, lights, and detail work.

There was also a “wing” (pun intended) dedicated to airplanes. So many planes suspended by wires, it made me only a little nervous!

Yeah. Ya think?! HAHA!!

On the way back to our car, I had to of COURSE document a few quick takes of their local QUIDDITCH competition! (Silly muggles and their non-flying kitchen brooms!) – Afterall, it was July 16th Release date of the Final Harry Potter Movie!! (which of course, we went to see that evening!)

Kudo’s to whatever team had these made!!!! They were laying around while all the other kids were using cheap kitchen brooms.

Do not let the cloud cover fool you. We were melting outside in the humid mid 80 degree heat! Not to mention our “non smoking” rental car smelled like it broke all the rules (bleh)

Stay tuned for a full blog especially for the bride and groom… Until then, enjoy the ones I already posted on my facebook page!)

I had the pleasure of photographing my dear friend Koren from Kaptured by Koren with her beautiful family today. I have photographed her youngest when she was just a tiny little newborn, and a few other smaller settings since, so I have already gotten a taste for Miss J and “her way” – Yes it’s her way or the highway for Miss J – But who can’t adore such a cute little girl right? I had such a nice time in the sunshiny warm welcoming weather we are finally starting to have. We met up at an old school a few minutes from our house that Koren had shown me a few weeks ago. I love all the textures and setting, it was perfect for their family today.

Mr. E is a smart handsome young man who did a great job staying patient while we waited on Miss J’s frequent diversions. He told me today that moss is not good for your body, so we avoided the moss. What a character! Miss R gobbled up the camera and kept coming back for more, something tells me she takes after her mom?! I just love this family!

Enjoy!

I can only assume that for quite some time now this lovely mother and father have heard it time and time again. Probably always one of the very first things they hear… “Wow your son has a lot of hair!” ( It’s true!) This sweet little man has the most perfect head of baby-hair I have ever run across. But it is not just that, it’s those sweet happy eyes and great big smiles that puts it all together.

I had a great time with this lovely little family. You can feel the happiness in this family as soon as you walk in the door. Little man cried as soon as he saw me, so I got a bit worried wondering what the day would look like. However not even 2 seconds later he was giving me smiles, so I knew it would be A-OK.

The past week or two I have had the chance to get together with some photographer friends of mine who are just starting out on their own with their first d-slr camera’s! I remember being their shoes, I was -intimidated!- (to say the least!!). I remember going out on a little “practice” session with my friend, after a few years of practice on my nieces and nephews… There I was, with my nifty little 6.1mp d-slr set to AUTO, clicking away hoping at least ONE image of my 300 or so comes out ok…

Here is one of those “good” shots:

That was my “foot in the door” after chasing her around with two other photographer friends back then…. After a couple of weeks, we went to the park and I managed to get one that I really liked!

It of course helped that she’s a total beauty. Though now I look back at these and laugh a little… AUTO mode?!  I believe it was 4 months or so before someone taught me a simple lesson on how to use my “M” mode on my camera. Now I like to encourage my friends with fresh new camera’s to use their M mode, and give them the same simple lesson that was given to me….

So this past few weeks, having my own new camera to drool over, and visiting with friends who have a passion for the same thing as me, it leaves me filled up with creative energy and motivation. I love to talk about camera’s and technique, functions and lightroom… I guess I got lucky that I have a handful of friends who aren’t bored by the topic or completely confused by it…

This first set is my high school friend Melissa from “Photo by Lil’ Missy”. We met up in our home town and went to our old “photo-spots” (back then I only took her picture because she was taking mine.. I had NO idea I would find such passion for it years later) – It’s SO fun to recall our old spots and reconnect with her.

The next set is with two local friends, Koren from Kaptured by Koren and Heather (who is working on coming up with a business name as we speak). We dragged my two kids and Koren had her 1year old with her. My kids did “ok” considering they are photographer kids and know almost exactly what moment to run (lol!) – We finally let them run around and put Koren in front of the camera for a bit. They took a few of me as well.

So with that, I can only think of one thing to say…. THANK YOU Lord, for giving me a few wonderful friends who love photography as much as I do! Since my bff moved 3 hours away, I no longer have “girls night” the same way anymore… But I have been blessed by friends around me who might not like baked bri and beer as much as Angie and I do, but would spend a few hours with our cameras instead

We wore green, and set traps for little green men… But other then that, it was was really just a typical day at our house.

My daughter got up from nap time and asked if I would do a photo shoot with her and her brother…. Not quite so typical if you ask me, since it is usually nearly impossible to get eye contact when I beg and plead for a photo shoot with my kids. I assumed it would be a typical event, and would be short lived. Instead I have been staring at a few of these just happy as can be that I caught their sweetness, something they rarely show when the camera is out.

So she wanted to model a couple of headbands I had given to me as a gift, I hope she has not stretched them beyond newborn head size now but it was fun to play around with them, I am excited to actually try them on a little newborn soon!!  (and to whoever my “secret sister” is at Bible study, THANK YOU, I LOVE the headbands!!! *and the coffee cards, yes those too!)

A smile?! It’s a bit cheese, but I’ll take it!

This is a true example of my kids.. He’s playin’ it cool (too bad his eyes didn’t come up.) And she’s givin’ me her best “teenage” impersonation. (“Oh mom, hurry up, I’m far too cool for your camera”)

no way! EYES (X) Expression (X) Personality (XX)!!! Excited to get me some prints of this one!

Oh dear son…. You are cooler at 4 years old then I’ve EVER been in my LIFE!

Seriously… Seriously… Yeah he’s just THAT naturally cool.. I can’t take any credit, I am NOT cool like this even a little bit.

Oh yes… Our new addition… Dex

Meet Dexter. At least that is the name we have given him. He was found at my husbands work and so far we have not found his family… We adore him, and he’s a wonderful addition to our family! I did a short series of images between him and my daughter I’ll have to post another time… Beware though, dog kissing was the theme unknown to me at the start