I’m so excited to be back behind the camera & the Halloran session is the best place for me to start blogging again!

I’ve known Lauren for years-I was good friends with her older sister and she is good friends with my younger sister. Because of that I’ve always thought of her as a little sister too. Walking into her beautiful new home, meeting her perfect match of a husband and then seeing her as a mother has now has changed that view. Lauren is such a natural at motherhood and has the perfect calming touch when baby is upset. Just seeing her as a first time mom, so confident and sure of herself was the best thing ever. John’s not so bad either! Baby Brooks is just in awe of him. There is a series of photos where Brooks is looking up at John’s face, staring so certainly into his dads eyes that made me a little teary while editing. Maybe it’s because I’m only 5 months postpartum and my little girl already looks huge compared to Brooks but these moments just fly right by and I’m so happy I got to capture these early stages for Lauren and John.

So without further ado, meet Brooks. This handsome little guy was born April 17th, weighing in at 6.1 pounds. He arrived at only 37 weeks but is healthy and strong and so, so adorable. Congratulations guys, I couldn’t be more happy for you both!

If your considering a newborn session for your new arrival I would love to talk more! Message me for additional information.

Since I’m on the topic of my family today, I thought I better share my sister Ashley’s family! They had the worst day for family photos last week-rain, heavy overcast skies, and a husband itching to go hunt…. I’d say we made it work 😉

Ashley chose my parents farm as the backdrop for her photos. All the leaves had hit the ground but thanks to my dad we had some interesting photographic opportunities. Round bales, giant logs waiting to be chopped up, cows in the background.  It’s an ever changing landscape & lucky for us you never know what you’ll find walking around the farm.

Colton is 3 now and I’m pretty sure Ashley fed him candy on the way over. He was more animated than I’ve ever seen him. I was cracking up at his antics the whole time. Camden who is now 16 months was not feeling the photos, he just learned to walk and that’s all he wanted to do. He is usually the ham so we had to come up with some unique solutions to get him to smile. The best was calling my twin girls over to sing and dance behind me. Instant grins all around. I might even hire them as assistants to come help me to more sessions!

Rob and Ashley have been married 4 years now & even though we think they would make a beautiful baby girl they say they’re content with their 2 boys. I’ll continue to bug her for a niece but I’m so happy she can find peace & contentment in her family of 4. I’m also hoping to bug her into building their house sooner than later because she is the sister that bought the 10 acres next to us and my only sister who will drink coffee. I get teary eyed just thinking of all the wonderful mornings we will get to eventually get to spend drinking coffee on each others porches. Are you getting my message Ashley? Hurry up!!

I hope you enjoyed this preview into the 2018 Deater Family session!

This week we welcomed in the newest member to our family. I am so excited to introduce you all to my niece, Austyn Ann!

Did you hear that? I said niece, a new baby girl! I am beyond excited because everyone was guessing boy and I was really hoping for a girl. Megan and Mark made the decision to not find out the gender during their pregnancy and it killed me waiting the long 9 months. But I completely understand the appeal of waiting until baby is born now! Being in the operating room with them, the suspense of whether it was a boy or girl was the best kind of intense emotion. When the Dr said it was a girl it was such a joyful moment. I am so blessed to have been able to experience that with them.

Austyn Ann came into this world at 2pm on November 5th weighing 8lbs even and was 20.5 inches long. She is just perfect! Thick head of hair, the same color as her big brother and sister when they were born and perfectly pink skin. I am so in love already. Megan & baby did great, no complications and they are now home resting comfortably getting to know one and another.

The day after she was born I got to come back to the hospital to take photos of Austyn with her brother and sister. Keegan is obsessed! She is already such a great big sister, protective and loving. Levi is intrigued by everything Austyn does and he loves asking to touch her. Overall I couldn’t be happier for the Naplin Family. They are feeling quite content as a family of 5.

Congratulations guys!! She is gorgeous!

I love seeing all the kids in costumes flooding my newsfeed. I thought I would share a few of my family as well!

For those that don’t know me personally, I have 3 sisters. In high school everyone would get us confused or call us by the wrong name. Even years (and years) later it still happens all the time. I personally think it’s hilarious. My sisters Ashley & Katie who it happens to the most, not so much. One thing that I love about having sisters so close in age is that we all started our families around the same time. Fun fact, our sister Megan has been pregnant at the same time as each of us. Our kids are growing up close as family can be and it is such an amazing blessing.

We decided on a theme for our Halloween costumes this year since we trick-or-treat together anyways. We settled Wizard of Oz. It’s one of my dads favorite movies and he got a kick out of it. My daughters decided right away to be Dorothy & Toto and I guess as the oldest they get first dibs. Emerson was the Glinda the Good Witch and Keegan was the Wicked Witch of theWest. The boys- Colton, Levi & Camden were the Tin man, Scarecrow and Lion. It was so much fun gathering their costumes and even more fun to see them all together! I already can’t wait for next year!

I hope you all had a fantastic 2018 Halloween! We sure did 🙂

Sunshine! It makes everything better. It made this location with the beautiful foliage and the mama-to-be glow.

