A Modern Engagement Session in Port Huron, MI

Celebrating the future Mr. and Mrs.
with a photoshoot

A young couple, their pup, and 1 hidden trail

   Bridget and I had been planning the visual journey we would take for her wedding for quite a few months before I ever got to meet Russell. Little did I know they also had a secret child they didn't tell me about that I would be meeting the day of their engagement shoot - Zelda! 
   Geometric shapes was the theme for their wedding, but they also love the outdoors, so I took them to the Blue Water River Walk in Downtown Port Huron. It was the perfect mix of both. The tunnel which created some stunning angles and shapes with the highlights and shadows, and then the nature areas that are fairly new to the area.
   We basically just went on a casual walk, stopping and grabbing fun shots when we saw something that caught our eye. When I say the process is natural and fun, I mean it, so stop being so nervous, guys!
   I LOVE couples that I don't have to direct, that I don't have to explain what it looks like to like each other. Sure... I can help you a little but I can't MAKE you be ridiculously adorable with each other if you just aren't, and Russell and Bridget were pretty stinkin' cute with each other so that worked out nicely! And Zelda, oh my goodness, what a good girl!
   Since we were photographing their wedding (one of the last two for this year, and I'm currently not booking more- heads up!) Bridget was unsure about getting engagement photos as well, but I told her, you're going to be happy that you have beautiful portraits of the two of you together, natural, the way you are every day, not in fancy wedding attire. I am SO glad they did this! Their Wedding portraits are gorgeous too (hopefully you guys will see those soon!) but these show off their personality and tell their story on an every day level, which I love.
   So now, let's go on a visual journey of what they looked like right before they said I Do!

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Check out our Full Love Gallery!

For another adorable couple in Downtown Port Huron, check out Corey & Erica's Engagement Session!

If you like this fun outdoor feel, check out Chris & Becca's Engagement Photoshoot!

Forest Fairy Photoshoot

Woman creates art with her movement during this Dance Photoshoot

Whimsical Beauty tucked away in the forest

   Barefoot and beautiful, walking through the crunched up Fall leaves and the dried Spring mud. It’s a whimsical, natural type of beauty we’re about to capture.
   Next on Pointe and running with tule, Kayla creates art through her movement and dance. Watching her flow, unplanned choreography is like watching water flow.
   The whole shoot reminds you of a stunning little forest fairy hopping around the forest ground. The trees folded to make perfect tunnels and the road turning up the hill made for a more modern version.

   I love shoots like these… natural, gorgeous, a bit over the top! Take this experience to celebrate yourself with flowers in your hair, jumping off rocks, dancing in the middle of the road.

   Kayla is lucky enough to own her own company where she literally gets to be a fairytale princess every day… no… really…. you can have Cinderella come to your birthday party and secretly, it’s Kayla, but ssshhh, don’t tell anyone. How fun of a life is that!? She's also a professional Dancer. This was to be a mature yet innocent and wondrous blend of both of those worlds- truly reflecting who she is. 

   See what we created together below:

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View our Full Beauty Blog!

If you like the whimsical look of this shoot check out Taylor's session!

For more dance sessions check out Hannah's Photoshoot!

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Submerge yourself into this dramatic and stunning experience through video. Watch below-

The Gift of Celebrating Life

This is more than a cancer story

This is the story of one man's life,
his passions, his wife, and 1 photoshoot to capture it.

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Often I write to myself when I don’t know what else to do with my emotions.
Here’s an entry I wrote a few days before I photographed Mark and Jodi
that I never intended to share with you:

I barely even know you and I’m crying for you.
I barely even know you and my heart hurts for you.
I barely even know you and I’m pissed off for you.

And I have to photograph you on Monday.

I remember thinking when they asked to give me a tour of the new Cancer Center in Port Huron… “I don’t want to see your cancer center. I do not want to see your money pit.”

I walked the halls with women I had just met who showed me the plush leather chairs sick and dying women, children, and men would sit in to get chemo, the big windows to let in natural light, the art on the walls, everything that was supposed to make everything that was happening in this terrifying building ok.

I realize now I walked into that building with the wrong eyes.

It’s not the caretakers IN the building that I should be mad at. It’s the leaders of the world that allow things to happen that cause cancer rates to be out of control, the money hungry pigs that won’t allow us to get our hands on that cure for cancer, and the sick idiots who, even if you do survive, think it’s ok to deny you health insurance in the future, so you remain hopeless.

That’s the people and the world I don’t understand.

