Welcome. Please take a look around. I am a photographer based in the Grand Rapids area who loves to travel. Check out some of my most recent work below and on my facebook page.
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8.28.2012

Kim {Senior 2013}

Kim chose to have her senior pictures taken at Olbrich Botanical Gardens. Picture me smiling and doing a little happy dance because I LOVE Olbrich!  Before going to Olbrich we took a couple of pictures with her family pets ~ one has been around for most of her life and the other is a new addition to their family.  Family pet pictures make me smile too.  During the shoot I got to know Kim and found that she is wonderfully sweet, thoughtful and kind.  I left her thinking how much I love my job because I get to meet incredible people.  Smile again.

























8.27.2012

Chelsea & Jeff {Expecting}

Thanks to a little peer pressure from her sister (Jodi), Chelsea contacted me for maternity pictures.  We were lucky to get Chelsea and Jeff's shoot in between large storms. It rained on my way to their house and started up again almost as soon as we were done. Thankfully we got a window of clear weather because their little girl arrived less than a week after this shoot. (Stay tuned for pictures of her coming soon!)

























8.17.2012

Keemie {Senior 2013}

What are the odds that Keemie's shoot would get rained out with the drought this summer?  Not very good, but that's exactly what happened. And would you believe that it rained on him for a good portion of his rescheduled shoot at Olin Park?!?!  But, you would never know it because of his huge smile and wonderful personality. 







 

I love that he brought along his dog, Romeo!  



8.16.2012

Mica {Senior 2013}

Mica was up for anything at Pope Park Conservatory.
Sit in the weeds in her little black dress? Sure. 
Walk through sunflowers almost as tall as she is? No problem. 
Hike across the field in cute shoes? Why not?!?! 
Zip up her leather jacket in the heat? Ok.  =)
All the while she smiled sweetly and as a result her pictures turned out beautiful.
Thanks for being such a great sport Mica!












 




8.15.2012

Smith Family


This shoot was on one of the nicest night we've had all summer, at a park that is quickly becoming one of my favorites, Pope Park Conservatory. Thankfully this family was kind to me even though I kept switching their brother's names.  (I don't know why I could not get them right?!?!)  We were a bit startled by a turkey that flew down from the tree near us. Turkeys are really big close up!  Thankfully he continued on his way and we continued with our pictures.

















8.13.2012

Kaitlyn {Senior 2013}

I got to spend a beautiful evening with Kaitlyn at Sheehan Park.  My shoots at Sheehan Park have always been in the fall.  It was fun to see that the park is just as beautiful in the summer.  Kaitlyn picked a great location. Good luck with your senior year!










8.12.2012

Amber, John, Payton, and Lexi

Amazingly it was 75 degrees and cloud covered for this shoot at Swan Lake.  If you live in Wisconsin, you know how rare both of these have been for most of the summer.  Amber and I first met in 5th grade.  We haven't seen each other often since our high school graduation so it was so nice to get to meet her family.  They're wonderful and incredibly sweet!






















8.11.2012

Cabell, Donald, and AJ

Smiles, smiles, and more smiles. I met Cabell, Donald, and AJ at beautiful Tenney Park a couple of weeks ago. AJ is an incredibly happy baby who smiles almost all the time! It was a wonderfully fun shoot for me. 














8.04.2012

Home 'Art' {Guest Blogger: Sam}

I LOVE my friend Sam's house.  Everywhere you look you see signs of what's most important in her life.... her family.  I've been blessed to be able to get to know her boys (Mason & Jack) and husband over the years.  I asked Sam if she would write a post about how she's incorporated images of her family into the art of her home and she did an amazing job!  I hope you are inspired by her tips and ideas to use your family as art in your home as well.

Home “Art”
Big walls used to scare me.  I felt I either had to spend a fortune to buy a big enough piece of art to fill the space or whatever smaller pieces I used would look too small on that huge wall.  Then I had children.  I no longer fear big walls.  My children are my artwork; they fill the walls in our home. 
Many people order family portraits in an 8X10 or 11X13 size and that is about as large as they want to go. For some reason, it is outside of many people’s comfort zone to hang very large portraits, not to mention that they can be pretty expensive.  The first large print I bought and hung was our wedding portrait.  I ordered an 18X24 canvas print, and I admit that when I pulled it out of the box, I thought, wow, that is an awfully big picture...of us.  I was a little nervous to hang it on the wall—hey, everybody, look at me and my new husband!  But it sure looked nice over the fireplace, and we still get so many compliments on that picture.  I love walking into the living room and seeing a reminder of that beautiful day.  And, it fills a big space! 

I would encourage you to branch out and use big prints of your family portraiture to decorate your home.  I LOVE walking up our steps and seeing the smiling faces of our sons hanging there.  Here are some ways to make using large prints easier on you (and your pocket book).
1.      Using 16X20 prints fills that big wall space!  It takes far more 8X10 prints to fill large walls.  I don’t know about you, but I didn’t have THAT many 8X10s to appropriately fill my walls.
2.     If using 16X20 prints or larger feels uncomfortable, use frames with mats.  It will really make your photos look polished AND it will take up more space on your walls. 
3.     Mix and match larger frames with shelves for knick-knacks and smaller frames.  
4.     Think simple! If you have two children, print a picture of each in a 16X20 and hang them in a hallway or stairway.  Done.
 5.     If you have book shelves on a way, use a larger print of your family or children on the wall not covered by bookshelves. 
 
6.     Make a collage wall using a variety of frames, but keep them all in the same color.  This works great in a hallway.
7.     I LOVE the ideas on I have seen on Pinterest where you order several larger canvas prints in either the same size or different sizes and make a collage wall.  It looks so sharp and polished and really fills the space in a living or family room. 
8.     Another idea I have seen on Pinterest is utilizing old windows or barn wood with family photos. 
9.     Use coupons and take advantage of big sales on frames.  I especially like Michael’s and Kohl’s.  You can end up getting large frames at a reasonable price.
10.  Find a photographer who will sell you the digital images and then order your own prints.  You will save a TON OF MONEY!  I use www.mpix.com for my family portraits.  I pay .99 for a 5X7 and $16.99 for a 16X20.  At those prices, I don’t mind buying the larger prints OR changing them out periodically. 
My family is my greatest treasure, so it would make sense that they would fill the spaces in our home.  Sure, I have other pieces of artwork hanging as well, but the art you will see predominately in our home, is our family.  So, in conclusion, I encourage you to print big and be bold!
~Samantha