I’m just going to start by saying I am so excited for this Duncan baby!! Finally!! Jessie & Matt have been together forever and finally tied the knot 2 years ago this past July. For a while it was ehhh no kids for us, but Jessie is a a nurse and natural caregiver and Matt is amazing with all his nieces. Everyone close to them could see how great they would be as parents and we are all so excited they realized it too!! Jessie is actually due in the next 2 weeks. She looks absolutely amazing. Especially compared to me at only 34 weeks along, huffing and puffing out of breath as I did their session!

They had another pregnant lady crash their photos. I’m not sure if you spotted her. I guess I should claim her. That’s my sister Megan, one of Jessie’s best friends. Megan is due next week and thought it would be fun to creep in on some of their photos. That’s just the kind of relationship they have. She’s probably going to beat me for including some of those in this post but they were cracking me up as I’m editing. Sorry Megan! 😉

If your interested in booking a maternity or newborn session & due this Spring or Summer I would love to talk more! 

The early bird gets the worm right? Or at least avoids the rain! Minutes after finishing the Hunt Family session the sky opened up and the rain never stopped the rest of the day. They were the only family session I didn’t have to reschedule this weekend!

One of my best friends Danielle approached me last year wanting a gift card for Mother’s Day. It is a perfect gift for anyone, especially for a mother in law who could use updated photos! The last time they had family photos done was at Danielle & Steve’s wedding in 2011. Long before the arrival of Andrew & Jared. Scheduling an extended session and picking out clothes can be hard. I completely understand that stress, but the end result is always 100% worth it! I’m so happy for the morning we had. I think Sue will have some great family memories to hang on her walls.

If your interested in scheduling a family session it’s always best to plan ahead. Since I’m booking into 2019, it’s perfect timing to get your next extended family session in my books!

The fall colors in the Bessette family’s clothing went along perfectly with their fall family session!

My good friend Kathryn has a gorgeous family, that’s easy to see. But they are also embracing what could be the chaos of a family of 6 with ease. There is so much love here & that’s what I hope you see. The kids ages range from 7yrs to 5 months and they each have their own personalities. Spending just a little time with each made my night. Aaron is dependable, the ultimate big brother. Issac is sweet with a big heart, Edith is silly and had me cracking up with her antics and little Olive is just taking it all in, studying her world around her. I’m not sure how Kathryn does it but she makes being a mom look so easy. This year she traded her camera in for the full time job of homeschooling her littles. I love following her instagram stories just to see their days. She is so organized and I’m totally jealous of how well she has it all together!! Blake your a lucky man. You have the best family <3

2018 is now full but I would love to be your 2019 Spring & Summer family photographer!  

My sister Katie was just a little behind in planning their family photos this year. She’s lucky that I love her so much that I was able to find a date in my busy October schedule for her session!! 😉

Emerson, that sassy little thing in these photos just turned 4 in early September. I cannot believe she is getting so big. She started preschool this year and is loving it! She is so happy & outgoing and I never have to ask her to smile-she just always is. Each year has just gotten more fun watching her personality grow. She is one of my girls best friends and I couldn’t be happier with how close they are.

I hope you enjoy this small preview into some of my favorite photos from their session! Katie-just remember you owe me a favor for turning these photos around so fast for you. Hahaha!

Fall in Michigan is so unpredictable, but I spent Monday with the Martin Family & we were blessed by the first ‘warm’ day we’ve had in weeks. Warm being 55 degrees with sunshine instead of rain! It felt fabulous and as always, I love a beautiful sunset.

Cheri and I worked closely planning in their session. She had some excellent ideas and I was so happy to accommodate. Formal wear in a Christmas Tree Farm, the results are stunning! Centennial Pines Tree Farm was the perfect back drop for the Martin Family’s photos this year.

If your looking for a 2019 Family Photographer I would love to talk more! Planning the perfect session for you and your family is something I love to do. This year, let’s photograph your family in a unique way that shows your family’s personality as you are. Not what everyone else is doing. That is part of the benefit of having me as your photographer. It starts way before the first click of my camera. Let’s connect today!

Fall is my absolute favorite season for sessions. Maybe you’ve heard the joke, October is to photographers what April is to accountants? It’s true! It’s the busiest season of all but I thrive on it.

It was such a blessing that even after some crappy weather & unexpected life surprises that I was able to connect with Adriane & her family. She is a Macomb county photographer with her own busy schedule and a baby whisperer. If your looking for the posed newborns that I don’t offer be sure to check her out at http://www.adrianebadenphotography.com/

As always, its such an honor to document another photographers family. If you didn’t guess, we can be a little…specific…. when choosing a photographer for ourselves so it means a lot to me to be trusted. I’m so happy she did choose me because getting to know her sweet little Chloe and hilarious son Caleb was so much fun. Scott wasn’t so bad either 😉 I even got to end the session with some new branding headshots for Adriane to use on her website.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peak into their family session. Unfortunately, if you are still looking to book a session this fall it won’t be with me. I’m booked into 2019 but be sure to reach out early for next year!!!