But the kind, caring, soft spoken people I met in that building, no, I am sorry, I was wrong, and I am so thankful to have taken that tour. You are the angels of the world making the best environment you can for people in the worst situations of their life. You care. You fight. I thank you.

All I wanted to do was make a difference. I wanted to help people express themselves during a hard time, preserve a memory and a soul. I didn’t spend a lot of time thinking past that, because let’s be honest, past that wasn’t fun. Past that was reality, and like most of us, I can hate reality. I tried to keep a work mindset so I wouldn’t be emotionally overtaken. I had a job I wanted to do.

My goal was to take someone for a day and allow them to get away from reality, and in doing so, give them a beautiful experience and beautiful portraits. It was going to be the luck of the draw… we would choose out of a hat who got to do a session with me, as to not be overwhelmed by photographing EVERYONE who may have wanted the experience. As much as I want to give that to everyone I am only one person, and again, reality… I knew I couldn’t take that all on, so we decided on booking 3-4 sessions each year.

One of the ladies in the cancer center mentioned your names and also mentioned the word terminal.

Terminal. That’s such an ugly word.

I kept the idea quiet, didn’t allow anyone to contact me about a session and got a hold of the girls at the office and said, “The couple you mentioned, I want to photograph them.”

Mark, I will photograph you on Monday, standing strong, surrounded by the things that make you you. I really, really hope to do you justice.

Mark is sitting in my garage in his camo, the scar running across his head telling a dark story but we cover it with a hat as we sit among the things he was most passionate about... numerous guns, fishing poles, snow shoes, bows, trapping equipment, and wearing his normal dirty boots and sweatshirt he would wear out. We had hauled the outside in for him because we were not only afraid of the rain but at this point he was getting around mostly by wheelchair or a few feet with a cane. I'm so proud of him, how many times he got up and down out of that chair to hold and kiss his bride of nearly 25 years at the park, never complaining, and how later he would stand tall, arms crossed, strong, surrounded by his life's work and trophies. The next time I revisted that set Mark had already passed, and tearing it down was, well, ironic.

We photographed Mark on a Monday night after his wife called me, frantic that we were running out of time. He went into the hospital the following Wednesday, and passed Saturday.

So now Jodi, I speak to you. 

I cry while I write this. You are such a strong, fun, bad ass woman. I’m so thankful to have met you, even if it was through this process. Stay bold and beautiful you courageous and caring woman, and stop by any time. Thank you for trusting me and allowing me to be a part of your lives, and allowing me to be on your team. I didn't do this to gain anything, I wanted to gift something, but I've gotten so much from this experience, so thank you.

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Check out Jen's Story for another empowering cancer story

Port Huron Senior Spring Session

A Senior Photoshoot in studio and on location

Hiding among the Spring blossoms

   A sweet girl with fantastic hair and a sassy fur baby- all those things make for a killer Senior Photoshoot.
   Alex is Class of 2017. When most Seniors do their shoot in Summer or Fall, she waited for Spring and it was perfect!    We started the adventure off by doing some hair whips in the studio, then fanning out all those curls over her music sheets. I’m sorry, but when you come to me with gorgeous, thick locks like that you must allow me to 1- touch them 2- continue to talk about them 3- show them off.
   Next we drove 10 mins out into the middle of nowhere where we could get some nice grungy shots under a bridge next to the river and let her Huskey pup run wild! Angel, Alex’s mom, was there too. She was our lookout for when cars drove over the bridge, and to let us know we wouldn’t be dying, because when you’re UNDER the bridge and a car drives over, the sound makes you think you’re sure you’re about to die in that moment. haha She gracefully made her way in cute ankle boots over wobbly sharp rocks, which Elores, my assistant, would warn us if we were about to die on or not too, testing to see how wobbly they were before we got there! As I said before- it’s going to be amazing, I never promised it was going to be easy. And that’s why we call this an experience, not just a shoot.
   When we pulled up we opened our doors to the most beautiful overgrown bush I have ever seen, full of beautiful pink and white blossoms. Thank you mother nature- this will work stunningly for our black dress outfit with pink and silver balloons! And of course, we plucked off some blossoms and put them in her hair.
   We finished the shoot off tucked away in the trees just as the sun was setting. Alex’s adorable smile and easy going attitude made for the cutest casual shots I’ve ever taken. Just her, as she is in that moment, never to be the same again, captured in the sunset before graduating. So bittersweet.

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View our full Senior Gallery!

If you like this grungy graffiti look check out Logan's Senior Photo Shoot!

For more golden hour shots check out Adriana's Senior Session!